It seems that trumpeter Jeremy Pelt takes a Jekyll and Hyde approach to jazz; he alternates electronic albums with keyboards and funky beats with straightahead acoustic ones. This is his turn for unplugging, and he releases a doozy here with…
Month: March 2015
Jim Snidero: Main Street
Alto sax man Jim SNidero knows his way around a horn. He’s done stints with Sinatra, the Akiyoshi-Tabackin Big Band and the Mingus Big Band, so he can go from melodic to left center field with a swing of the…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jose’ James- Yesterday I Had the Blues: The Music of Billie Holiday
I gotta confess; when I first heard of this project by vocalist Jose’ James, I thought, “Another tribute to Billie Holiday? You’ve gotta be kidding? What more can be done.” Well, my friend, plenty. James plays it real smart here,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Gino Sitson: VoiStrings
Vocalist Gino Sitson doesn’t release an album very often, so when he does you’d better take notice. I saw him in concert at the old Jazz Bakery a number of years ago and couldn’t believe what this guy could make…
The Christian Overton Quintet: The Test
Canadian trombonist and composer Christian Overton puts together an impressive post-bop team through some clever originals on this recent release. Along with Shirantha Beddage/bs-as-bcl, Todd Pentney/p-key, Justin Gray/b and Morgan Childs he combines modal moods of acoustic modern sounds with…
George Gee Swing Orchestra: Swing Makes You Happy!
You gotta love George Gee. I’ve heard 2-3 of his albums by now, and he sticks to his goal of being the primary evangelist for the sounds of the Swing Era. He’s gonna make you a believer on this honey…
The Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra: Future Steps
Directed by Fritz K Renold, the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra is captured at a concert performance at the Jazzar Festival in Switzerland performing eight tunes by the director as well as a closer “Beirut.” There’s also an impressive guest list…
Joe Hakim: Imprints
If you like your jazz trios filled with lyricism and melody, you’ve got a friend here in Joe Hakim. It’s actually not quite a “trio” per se, as hakim p lays both piano and bass (not simultaneously) along with Matt…
Vance Thompson’s Five Plus Six: Such Sweet Thunder
Vance Thompson leads a five man horn section of Michael Wyatt/tp, Joe Jordan/tp, Tylar Bullion/tb and Sean Copeland/btb along with a rhythm section of Keith Brown/key, Taylor Coker/b and Nolan Nevels/dr as well as a reed section of Greb Tardy/ts-bcl,…
Adrienne West with Alessio Menconi: With Love to Ella and Joe
Back in the early 80s Ella Fitzgerald recorded a handful of duet albums with guitarist Joe Pass, and while Ella had by then lost a bit of her chops, she more than made up for it with expression. Vocalist Adrienne…