Playing bass, singing, composing, arranging, leading a band as well as founding a label, New York based Mimi Jones is working on creating a vehicle for jazz musicians without a Y chromosome to have a place to display their talents.…
Month: March 2014
L.A. 6: Frame of Mind
Here’s a sextet of guys who’ve been part of the LA scene for decades, steadily serving in the studio or as sidemen. If you haven’t seen any of them in concert, then you haven’t been to a jazz club in…
Rudy Royston: 303
Drummer Rudy Royston leads from behind a team of Sam Harris/p, Yasushi Nakamura-Mimi Jones/b, Jon Irabagon/sax, Nadja Noordhuis/tp and Nir Felder/g on a collection of originals, indie rock and classical. Of the former, there are some fast and tricky bop…
REAL WOMEN REALLY SINGING…Carol Fredette: No Sad Songs For Me, Rebecca DuMaine & The Dave Miller Trio: Better Than Anything
My biggest pet peeve about the plethora of female singers is that they all sound like either Diana Krall or Norah Jones wannabes. Here are a couple that sound comfortable in their own sound and their own skins as they…
Nir Felder: Golden Age
You know you’re getting old when a guitarist like Nir Felder puts out an album that refers to the days of the 80s and 90s as “The Golden Age.” Did I miss something? What Felder does is mix some lyrical…
Cheryl Barnes: Listen To This
Here’s a singer with a debut disc that sounds fresh on a variety of levels. First, Cheryl Barnes stays away from the “been there, done that” songbook, and instead delivers up material from the likes of Mark Winkler, Joni Mitchell,…
MILES AT THE FILLMORE…Miles Davis 1970:The Bootleg Series Volume 3
Sony Legacy continues to dig into the Miles Davis treasure chest and has come up with another wonderful cache, Miles Davis’ band with Steve Grossman/ts-ss, Chick Corea-Keith Jarrett/key, Dave Holland/b, Jack DeJohnette/dr and Airto Moreira/perc/fl. They are captured here at…
Beata Pater: Golden Lady
If you’re wanting something less like Diana Krall, and more like Betty Carter, look no further than Beata Pater. This latest release has her with the Spartan accompaniment of Hiromu Aoli/p and Buca Necak/b, and they both do a yeoman’s…
Lara Iacovini featuring Steve Swallow: Right Together
Vocalist Lara Iacovini leads a unique band that includes Steve Swallows electric bass combined with the team of double acoustic bassist Paolino Dalla Porta, drummer Adam Nussbaum/dr and pianist Roberto Soggetti as well as guests Andrea Dulbecco/vib and Giovanni Mazzarino/Rhodes.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Randy Ingram: Sky Lift
Here’s a pianist that has a touch on the ivories I could listen to for weeks. Randy Ingram leads a quartet with Mike Moreno/g, Matt Clohesy/b and Jochen Rueckert/dr for eight originals that have a sound all their own. I’m…