Vocalist Marlene VerPlanck gives old school charm and delivery in a mix of small group and big band performances. With the Glenn Franke Big Band, she clearly enunciates with an easy swing on the title track, and flies over the…
Month: January 2015
Sam Newsome: The Straight Horn of Africa-A Path to Liberation
This is Sam Newsome’s second Art of the Soprano, and here he uses that one instrument do deliver 20 songs that capture the rhythms, sounds and mood of African music. It’s quite an adventure, as he employs various forms of…
Eric Johnson & Mike Stern (or was it Mike Stern & Eric Johnson?) @ Canyon Club 01.25.15
Sunday night just might have been the highlight of Guitar Month here in LA. At the Canyon Club, fresh off recording their smoking Eclectic album, guitarists from two different worlds descended from Mt. Olympus to give the citizens of their…
Jamie Cullum@Largo 01.24.15
Like the British Invasion of the 60s, Jamie Cullum has taken the American jazz that inspired him in his UK home, put his own blend on it, and brought it back to the US shores with a new album (Interlude)…
Jonathan Kreisberg: Wave Upon Wave
Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg delivers some adroit post bop material here with Will Vinson/ts, Rick Rosato/b, Colin Stranahan/dr and Kevin Hays/p. His tone is warmer than cool and softer than hard, and emphasizes clear #2 pencil lines on gently cantering pieces…
Trace Adkins: Live Country!
Major guilty pleasure. If you aren’t donating to The Wounded Warrior Project because of him, then you simply don’t have a heart. Second, you’ve got to love all of the biker roles that he plays in movies. He seems so…
Chris Lomheim: Timeline
Pianist Chirs Lomheim leads an intuitive and impressive trio here with Gordon Johnson/b and Jay Epstein/dr through a Decalogue of originals. What will strike you about the pianist is that he has a rich, thick and resonant touch on the …
FREEDOM AND FORM…Dan Weiss: Fourteen, Steve Lehman Octet: Mise en Abime
Any new sounds and directions under the sun? Here are a couple of releases that are reminiscent of the heady days of mid to late 60s Blue Note, when bop was busting out into freedom Drummer Dan Weiss puts together…
Allison Au Quartet: The Sky Was Pale, Then Grey
Nominated in Canada for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, this disc is an impressive display of the playing and composing skills of alto saxist Allison Au. Her quartet is composed of Todd Pentney/key, Jonathan Maharaj/b, Fabio Ragnelli/dr and…
Emma Donovan & The Putbacks: Dawn
Emma Donovan has an old school R&B grit to her voice that sounds like when was weaned on Stax and Atco records on this collection of originals. The team of Justin Marshall/perc, Simon Mavin/Key, Tom Martin/g, Rory McDougall/dr and Mick…