If you really want to understand the heart and (literally) the soul of jazz, you need to get some gospel discs into your collection. It’s just that simple. PC historians like to state that jazz started in the brothels and…
Month: April 2013
The Paris Combo@The Broad Stage 04.27.13
Let’s face it, most music is either about dancing or love. Returning to America after a too long hiatus, the swinging 5 piece Paris Combo mixed infectious and irresistible rhythms and melodies (guaranteed to get you to grab your partner)…
ELLINGTONIA WITHOUT ELLINGTON! Billy Strayhorn & Johnny Hodges: Juice A Plenty
One of the most symbiotic relationships in jazz was the collaboration between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. You really cannot honestly discern where one composer/arranger begins and the other takes over on any composition from the 1940s on. Here, we’ve…
UNCOVERED TREASURES FROM AVID-Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis: Four Classic Albums Plus, Kenny Dorham: Four Classic Albums, Sammy Price: Three Classic Albums Plus
If you think that the most famous and popular albums are the only ones to own, Avid Records from the UK will shatter your preconceptions. They dig up lost sessions, obscure sessions, buried treasures and forgotten treasures from the 40s-60s and…
BING IS IN THE AIR!!! Bing Crosby: On the Sentimental Side, El Senor Bing, Seasons
Universal Music is reissuing an attic’s worth of Bing Crosby’s albums. These three range from the 50s to the late 70s, a period when his music and image was more akin to nostalgia than art. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy…
Koby Israelite: Blues From Elsewhere
On the back of this cd by Koby Israelite, under the bar code, it reads “File Under Jazz/Jewish/Rock.” The music here is sort of what you’d think Klezmer would be if it started post WWII-rocky, eclecticly electric and flying in…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet: Wislawa
If you’re a fan of vintage Miles Davis, which means anything from about ’58 to before he plugged in during the late 60s, trumpeter Tomasz Stanko should be the guy on your must-hear list. He’s put out a number of…
TIMELESS & TASTY-John Pisano and Billy Bean: Makin’ It & Take Your Pick
John Pisano is a living legend here in LA, but for some reason, he’s never become a household name. For the past few decades, he’s had a Tuesday Guitar Night at local venues where guest 6 stringers come to jam,…
Drew Davidsen: True Drew
As the old saying goes, “show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” Guitarist Drew Davidsen has made musical collaborations with Bobby Lyle, Eric Marienthal, Gerald Veasley and the Temptations’ Ron Tyson. What do you get when you…
Monica Ramey & The Beegie Adair Trio
Monica Ramey has a throwback voice to the Depression Era, when Tin Pan Alley ruled the music world. Tamed with an in sync trio of Beegie Adair/p, Rger Spencer/b and Chris Brown/dr and a couple guests, Ramey freshens up chestnuts…