Someone at Pablo Records must have received a promotion or something, as suddenly a bunch of material from the venerable Norman Granz label is popping up all over the place. Keep up the good work! One of Duke Ellington’s more…
Month: October 2013
THE BLUE NOTE OF BRASIL?!? Ricardo Silveira & Roberto Taufic: Atlanticos, Pedro Martins: Dreaming High
Back in the 50s and through the 70s, Blue Note Records put out albums that guaranteed a certain quality to the listener. With a coterie of musicians that rotated around serving as leaders, and with periodic newcomers coming into the…
Sean Tyrrell: Walker of the Snow
There’s a ton of what passes for “ traditional Irish music” these days. This guy, Sean Tyrell, sings as well as plays tenor guitar, banjo and mandocello on this disc, and he sounds like what you’ll REALLY hear if you…
Gabrielle Agachiko: Yes!
Vocalist Gabrielle Agachiko has a luminous and soft water of a voice with a gentle vibrato that lures you into this impressive collection of originals and standards. She’s surrounded by a flexible and adroit team of Scott Getchett/tp, Ken Field/fl,…
Lorraine Feather CD Release Party@Vitellos 10.10.13
Before a packed crowd at the upstairs and upscale Vitellos, vocalist/songwriter Lorraine Feather delivered a concerto/advertisement for her latest album release Attachments. Teamed up with LA all stars Charlie Bisharat/violin, Russell Ferrante/p, Michael Shapiro/dr, Michael Valerio/b and Grant Geissman/g, Ms…
OUR BEST MALE SINGER??? Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit
The first time I heard Gregory Porter (on his debut disc) I thought he was some obscure old timer from the 70s who was making one last jazz record to show the 21st Century what it’s been missing. Little did…
Will Lee: Love, Gratitude and Other Distractions
It’s very difficult to find intelligent popular music this day, but here’s a guy that can deliver modern sounds that don’t insult your mind or soul. Will Lee has a day job as bassist with the Late Show with David…
CURRY MEETS THE BLUES…Dave Cipriani: Mahadev
There have been numerous attempts lately to meld the rhythms and sounds of Central Asian music with jazz, with varying results. This one, lead by Dave CIpriani, is by far one of the most successful. He leads a band that…
DANISH TREATS…Carsten Dahl Experience, Under The Rainbow
Danish jazz hasn’t really made an impact on the US, but in Denmark pianist Carsten Dahl is one of the Machers of the scene. Here are a pair of recent releases that show some originality from Scandinavia He fronts a…
Roger McGuinn & Marty Stuart@Smothers Theatre 10.10.13
Before “McGuinn & McGuire kept getting higher” in the 60s, there was no such thing as the now ubiquitous genre of what was then termed “country rock.” The interesting thing is that a good number of those progenitors (which included…