Vocalist Donna E. and teams up with a mix of supporting artists for an upbeat and confident delivery of standards. Her sandied voice works well with a brassy support on “Pennies From Heaven” while going droll with Johnny Gonzales’ tenor…
Month: September 2017
WORLD SOUNDS…Christos DC: Tessera, Ranky Tanky: Ranky Tanky
While reggae is usually associated with Jamaica, Greek American Christos DC adds a touch of Mediterranean from his ethnic background on this album. He songs and plays drums and percussions, teaming up with Chris Elandt/b-g, Mike Knabe/key-b and a horn…
Charlie Ballantine: Where Is My Mind?
Guitarist Charlie Ballantine brings together an album of mostly originals with Amanda Gardier/as-fl, Jesse Wittman/b and Jay Tibbitts/dr. The album is heavy on moods and roots, with some sounds going from folksy C&W on the twangy “Telluride” to Middle Eastern…
Simon Sammut: Crossing
Bassist Simon Sammut leads a richly textured team of Tony Sammut/p, Marc Galea-Jonathan Ellul/g, Mark Attard/b, Melchoir Busatti/dr-perc, Marlene Sammit/voc and various guests through a clever musical journey. Always filled with melodies, the songs include a spoken chant with rock…
DAILY DOSE OF VITAMIN B3…Dave Askren & Jeff Benedict: Come Together
The hip team of Jeff Benedict/ts and Dave Askren/g form a organic quartet with Joe Bagg/B3 and Paul Romaine/dr on a mix of swinging covers and originals. The beauty of a B3 combo is the ability to groove out any…
SOLO PIANO…Rossano Sportiello: Pastel, Laszlo Gardony : Serious Play
Times alone with 88 friends… Pianist Rossano Sportiello goes solo on this rich and reflective album of songs that cover a wide variety of inspirations. Classical composers such as Advard Grieg and Aram Khachaturian are featured on an elegant “Arietta…
Wooten Chambers Franceschini: Trypnotyx
Bassmeister Victor Wooten teams up with the muscular team of Dennis Chambers/b and Bob Franceschini for a wild ride through space and time. The album is bookended by a travelogue “Takeoff” and “Landing” supplied by Michael Winslow’s voice and sound…
BLUES ROCKERS…Jonny Lang: Signs, Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band: Lay It On Down
There used to be a surfeit of younger guys that could rock the blues. Besides Joe Bonamassa, the only two men left standing at the shootout are Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Here are the latest from the gunslingers…
Katie Thiroux: Off Beat
Katie Thiroux delivers a clever and eclectic set here with a core of Justin Kauflin/p and Matt Witek/dr along with a rotating reed team of Ken Peplowski and Roger Neumann, who blow warm and rich. Thiroux sings like a bass…
Bob Mundy: Love to Me
Vocalist Bob Mundy has a rich tenor voice that charms you over with a team of Dan Kaufman/p, Peter Slavov/b, Sam Dadigursky-Joel Frahm/sax, Dominick Faronacci/tp, Lage Lund/g, Yves Dharamraf/cel and Mark Ferber/dr. The horns supply hip support as Faranacci delivers…