Why am I a sucker for the warm and breathy tone of tenorist Houston Person? I grew up in the era of Weather Report and Michael Brecker, but once I was brought into the world of guys like Ben Webster,…
Month: November 2013
WHERE’S THE HITCHCOCK CAMEO? John Abercrombie Quartet: 39 Steps
Guitarist John Abercrombie makes a good percentage of this record with Joey Baron/dr, Drew Gress/b and Marc Copland/p with song titles in reference to classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. Any real reason? Not sure, but while each tune is an understated…
Laurence Hobgood Quintet@The Blue Whale 11.09.13
Better known as the pianist & arranger for vocalist Kurt Elling, Laurence Hobgood occasionally steps out in front to perform his own material, and for good reason. His solo albums include a fascinating series of duets with bassist Charlie Haden…
Bill Holman’s Big Band@Vitello’s 11.08.13
“It’s very confusing, but what else are we here for?” So joked 87 year old bandleader Bill Holman about the music between songs at Vitello’s where he revisited the sounds from his 1997 Grammy winner album of wildly exciting big…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mario Adnet: Um Olhar Sobre
Digging into the songbook of famed composer Heitor Villa Lobos, Mario Adnet comes up with gold on this wondrous mix of voice, orchestra and intimate instruments. The warm and full bodied mix of strings and brass can be as impressionistically…
THE LAST OF THE REAL ORIGINALS? Ahmad Jamal: Saturday Morning
Yes, there are a plethora of excellent pianists out there on the jazz scene. But, with all of them from Mehldau on down, you listen to them and think, “there’s the Evans influence, there’s the Jarrett sound, etc.” Ahmad Jamal,…
MIDDLE EASTERN INTRIGUE…Nashaz: Nashaz, Albare: The Road Ahead
The melding of music from what is called “The 10-40 Window” (check the latitudes and longitudes some day)is what will probably propel jazz into the 21st Century. Here are two different approaches. One assimilates, the other accommodates. Nashaz is comprised…
OLD SCHOOL NEVER SOUNDED SO GOOD…Jeff Golub with Brian Auger: Train Keeps a Rolling
Put together a couple of old coots that rocked and boogied back when Republicans were in the White House, throw in some tunes that range from 50s jazz soul to modern reggae, and add a dash of top flight studio…
David Chesky: Jazz in the New Harmonic
This album lead by pianist/composer David Chesky is being billed as a “new twist” on what used to be termed “Third Stream” music, essentially a mix of jazz and classical that was a big deal in the late 50s and…
Andreas Steinkogler: Welcome to the Machine
The saying is that there are some things that you should never see how they are made: laws and Chinese food. Well, a rock/pop band may be the third part of this equation, as this 90 minute documentary by Andreas…