I’m a sucker for duet recordings; always have been and always will be. Lonnie Johnson with Eddie Lang, Evans, Pat Metheny with Charlie Haden or Ken Peplowski with Howard Alden-gotta love them all. Here’s a recent one that you’re gonna keep…
Month: August 2014
Mitch Haupers: Invisible Cities
Guitarist Mitch Haupers delivers a tasty mix of chamber music and jazz here on this collection of originals. The foundational team of Haupers with Bob Mintzer/woodwinds, Alan Pasqua/p, Darek Oles/b and Peter Erskine/dr delivers some gently flowing and pastoral pieces…
Steve Khan: Subtext
Guitarist Steve Khan leads a sizzling team of Ruben Rodriguez/b, Dennis Chambers/dr, Marc Quinones/perc and Bobby Allende/conga through some Latinized takes of post bop tunes as well as his own wonderful compositions. With guest Randy Brecker on flugelhorn, the band…
LET FREEDOM RING…Daktari: Lost Tawns, Andrzej Przybielski: Tren Zalobny, Perry Robinson Ensemble: The Universe
Like your jazz a bit on the freer side? Here are a trio of releases from the Multikulti Project Label that specializes in improvised music from Easter Europe. They fought for freedom in the 80s, and are showing the fruit…
Mark Alban Lotz: Solo Flutes
You gotta have either a) chops b) chutzpah or c) perfect timing for a horn player to successfully do a solo album. Flautist Mark Alban Lotz throws down the flute gauntlet, and pulls off an impressive salvo. He wisely mixes…
Rallidae: Paper Birds
Angela Morris leads an intriguing trio in which she plays a rich tenor and brings in her voice along with Alex Samaras/voc and Scott Colberg/b-voc for a handful of originals here. There are some wonderfully melded harmonies on the folk-ish…
PUT ON YOUR SHARKSKIN SUIT…Harmonie Ensemble: Henry Mancini-Music for Peter Gunn
Back in the 50s, some of the best jazz musicians around helped pay the bills by working in the studios for shows like M Squad and Peter Gunn. Composers like Basie and Mancini made TV a swinging time, as shown…
Charles Davis: For the Love of Lori
Here’s a solid bop oriented session from the hands of tenor saxist Charles Davis. He leards a band with Steve Davis/tb, Rick Germanson/p, David Williams/b, Joe Magnarelli/tp and Neil Smith/dr through a welcome mix of originals, standards and jazz covers.…
THE RETURN OF PROG ROCK? Pat Mastelotto/Tobias Ralph: Toparama, Helio Parallax: Helio Parallax
The last time jazz was REALLY popular, and rock had some artistic vision, was when the two combine to form what was called either jazz fusion or progressive rock (depending from which side you approached it). Here are two albums…
Audrey Martin: Living Room
Vocalist Audrey Martin plays it smart here by presenting songs that aren’t part of the usual repertoire. Her sweet and attractively nasally voice has a trumpet quality that adds a bopping feel to here selections of songs, ranging from the…