Is there really a more accomplished trumpeter than Tom Harrell? How about composer? HOW ABOUT BAND LEADER? This 3 in one package guy filled the Zipper Hall with his supple band of longtime associates Wayne Escoffrey/ts and Johnathan Blake/dr as…
Month: August 2014
****Ringers of the Week****Jimmy Cobb: The Original Mob, Louis Hayes: Return of the Jazz Communicators
Drummer Joke of the Day…”So Many Drummers, So Little Time” Budda Boom! Here are a couple of releases by drummers who go back to an era when drummers had one job: DRIVE THE BAND! Why do so few guys understand…
AXES TO GRIND…Ken Husbands’ Trio: Keepin’ it Going, Tom Chang: Tongue & Groove
If you’re a guitar fan (and if not, WHY AREN’T YOU?!?), here are a pair of guys that are a bit under the radar, but you’re gonna like for their creativity and style. Oakland based guitarist Ken Husband’s leads a…
Lynnie Godfrey: Doing It Her Way
Vocalist Lynnie Godfrey delivers a song like a stage production. You can tell she’s comfortable acting, as each of these songs with the mix and match team of Roger Latzgo/p-g, Tom Hamilton/ts, Anthony Marino/b and Gary Rismiller/dr is delivered like…
Bria Skonberg: Into Your Own
A couple years ago, trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg put out an impressive and fresh debut, and this one continues the upward ascent. Mixing the jazz tradition in both instrument and voice, yet sounding like modern times, Skonberg has hit on the…
Jonathan Butler: Living My Dream
Jonathan Butler continues to make some of the most enjoyable and inspired music around these days. And the thing to remember is that the word “inspired” here is used literally-“breathed in” by God. This devoted Christian mixes the hope of…
Singers with a Theme…Allison Adams Tucker: April In Paris, Paul Marinaro: Without A Song
Tired of just a mix of the American Songbook? Here are a pair of vocalists that make their albums a book in itself… Allison Adams Tucker delivers songs of spring here from all over the world. Backed by a foundation…
Swinging Acadians…Vincent Gagnon Quintet: Tome III Errances, Yves leveille Septet: Essences Des Bois
Canadian jazz? Something besides the Maple Leaf Rag? Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. Here’s some intriguing music from French Canadians besides the theme of Paul Bunyon… Pianist Vincent Gagnon leads a two sax quintet with Alain Boies/as-ss, Michel Cote/ts, Guillaume…
ESSENCE OF GUITAR…Joel Harrison: Mother Stump, Joel Harrison & AnNupam Shobhakar: Multiplicity
Six stringer Joel Harrison releases a couple of new albums showing the breadth and width of the wondrous world of frets. Mother Stump has Harrison along with NY-based Michael Bates/b, Jeremy Clemons/dr and Glenn Patscha/key gets back t his musical…
Yann Tiersen: Infinity
Composer/arranger Yann Tiersen is a throwback to the days of concept albums a la Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells: thickly arranged, melodic with moments of drama and panoramic thrills. Here, he mixes strings, percussion, vocals and other various instruments in an…