Few jazz artists make going to a club more enjoyable than John Pizzarelli. He wins the jazz fans over with his formidable guitar chops on the 7 stringer (which he displays here with elan during “I Got Out of Bed…
Month: May 2015
Cyrus Chestnut: A Million Colors In Your Mind
Pianist Cyrus Chestnut continues to bring the joyful sounds that he plays at his local church into the jazz world with this winning trio album with David Williams/b and Victor Lewis/drHis fingers show their nimble versatility on the cheerful swing…
Ben Williams & Sound Effect@The Blue Whale 05.15.15
Bassist Ben Williams showed Friday night at the Blue Whale that the 2+ years spent with Pat Metheny were a wise investment. Leading a team of seasoned pros in Marcus Strickland/ts-ss, Alex Wintz/g, Victor Gould/key-p and Jamire Williams/dr, Williams demonstrated…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anat Cohen: Luminosa
This is the Anat Cohen record I have been waiting for. She mixes some fragrant originals with Brazilian compositions by the likes of Milton Nasciment, Severino Arajo and Romero Lubambo and creates a mix of Latin, Middle East and folksy…
SOUNDS FROM ORIGIN: Chad McCullogh & Bram Weijters: Abstract Quantities, The H2 Big Band: It Could Happen, Scott Hesse Trio: The Stillness of Motion
Seattle-based Origin Records is one of the more diverse independent labels out there. Fresh and vibrant, they never fail to release something worth listening to and talking about, satisfying both red and blue state palates. Warm toned Chad McCullogh/tp and…
Queen Latifah, etc: Bessie-Music From The HBO Film
I have not seen the HBO film “Bessie” which is based on the life and music of Bessie Smith. Judging by this sound track, it seems like a great bet. Queen Latifah plays the role of The Empress of the…
John Stowell/Michael Zilber Quartet: Live Beauty
Cool toned guitarist John Stowell teams up with saxist Michael Zilber and fronts a quartet along with John Shifflett/b and Jason Lewis/dr for a sophisticated set caught at the California Jazz Conservatory n Berkeley, CA back in 2012. Except for…
Lucas Pino: No Net Nonet
Tenor saxist Lucas Pino hails from the Brubeck Institute, The New School and received his Masters Degree from Julliard, so he knows his way around a tune. Here, he puts together a nine pieced band for eleven cleverly arranged tunes…
The Ted Howe Jazz Orchestra: Pinnacle
This album is subtitled “Featuring John Patitucci,” meaning he gets a lot of time in the spotlight, and you can always feel the 6 stringed electric bassist create a swinging pulse on just about everything he’s present on. The horn…
Avishai Cohen Trio: From Darkness
Avishai Cohen leads a rich and flexible trio with Nitai Hershkovitz/p and Daniel Dor/dr though eleven elastic and colorful originals as well as a cozy and intimate reading of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” on this latest release. There’s some wonderfully dynamic…