Here we have four new releases by ECM. Each one has a different instrumental configuration and number of artists, yet there is a familiar feel to the quartet of albums; an overall feel of spaciousness, warmth and freedom within the…
Month: July 2013
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Cecile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild
Here’s a real find! She just won the Theolonious Monk Jazz Competition with judges no less impressive than Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling. Interested yet? The liner notes have Wynton Marsalis lauding her for her “poise, elegance,…
BIG BANDS! Swingadelic: Toussaintville, The Bill Horvitz Expanded Band: The Long Walk
Nothing like the power of a horn section to blow away the blues. Here are two recent releases that are worth adding to your shelf or ipod. Legendary pianist/composer Allan Toussaint is given a fitting tribute on this collection of…
STANDARDS DONE THREE WAYS-The Verve Jazz Ensemble: It’s About Time, Jeff Berlin: Low Standards, Mark Egan-Karl Latham-John Hart: Unit 1
Jazz Standards! The lifeblood of our music. How should they be approached? Straightahead? A few tweaks here and there? Complete deconstruction? Here are a couple takes: The Verve Jazz Ensemble is a classic quintet made up of Tatum Greenblatt/tp-fh, Jon…
CLASSIC COLTRANE QUARTET’S LAST HURRAH-John Coltrane: Sun Ship; The Complete Sessions
There are certain bands that you simply need to eventually get everything they released. Some groups were so important that you must hear the entire evolution of the paradigm-shifting team. A few such entities are Armstrong’s first groups, the first…
CAUGHT IN LE BOEUF-Pascal Le Boeuf: Pascal’s Triangle, Le Boeuf Brothers: Remixed
Pianist Pascal Le Boeuf displays two sides of his brain on this pair of recently released sessions Pascal’s Triangle has the pianist in a traditional trio format with Linda Oh/b and Justin Brown/dr. The original songs are all 2-4 minute…
WEIRD & WONDERFUL-Gansch & Breinschmid: Live, John Brown’s Body: Kings and Queens, Berserk!: Berserk!
Is there life beyond jazz standards and “I Got Rhythm” changes? Here are three recent releases that push the boundaries so far that you might need a new GPS! Thomas Gansch/tp and Georg Breinschmid/b are nothing if not fun. They’ve put…
FEMININE VOICES-Cristina Braga: Samba, Jazz and Love, Youn Sun Nah: Lento, Carol Duboc: Smile
Three different ways to present the jazz idiom via the female voice. Any preferences, or just do a smorgasbord? Cristina Braga brings her voice and harp along with the team of Ricardo Medeiros/b-arr, Jesse Sadoc/tp-fh, Joca Moraes/dr and Arthur Dutra/vibe…
Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi: Sarawoga
You wish there were more details and liner notes on this warm and embracing disc by South African guitarist/vocalist. The sparse notes give hints of a family tragedy, and this album is apparently a healing process to heal the loss…
Michelle Pollace: New Beginning
Pianist Michelle Pollace leads a small group in a mostly trio format with David Belove/b and Phil Hawkins through a collection of originals and standards. She leans on the latin side of life here, with a cleverly salsa’d take of…