Graceful and fragrant melodies that evoke thoughts ranging from Blue Ridge Mountains to Jerusalem are rendered here on this album led by bassist Yosef Gutman, co-leading this lyrical album with violinist Peter Broderick and teamed with Yonathan Avishai/p, Ray Sher/g…
Month: January 2025
Simon Phillips Protocol V@Catalina’s 01.24.25
I’m willing to bet that if you threw a cocktail olive in any direction at the packed house for Simon Phillips’ Friday night show with his Protocol V band, odds are you would have hit a drummer in attendance in…
Brian Charette presents Organ Cream @ The Grape Ventura 01.23.25
This is why you are a jazz fan in So Cal… So, Hammond B3er Brian Charette has recently released his 40 something-th album, a tribute to Brother Jack McDuff (You Don’t Know Jack), but instead of plugging that album for…
Charles Tolliver: Live At The Captain’s Cabin
While overlooked at the present time, trumpeter Charles Tolliver was one of the hottest players in the 1970s, one of the few not to succumb to plugging in and going into the fusion bandwagon at the time. He’s caught here…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Steve Smith’s Vital Information: New Perspective
One of the premier drummers in both jazz and rock, Steve Smith shows what his recent incarnation of Vital Information is capable of on this recent release. The album has a “live” feel, and justifiably so, as most of the…
Avishai Cohen: Ashes To Gold
Playing trumpet, flugelhorn and flute, Avishai Cohen teams with Yonathan Avishai/p, Barak Mori/b and Ziv Ravitz/dr for an album dominated by a meditative suite and a pair of reflections. The five part “Ashes To Gold” opens with a lovely flute,…
Carl Allen: Tippin’
Veteran bopping drummer Carl Allen reunites with his longtime friend and bassist Christian McBride to trio it up with Chris Potter on this muscular meeting of minds. Allen and McBride depend on ESP on this session, bouncing on the bopping…
Dave Stryker: Stryker With Strings
Guitarist Dave Stryker takes on new territory on this recent release, teaming up with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Brent Wallarab and his team of Xavier Davis/key-p, Jeremy Allen/b and McClenty Hunter along with a handful of guests. The…
Ben Markley: Live At Nocturne
Piano man Ben Markley is caught a few nights in Denver’s Nocturne club back in 2023 with a team of Steve Kovalcheck/g, Will Swindler/as, Andy Wheelock/dr and Domi Ebson-Matt Smiley/b on a collection of originals. Kovalcheck goes edgy around Wheelock’s…
McGrath/Fujisaki/Lyles/Cortinas: Entre Amigos
Originated by Lester Young, the tenor sax jazz quartet is now one of the staples of jazz. Here is a representations. Consisting of Roy McGrath/ts, Hans Fujisaki/p, Kitt Lyles/b and Gustavo Cortinas/dr the band Entre Amigos ride deep in the…