The mid 1940s were a pivotal time, not only for the world due to WWII, but also for jazz, as during these years America’s classical music was in a major transition period. The heyday of the Swing Era was (unbeknownst…
Category: Ringer of the Week
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****BACK IN THE DAY…Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step Band-Live At Smalls 1996
It’s amazing how each member of this 1996 band of leader/guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel with Mark Turner/ts, Jeff Ballard/dr and Ben Street/b is now a major name on his respective instrument. To put things in perspective, Rosenwinkel is still a few…
Samara Joy: Portrait
She’s only at the beginning of her career, but even so, Samara Joy comes across like a well seasoned vet on this latest release. She’s still retaining her youthful and church-bred charm, but she is starting to stretch her boundaries,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****GETZ A GO GO! Jeff Rupert: It Gets Better
Ok, am I the only one who sees the punny reference to tenor sax giant Stan Getz on Jeff Rupert’s latest release. First of all, he’s got a tone and style just like The Mellifluous One. Second, he’s brought Getz…
****DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR****YOU CAN TAKE THE BIRD OUT OF KANSAS CITY…Charlie Parker: Bird In Kansas City
Get out your transcription papers, because you’re going to want to learn these recently unearthed solos from Charlie Parker. Recorded at various stages of Parker’s early career, such as Vic Damon’s studio in 1944 with the Spartan support of Edward…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK***Charlie Apicella & Iron City meet The Griots Speak: Call To Action/Call To Prayer
A meeting of minds and souls takes place with the duo of Brad Whiteley/org and Austin Walker/dr joining musical forces with Daniel Carter/wwinds-tp-p, William Parker/b-reeds-tp, Charlie Apicella/dr-perc and Juma Sultan/perc . There is a surfeit of various traditional reed, string…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Catherine Russell & Sean Mason: My Ideal
Timeless vocals and piano are served by Catherine Russell and Sean Mason as they come together for a cozy and rich read of Tin Pan Alley standards, when songs wre written for and by the likes of stride pianists like…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Dongfeng Liu: China Afro Cuba
I’ve been a sucker for piano duet albums going back to the boogie stride summits of Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. This one between Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Dongeng Liu is special in that it combines sounds of their respective homelands,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ken Peplowski: Live At Mezzrow
While known for having a rich and beautiful tone and swinging delivery on the clarinet, Ken Peplowski is having his tenor sax slowly turning into the embodiment of Lester Young, well displayed on this album recorded at Mezzrow back in…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Nancy Reed & Spencer Reed: Happying
The husband and wife team of Spencer/g-voc and Nancy/b-voc create joyful and bouncy cooings on this album hinting at Lambert, Hendricks and Ross in terms of harmony and style. Teamed with drummer Bill Goodwin and with cameos by Dave Liebman/ss,…