Not too big, not too small… Best known for his work with McCoy Tyner, bassist Avery Sharpe has built up an impressive catalogue of his own, usually creating albums based on a certain theme. This time around he puts together…
Month: August 2024
TODAY’S QUARTETS…Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet: Feels Like Home, Radam Schwartz: Saxophone Quartet Music, Kerry Politzer: Ruminations
Four on four… Vasilis Xenopoulos plays tenor sax, soprano sax and flute as he teams with pianist Paul Edis and mates Adam King/b with J oel Barford/dr. Xenopoulos’ tenor is warm and palpable, swinging easy on “Going Homeand boppoing with…
NOSTALGIA…Nicki Parrot: Feelin’ Groovy, The New Wonders: Steppin’ Out
Contrary to Yogi Berra, nostalgia is actually better than it used to be… Vocalist and bassist Nicki Parrot takes on Baby Boomer hits from the 1960s with a jazzy team of Steve Russell/p, Dave Sanders/b and a mix and match…
Jo Harrop: The Path of a Tear
Jo Harrops’s earthy voice carries her through a mix of originals and covers on this album with Anthony Wilson/g, Victor Indrizzo/dr, Jim Cox/key and David Piltch-Larry Klein/b. Produced by Klein, the album has his usual touch of comfort and style,…
Christine Xu: Seek and Find
One of the few female singers to write her own material, Christine Xu brings a fresh mix of lyricism and wordless vocals together on this creative collection of post bop originals. She teams herself with the flexible and simpatico collection…
Chad Edwards: Wyoming Roads
Playing piano and organ, Chad Edwards lead hip tam of Robert Kyle/sax-fl, Hussain Jiffry/b and Kevin Winard/dr through a collection of rich ideas. Jiffry supplies a rich line over Kyles alto sax on “Footprints” , and the band sounds a…
Ricky Alexander: Just Found Joy
Ricky Alexander takes you back to the early days of swing, playing clarinet, soprano sax and singing a bit with vocalist Vanisha Gould and a two stepping band of Jon-Erik Kellso/tp, Brennen Ernst/g, Dalton Ridenhour/-Jon Thomas/p, Rob Adkins/b and Kevin…
BRIAN BLADE’S FELLOWSHIPS
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete” 1 JOHN…
TODAY’S TRUMPETS…Jared Hall: Influences, Anthony Stanco: Stanco’s Time
Horns a plenty This album by trumpeter Jared Hall is a fun one in that you get to guess by the tone and styles (not to mention the titles) of each song which fellow horn man he’s giving tribute to.…
Meg Okura and Kevin Hays: Lingering
Violinist Meg Okura teams up with pianist Kevin Hays for a collection of duets, some improvisations and some part of a suite. The pair of improvisations are quite lyrical with just a dash of elliptical adventures, while tunes such as…