Here’s a vocal love letter to the master of Brazilian music, Tom Jobim, that is done just right. Singer Carmen Cuesta as sung with the best: Jim Hall, Earl Klugh, Grover Washington Jr. and Gato Barbieri, to name a few.…
Author: George W. Harris
Cinzia Spata: Into The Moment
It takes a lot of moxie to begin a record with a wordless vocal, but singer Cinzia Spata does that very thing on this eclectic reading of modern jazz material. The opening “Questar” displays Spata’s dexterity and inherent sense of…
Cathrine Legardh/Sigurdur Flosason: Land & Sky
Here’s an intriguing release by a lady that doesn’t get much attention this side of the Atlantic. Scandinavian singer Cathrine Legardh has put out a couple other releases on the Danish label Storyville, a company better known for its mainstream/swing…
Bruce Barth Trio: Live At Smalls
Ah! The jazz piano trio! What could be more basic to the heart of soul of this great music?!? Pianist Bruce Barth, along with Vicente Archer/b and Rudy Royston/dr, deliver the goods on this disc that reflects their music from…
FOLK TALES…Vance Gilbert: Good Good Man, Amanda Addleman: Into The Light
Folk lore and minstrel moments make for a rich time with Vance Gilbert, who weaves stories and music on this intimate and unpretentious session. The songs range from solo accompaniment as on the tender and personal “Wildflower” and a cute…
Rozina Patkai: Taladim
Hungarian songstress Rozina Patkai brings her ethereal voice to a wide range of soft moods on this album with Janos Aved/ts-ss-p, Istvan Toth Jr/g, Ditta Rohmann/cel, Andras Des/perc and Marton Fenyvesi/b-arr. Intimate atmospheres abound, as she goes bohemian with percussion…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Amit Friedman: Long way To Go
Amit Friedman brings his saxophones to tours of the Middle East, Latin America and Jazz Central on this exciting album of originals. He teams up with Amos Hoffman/oud-g, Katia Toobool/p, Gilad Abro/b, Amir Bresler/dr and Rony Iwryn/perc for rhythm an…
IVO GOES LONGHAIR…Perelman-Maneri-Feldman-Jason Hwang: Strings I, Perelman-Maneri-Roberts-Rothenberg: Strings 2
Tenor saxist Ivo Perelman has got to be the most proliferative jazz artist around, as he seems to release more albums per year than most do in a decade. Here, Perelman branches out to team with strings in trio and…
Joe DeRose and Amici: Peace Streets
Don’t tell drummer Joe DeRose that “fusion” or “jazz-rock,” as it used to be called, is a long lost genre. What was ubiquitous back in the 70s is as rare as blonds in a Greek Orthodox Church service, but DeRose…
The Ronnie Scott Trio: On A Clear Day-‘Live’ 1974
While better known as the owner of England’s most famous jazz club, this cd reminds us that Ronnie Scott was also the most important tenor saxist in the UK, possessing a warm tone and dna-imbedded sense of lyricism that is…