Pianist/keyboardist Greg Spero leads a diverse trio of Makaya McCraven/dr and Junius Paul/b which includes a mix of electronic that feels like an indie movie soundtrack to intriguing acoustic jazz, with even a bit of pop thrown in. Of the…
Month: January 2015
VOCE FEMME…Malonie Carre: Forever, Maggie Herron: Good Thing, Sonya Perkins: Dream a Little Dream
The mix of jazz and the voice of a woman. Voila! Malonie Carre leads a quartet through a collection of collaborations with Gianny Lared and a couple covers on this well tuned set. Her voice is a bit brassy and…
Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Blue
So, the first thing I do with this disc is pop it in my player. Is something wrong? Did I get the wrong cd? It sounds like someone slipped in Miles Davis’ classic 1959 Kind of Blue album. Well, that’s…
Bill O’Connell & The Latin Jazz All Stars: Imagine
Pianist Bill O’Connell leads a swinging team of Conrad Herwig/tb, Steve Slagle/ss-as, Luques Curtis/b Richie Barshay/dr and Richie Flores/perc through a sizzling collection of mostly originals. The percussion is infectious on pieces such as the driving “Stepping Stones” and the…
SOUL MUSIC…The Staples Singers: Faith and Grace
Subtitled “A Musical Journey,” this four disc (limited edition) box set is a rich collection of one of the most important gospel groups to transfer over into the world of pop music. Covering 1953-76 the anthology includes several highly rare…
Lisa Mills: I’m Changing
Here’s the type of lady that is as rare as shrimp at a bar mitzvah. Lisa Mills brings back the spirited blues feel of Bonnie Bramlett and Bonnie Raitt with a stunning and heart felt collection of 11 originals as…
A FORGOTTEN LEGEND…Tony Scott: Germany 1957/Asia 1962
When you think of clarinet players, the names Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Buddy DeFranco usually come to mind, and the conversation quickly dies. Most people forget that there was another artist who was big on the licorice stick, but…
Genesis: Sum of the Parts
Finally a documentary that captures the true and unadultered history of the famed rock group Genesis. 20 years ago, I would have called them “the famed progressive rock group” but that status has changed and now they are a band…
Quinn Deveaux & The Blue Beat Review: Originals
If you have ears for a time when music was happy, rawy, energetic and organic, get a load of Quinn Deveaux. He’s got an earnest honey tenured voice, plays rhythm guitar, and leads a team of Kenan Obrien/b, Chris Seibert/key,…
Backbeat Soundsystem: Together Not Apart
Here’s an infectious collection of original reggae material provided by the Backbeat Soundsystem. The team consists of Dean Forrest-Darren Kendall/voc, Zac Harkavy/dr, Jon Symons/b, Sam Parsons/g, Elf Forrest/key and a snappy horn section of Lawrence Willoughby/tp and Tom Neale/sax. Upbeat…