I make it a point to review everything that comes my way. Here is a release by saxist Joe Blessett (the notes don’t mention any other supporting artists) who runs through 19 disjointed pieces that mix electrical and synthesized noodles…
Month: December 2012
Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man-40th Anniversary Edition
Marvin Gaye’s followup to his iconic What’s Goin’ On was a head scratcher for a lot of people. Instead of cashing in on the popularity and going in the same direction, Gaye did a soundtrack for a Blaxploitation film; he…
Pete Christlieb@Vibratos 12.08.12
Over the past 30+ years I’ve seen tenor saxist Pete Christlieb as a sideman for artists ranging from Tom Waits to Benny Goodman to Johnny Mandel and beyond. At the upscale Bel Air club Vibratos, Christlieb was in the forefront…
***RINGER OF THE WEEK***James Morrison: Snappy Too
Do you want to talk about chops?!? I saw this guy with Lalo Schifrin’s quartet a number of years ago, and he played an entire song, chorus and mind blowing solo, on his trumpet, and he NEVER TOUCHED A VALVE!!…
Beka Gochiashvili: Beka Gochiashvili
Drummer Lenny White has been making a name for himself as a talent scout, Georgia-born (not deep south, but near east) in 1996, pianist Beka Gochiashvili is his latest find, and he’s a good one. White went through his Rolodex…
Michel Sajrawy: Arabop
One of the few cultures that has tried to mix with jazz, yet hasn’t released the “perfect” concept album has got to be Middle Eastern music. It’s a logical comingling, with both styles having a sense of swing (ever hear…
Brandi Disterheft: Gratitude
Brandi Disterheft plays bass and sings through this collection of originals and standards with jazz cognoscenti Sean Jones/tp, Vincent Herring/as, Anne Drummond/fl, Renee Rosnes/p and Gregory Hutchinson/dr. While the cast would seem to point to some promising and exciting jazz,…
Quadro Nuevo: Grand Voyage
Here’s a band that’s just going to win your heart over. QN is comprised of Mulo Francel/reeds-guitars, Robert Wolf/guitar-bouzouki, DD Lowka/b-perc, Andreas Hinterseher/acc-bandoneon, and bonus player Evelyn Huber/harp, and they go on a trip through various countries, delivering a giant…
Jose’ Rizo’s Mongorama: Mongorama
LA’s own Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance man. Or, as they might say in East LA, “Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance, man!” He leads the hot band Jazz on the Latin Side, which plays all over town, plays…
Lee Konitz/Bill Frisell/Gary Peacock/Joey Baron: Enfants Terribles
Look, I really like each of these guys, and have tons of each of their albums. Who doesn’t have something by Lee Konitz? For Pete’s sake, he played with Mulligan back in the 50s, and has been on the creative…