You could almost feel the celestial baton being passed on from Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby being passed on to the lovely and gracious Brandee Younger, as she brought the inspiration from players past to create her own sound and…
Category: Reviews
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra: Tenor Madness
Step right up and check out some of the beefiest tenor men in town. Don Aliquo, Jeff Coffin and Joel Frahm swagger in town along with Ryan Middagh/bar, Alex Graham/as and Roy Agee/tb for a rollicking big band collection of…
SOULFUL VOCALS FROM AVID…Ernestine Anderson: Four Classic Albums Plus, Dee Clark: Four Classic Albums Plus
Rich and classy soulful/R&B voices start the year off from UK based AVID… Ernestine Anderson walked the tightrope of pop/R&B/jazz throughout her career, making her name early with Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Her earliest from 1956 in a classy…
Jenny Hill: Floating
Jenny Hill serves as a triple threat on tenor and soprano sax as well as flute on this album teamed with Allison Phillips/tp-fh, Mann Koch/p, Eduardo Belo/b and Todd Isier/dr on this collection of rich originals. Her soprano is clean…
Jacob Wutzke: You Better Bet
Drummer Jacob Wutzke brings in a vintage sounding post bop team of Rachel Therrien/tp-fh, Lucas Dubovik/ts, Bryn Roberts/p and Ira Coleman/b for a collection of toe tapping originals. In trio format, Roberts and Wutzke get nimble with Coleman on “Pee…
Jeremy Pelt: Woven
It wasn’t so long ago that I remember seeing Jeremy Pelt as “the next big thing” and was impressed by his gorgeous tone. Fast forward a few decades, and he’s now an elder statesman, being the guiding light for younger…
Eldad Tarmu: Silver On Aluminum
Here’s a brilliant idea from vibraphonist Eldad Tarmu, as this album takes on the classic hard bop catalogue of Horace Silver and puts them in a trio concept with Marty Isenberg/b and Michael Shapira/dr. The fact that there is no…
Dayna Stephens: Hopium
Playing tenor and alto saxes, Dayna Stephens teams up with Aaron Parks/p, Ben Street/b, Greg Hutchinson/dr and guest Charles Altura/g on a collection of originals. Stephens has a warm and glowing sound on the reeds, soft and mellow on ”Trust”…
Bill O’Connell: Touch
Piano vet Bill O’Connell trios up with Billy Hart/dr and Santi Debriano/b on tis easy to love mix of originals and modern post boppers. Hart shuffles with joy on “Billy’s Blues” and joins in to the playfulness of “Three Little…
Omar Thomas Large Ensemble: Griot Songs
Composer Omar Thomas delivers an ambitious two disc release, bringing in a big band that includes bold and exciting charts surrounding passionate soloists. The seven songs range from 8-19 minutes, filled with segues, solos and rabbit trails. Jason Palmer’s trumpet…