One of the boldest voices in soul and R&B, Etta James is captured on this one disc anthology and her most ravenous early days, covering her 54-60 years like a warm blanket. She starts things off belting out “The Wallflower”…
Category: Review
Celestial Latitude featuring Frank Gambale: The Haas Company Volume 2
With the death of former boss Chick Corea, guitarist Frank Gambale has found a new home with drummer Steve Haas’ team of Pete Drungle/key, Al MacDowell-Percy Jones-Kirwan Brown/b, Pete Gallio-Jay Rodriguea/sax-wwinds and Samuel Hallkvist/g on this recent recording. One of…
Donald Vega: As I Travel
Best known for his work with Ron Carter’s trio, pianist Donald Vega leads a formidable team of Lewis Nash/dr, John Patitucci/b and Luisitio Quintero/perc through a collection of originals. His signature classy style is in display well on “Alegria” and…
Mathias Heise Quintet: Mouth Games
Danish harmonica man Mathias Heise brings together Jacob Christoffersen/p, Pelle von Bulow/g, Thomas Fonnesbaek/b and Jeppe Gram/dr for a large palate of colors. Using mostly originals, Heise does delve into a coule of covers, bopping hard with Gram on John…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK**** Quartet San Francisco-Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band & Take 6: Raymond Scott Reimagined
If you’ve ever watched Saturday mornings cartoons as a kid, you must be familiar with the sounds and music of Raymond Scott (1908-1994) who composed tons of wild and zany music for Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, and even things like…
THE PRINCE OF THE BLUES…Billy Wright: Blues For My Baby Collected Recordings 1949-59
You’ve undoubtedly heard of Little Richard, but one of the singers who influenced Mr. Penniman was Billy Wright (1932?-91), a blues singer who’s career consisted of flamboyant jump blues, in which this two cd, 43 song collection brings out the…
John von Seggern: Unfolding
Promoting his upcoming LA gig, bassist John von Seggern has released a tempting single of his upcoming album Ambient Bass Guitar, titled “Unfolding”. It’s easy to tell that von Seggern has made a successful career in the film industry, as this…
WOMEN AT THE MIC…Adrianne Duncan: Gemini, Alyssa Giammaria: Moments
Adrianne Duncan plays piano and sings in a rich bohemian style with her team of Nick Mancini/vib, Dan Lutz/b, Jimmy Branly/dr, John Tegmeyer/cl and Katisse Buckingham/fl-ts on a collection of mostly originals. The sole cover is a clever take of…
Rob Silverman: Drumology Volume III
If for no other reason, I want to see drummer Rob Silverman over the hope that one or some of the guests on his albums will show up with him. This latest includes guests Steve Gadd, Dave WEckl, Roy Wooten,…
Ernesto Cervini: Joy
Drummer Ernesto Cervini creates a cornucopia of moods with a rotating team of singers and musicians on this cheerful album of concise compositions. Included in the session is a horn section of Virginia MacDonald/cl, Tara Davidson/as, Luis Deniz/as, Kelly Jefferson/ts-ss,…