The New Orleans-based Plunge consists of Mark McGrain/tb-alphorn(?), Robert Walter/org, Kirk Joseph/sous, Simon Lott/dr-perc, Tom Fitzpatrick/ts-fl, James Singleton/b and Tim Green/bs-saxello. As you can see, there are a couple unorthodox instruments here, but the extra textures make the traditional sounds…
Month: July 2015
Barney McClure: Show Me!
Barney McClure takes his Hammond B3 and pits it up against a hard swinging big band to a 6 gun-shoot-out of a draw here with some fun and hard hitting charts of originals and standards. You get some shuffling boogie…
Adam Shulman Sextet: Here/There
Do you miss the sounds of vintage Blue Note albums by the likes of The Jazz Messengers? Fear not-pianist Adam Shulman sounds like a hard bop oasis as he brings together Mike Olmos/tp, Patrick Wolff/as, Rob Roth/ts, John Wiitala/b and…
GUITARS IN FRONT…Albare: Only Human, Brad Myers: Prime Numbers, Hugo Fernandez: Cosmogram, John Tropea: Gotcha Rhythm Right Here
Once upon a time, the defining jazz instrument was the trumpet; then the tenor, then alto, then piano, and nowadays the dominant instrument seems to be the six stringed axe. Here are three albums that feature the guitar in divergent…
Luis Perdomo & Controlling Ear Unit: Twenty Two
Pianist Luis Perdomo teams up with all stars Mimi Jones/b and Rudy Royston/dr for an impressive trio workout on this collection of originals minus one. The clever reading of the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love” is a thoughtful…
CROONERS…Gloria Reuben: Perchance to Dream, Peter Oprisko: Lost in a Kiss, Michael Dees: The Dream I Dreamed
Here are some vocalists that emphasize the romantic moods. Gloria Reuben teams up with Jay Ashby/tb, Marty Ashby/g, Alton Merrill/key, Tony DePaolis/b, Thomas Wendt/dr and George Jones/perc for some breathy and easy listening tunes. Her voice has a hint of Cheryl…
The Sideshow Tragedy: Capital
The two piece band here consists of Jeremy Harrell and Nathan Singleton who specialize in “roots rock”which means having a foot in the tradition of earthy blues as well as having modern indie tendencies. The pull in both directions is felt…
Joanna Pascale: Wildflower
Vocalist Joanna Pascale has a husky voice and uses space and intonation well on this collection of standards. She’s teamed with a bunch of all stars, including Cyrus Chestnut, Orrin Evans, Christian McBride and Kurt Rosenwinkel. She displays a fragile…
SOUNDS OF ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ
Some guys just seem to have the Midas touch. John Hammond, the guy who gave us Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen had it. So does Quincy Jones, who’s had his finger on…
KYLE EASTWOOD’S PIECE OF TIME WITH JAZZ
BASSIST KYLE EASTWOOD HAS BEEN BUILDING UP AN IMPRESSIVE CAREER AS A JAZZ BASSIST. HIS MOST RECENT ALBUM, TIME PIECES, IS FILLED WITH TRIBUTES TO THE BLUE NOTE ERA OF HARD BOP, WITH TIPS OF THE BERET TO HORACE SILVER…