Such was the appropriate title of the classic song by pianist Dave Frishberg back in 1998. The humorous ditty captured the joy and attitude of the unsung professional musician who puts in a career supporting the stars of the recordings…
Month: March 2025
Larry Darnell: For You My Love-The Singles Collection 1949-1960
One of the defining artists of New Orleans R&B that slowly turned into what we call rock and roll was Larry Darnell (1928-83), who started out as a gospel singer before “going secular”, to say the least. He hit the…
Geoffrey Dean Quartet: Conceptions
Pianist Geoffrey Dean forms a richly lyrical quartet with the glowing trumpet of Justin Copeland along with sensitive support from drummer Eric Binder and bassist Harish Raghavan. The album feels like an up to date rendition of albums led by…
THE FINAL FRONTIER…Whispering Worlds: Cosmic Cliffs
Playing trumpet, the flutelike shakuhachi and electronics, Aaron Shragge creates spacious and spacey atmospheres with Luke Schwartz/g-elec, Damon Banks/b and Deric Dickens/dr. The nine original have rich, extraterrestial tones and ideas, kind of like mixing Brain Eno’s ambient electronics with…
THE WORLD OF BLACK AND WHITE…America’s Greatest Hits-Your Hit Parade 1937, The Greatest Country Hits 1954, The 1955 R&B Hits Collection, The 20th Anniversary Billboard Chart 20th July, 1960
With today’s music so compartmentalized, it’s difficult to believe that at one time various genres of music mixed and match with no afterthought. The only categories were “good” and “bad”, although there were various demographics that preferred some styles over…
Dr. Purgatory: The Consumption-A Tragic Folktale In Six Parts
Guitarist David Riddel creates a clever chamber jazz project, complete with 40 page novella, concerning a modern folktale of mythology. The ambitions ten part project brings together Aline Homzy/vi, Colleen Allen/as-fl, Conrad Gluch/as-bcl, Noam Lemish/p, Andrew Downing/b and Stefan Hegerat/dr…
BRITISH BOP AND SOUFUL LADIES ON AVID…Ronne Scott: Four Classic Albums, Ethel Ennis & Ernestine Anderson: Four Classic Albums Plus
A tenor man from the UK and two rich toned ladies are revisited from Avid… While best known for having the number one jazz club in England, Ronnie Scott first made his name at a swinging tenor sax player. These…
Joanie Pallatto & Bradley Parker: Sparrow
Just when you think every singer sounds like the next one, someone like Joanie Pallatto comes up and shows you that there are still fresh flowers to be watered. The vocalist teams up with pianist Bradley Parker for a collection…
Zacharias Tarpagkos & Galan Trio: Embrace
Playing a rich flute, Zacharias Tarpagkos joins up with the Galan Trio of Babis Karasavidis/vi, Marina Kolovou/vcel and Petros Bouras/p for a lovely collection of chambered jazz. The composers are all modern, ranging from a Bartokian Ilan Chouraki for a…
Dave Hanson: Blues Sky
Dave Hanson plays piano and Fender with his team of Mark Simon/b, Paul Romaine/dr and guest Wil Swindler/ts-as on this collection of bluesy originals. On piano, Hanson has that classic warm feel a la Kenny Barron, as he shifts gears…