Bay Area soul brother Tony Adamo mixes street savvy and jazz preaching on this latest single. Like a funkified Dave Frishberg, he raps out references and lyrics to a sizzling percussion section, pulpit hitting tenor sax and magma hitting B3…
Category: Reviews
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THIS IS JAZZ PIANO 101…Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions
A number of months ago, Mosaic Records released a cache of vintage recordings in a 7 cd boxed set. It featured a surfeit of vintage jazz sessions from the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Vic Dickenson and Jimmy Rushing, just to…
Jon Balke: Skrifum
What is a “Spektrafon”? Well, you’re going to find out on this album with John Blake, as he uses it to accompany his piano for 14 of his “solo” compositions. The electronic doo dad gives an eerie background to reflective…
Billy Hart Quartet: Just
Drum legend Billy Hart teams with vets Mark Turner/ts, Ethan Iverson/p and Ben Street/b for a classy collection of originals. Each musician, a leader in their own rights, give a team effort here, with Iverson in a Mozartian mood before…
Boyce Justice Griffith: The Point
Playing tenor and soprano sax, Boyce Justice Griffith shows swagger and style on this post bopping release with Anthony Hervey/tp, Isaiah J. Thompson/p, Martin Jaffe/b and John Sturino/dr. The rhythm section shows it’s energy on a bop shuffler on “The…
John Daversa Big Band: Improvisatory Observatory-Live at the Baked Potato Exhibit 2
I’m still not sure how trumpeter/composer John Daversa shoehorns his 16 member big band into the legendary and cozy Baked Potato, but he stuffs it like one of the hot spuds served to the audience with some of the most…
Richard Pena: The Latin Side Of Jazz Guitar
Playing both electric and classical guitar, Richard Pena sizzles with his fingers through an album of rich originals the meld the flavors of Latin America and modern jazz like a creamy mojado sauce. He brings together a simpatico team of…
Noah Preminger: Ballads
Thick toned tenor Noah Preminger follows the path of sax giants like John Coltrane with a tasty album of (mostly) soft and subdued pieces. He’s teamed with Julian Shore/p, Kim Cass/b and Allan Mednard/dr, mixing his own originals sandwiched between…
FRISKY…Satoko Fujii GEN: Altitude 1100 Meters, Keiji Haino & Natsuki Tamura: What Happened There?
Free forms,loosely fitting. Pianist Satoko Fujii brings together an ensemble of Yuriko Mukoujima/vi, Ayako Kato/vi, Atsuko Hatano/va-el, Hiroshi Yoshino/b and Akira Horikoshi/dr for a five part suite. The dark strings hover on “MOrining Hae” and create an eerie atmosphere with…
Sunny Bleau and the Moons: Passion & Regrets
Sunny Bleau belts it out with a hard hitting team of Nicholas A. Cocco/g, Bill Ruffino/b, James Cunningham/dr, Rick Steff/key and guests Jeff Jenson/g, Kiersi Joli/voc-harm and Dr. Peter Stephenson/org. Bleau’s got a growl to make the hair on your…