Mixings of America’s past meld with millennial attitudes. Mark Huff writes his own material, and delivers it in a folksy style with Doug Lancio/g, Mike Vargo/b, Micah Hulscher/key, Gabriel Rabben/dr, Matthew Burgess/perc, Russ Pahl/stg and a collection of background vocalists.…
Month: May 2018
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams: Vanished Gardens
The casual and relaxed VFW feel that Charles Lloyd and Reuben Rogers/b, Bill Frisell/g, Greg Leisz/stg and Eric Harland/dr created on their first album got just a tad deeper with Lucinda Williams contributing earthy vocals on a handful of the…
Shirley Crabbe: Bridges
Shirley Crabbe uses her clear and Broadway toned voice in a collection of standards and her own compositions on this upbeat album. She’s teamed with Donald Vega-David Budway/p, Clovis Nicolas/b, Ulysses Owens Jr-Alvester/dr, Brandon Lee/tp and a violin quartet on…
Brad Mehldau Trio: Seymour Reads the Constitution
Brad Mehldau teams with his longtime mates Jeff Ballard/dr and Larry Grenadier/b tackle a mix of originals and cleverly selected pieces ranging from Boomer tunes to jazz standards. The entire album is held together by Mehldau’s signature touch, sensitive solos…
Ally Venable Band: Puppet Show
Guitarist and vocalist Ally Venable leads a blues rocking trio along with Elijah Owings/dr and Bobby Wallace/b through her own earthy compositions. Her voice is strong and defiant while her picking mixes clean lines with youthful energy. Her voice agonizes…
THE REAL A CAPPELLA…Tomas Luis De Victoria: Tenebrae Responsories
Every time, I stump people when I ask them to define what “a cappella” means. The response is uniformly “without instruments,” which is NOT the exact meaning. The term literally means “like church,” since back in the day, people worshipped…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anat Cohen & Fred Hersch: Live in Healdsburg
Two artists at the top of their fields, clarinetist Anat Cohen and pianist Fred Hersch, somehow create a concert that is stronger than their individual parts, which is saying something. Recorded at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival on June 11, 2016,…
BENSON’S FAVORITE GUITARIST…Grant Green: Funk in France, Slick!
At one time, Grant Green was one of the most influential jazz guitarists, being sighted by George Benson as the guy who inspired his own playing. His Blue Note sessions from the 1960s are uniformly classic, with his linear and…
Suzie Vinnick: Shake the Love Around
Suzie Vinnick is a triple threat here, singing, playing bass and electric guitar and even writing the material on this rootsie delight. She teams around with a rotation of Johnny Johnson/sax, Gary Craig/dr, Mark Lalama/key, Colin Linden/slg and Kevin Briet/sgl,…
Renee Rosnes: Beloved of the Sky
Pianist Renee Rosnes teams up with all stars Chris Potter/ts-fl, Steve Nelson/vib, Peter Washington/b and Lenny White/dr for a strong and sophisticated collection of post-bop beauties. Rosnes composes most of the material, and her pen veers toward intricate swing, with…