Here’s a debut album by a lady with an attractive delivery, and even better, she writes her own stuff! Lisa Donna teams up with a hip team of Peter Smith/key, Jonathan Flaugher/b, Robert Perkins/dr, Keith Fiddmont/sax, Nolan Shaheed/tp, John Storie/g…
Month: August 2014
Al Jarreau@The Grammy Museum 08.19.14
Celebrating 74 ½ years on earth and 50 of them in the “ministry of music,” multi Grammy winner Al Jarreau spent an evening at the Grammy Museum discussing his latest album My Old Friend and it’s inspiration, the musical and…
THIS IS A TRUMPET 101…Clifford Brown: Brownie Speaks-the Complete Blue Note Recordings
Just like it takes reading the Bible to see how far you have missed the mark, it takes listening to Clifford Brown’s trumpet to objectively observe the descent of trumpet players. This gold standard of a 2 cd set reissues everything…
PULL IT! Trigger Alpert’s Absolutely All Star Seven: Trigger Happy
Here’s a wonderful cameo appearance of a bassist; Trigger Alpert worked in Glenn Miller’s Orchestra and was a sideman for the likes of Armstrong, Ella and Roy Eldridge before hanging it all up to become a photographer in 1970. He must…
VINTAGE NEWPORT JAZZ FEST! Duke Ellington: Live at Newport 1958, Newport 58, The Original Album, The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Newport 1958, Lionel Hampton: Reunion at Newport 1967, Ella Fitzgerald: Newport Jazz Festival; Live At Carnegie Hall July 5, 1973
AH! The Newport Jazz Festival! Just when I start getting burned out listening to navel gazing on ECM records, I get a shot of adrenalin like these reissued (and new) recordings from various Newport shows from people who know…
Robben Ford: A Day in Nashville
With so many bluesy guitarists around these days, it might be hard to realize that Robben Ford has been on a creative roll the past few years. He put out a couple of sessions teamed with Larry Carlton that are…
Nick Grinder: Ten Minutes
Trombonist Nick Grinder puts together some bopping funk here with a collection of his own tunes with Charlotte Greve/as, Manuel Schmiedel/p, Jason Burger/dr and Sam Anning/b. He’s got a warm and rich tone and can use it for long tones…
Karen Mantler: Business is Bad
Subdued and quirky music is prevalent on Karen Mantler’s latest release. She sings with a fragile wisp, and teamed up with the simpatico support of Doug Wielselmann/g-bcl and Kato Hideki/b she tells fragrant stories with prismatic sounds. She herself plays…
Chick Corea & The Vigil @Catalina’s 08.12.14
When you take in a show by the inquisitive creativity and continuous musical exploration of an artist like 73 year old Chick Corea , you can’t help but wonder if he’s discovered either the fountain of youth or the wisdom…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Benjamin Taubkin: Al Qantara-The Bridge
If you’ve been a bit skeptical of the melding of jazz and sounds from the Middle East, here’s the perfect intro. Pianist Benjamin Taubkin mixes and matches musicians from Brazil and Morocco to create an almost Kind of Blue-ish mood,…