Vintage and danceable R&B with a Crescent City pulse is delivered by the rotating team of The Groove Krewe and the lead vocals of Nick Daniels III. Daniels has a soulful growl reminiscent of The Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs, bold…
Category: Reviews
Ben Morris: Pocket Guides
Composer and arranger Ben Morris plays piano as he leads his semi-big band through a wide range of originals. Various and exotic moods are created, such as a mix of muted horn from Derek Ganong teaming with a Korean melody…
Hugo Fernandez: Ozean
Tensile toned guitarist Hugo Fernandez brings together a quartet with horn man Christoph Titz, electric bassist MartinLillich and drummer Jesus Vega through a collection of post bopping originals. He has fun with a reggae pulsed “Caribbean Illusion” and gets a…
The Dave Weckl/Tom Kennedy Project@Catalina’s 06.02.22
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. PR 18:24 There were two obvious takeaways that the audience was imbedded with after listening to the 110 minute set…
****RINGER OF THE WEEKS****IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME…Hank Williams: I’m Gonna Sing-The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio Recordings
If you don’t know where the lyrics of “It’s good enough for me” come from, you either missed Sunday School a few times or don’t know Americana. There’s an old hymn “Give Me That Old Time Religion” that summarizes this…
THE BEST TRIO AROUND? Goldings-Bernstein-Stewart: Perpetual Pendulum
One thing a trio needs in order to reach that certain level of excellence is longevity. The Standards Trio of Jack DeJohnette, Keith Jarret and Gary Peacock achieved that status. The threesome of keyboardist Larry Goldings, guitarist Peter Bernstein and…
WHY IS THIS GUY NOT MORE WELL KNOWN? System 6: Indispensable
I’ve seen tenor saxist Benn Clatworthy a number of times in LA, and after each set I ask myself “why isn’t this guy in everyone’s Top Ten List for sax players?”. He’s got a Sonny Rollins-inspired T-bone steak of a…
TRIOS…Roberto Occhipinti: The Next Step
Bassist and composer Roberto Occhipinti forms a trio with pianist Adream Farrugia and drummer Larnell Lewis for interpretations of his own compositions and a couple covers. He’s got an elegant tone and inherent melodicism to his playing evidenced in the…
SIX STRINGED JOYS…Randy Napoleon: Puppets-The Music of Gregg Hill, George Cotsirilos Quartet: Refuge
Yes, rock and roll changed the sound of the guitar for many a six stringer, but here are some that simply ignored the a-changing times, sticking to the timeless rather than the transient… Known as the longtime sideman of Freddie…
The Duke Robillard Band: They Called It Rhythm & Blues
One of the better contributions to Western Civilization is the shuffling R&B groove pioneered in the 40s and 50s and re-oiled and tuned up here by guitar vet Duke Robillard and his team of Chris Cote/voc, Bruce Bears/p-org, Marty Ballou/b,…