Hard to know what to make of this album that pianist Orrin Evans has put together wit a core team of Christian McBride/b and Karriem Riggins/dr with a couple guests. Part of the time he evokes impressions of McCoy Tyner…
Month: October 2015
James Brandon Lewis: Days of Freeman
Last year tenor saxist James Brandon Lewis released an impressive Divine Travels that spotlighted his strong tone in a forward thinking atmosphere. This time around, he doesn’t take a step forward or back, but sideways as he mixes jazz with…
MUSIC FROM THE REAGAN ERA…Michael Manring: Unusual Weather, Darol Anger/Barbara Higbie Quintet: Live At Montreux
You know that you’re getting old when “New Age” music is actually old! At one time before Clinton #1 became president, there was a label Windham Hill which started a whole new craze of music. Emphasizing space and melody with…
A PAIR OF THREES AND AN ACE…Jakub Rojek Trio: Impish Brevity, Cudawianki; Mitchel Forman Trio: Puzzle
Here are a pair of impressive piano trios, displaying the art of small group joy.One trio pairs down to one as well. Pianist Jakub Rojek teams up with Dominic Drwal/b and Nicholas Anderson for eight originals that deliver elastic and…
Vladan: Ornaments
NYC based pianist Vladan Mijatovic drops his last name and goes solo piano on this impressive release of originals. His touch has a hint of his Balkan background-Eastern European classicism is felt on the warmth of his notes and lyricism…
Rob Reddy: Bechet-Our Contemporary
Soprano saxist Rob Reddy brings up to date the music, sound and feel of one jazz’s founding father, Sidney Bechet. Mixing Bechet’s material with his own, and using what seems to be an unorthodox collection of musicians in John Carlson/tp,…
A HIP RE-VISITIATION…Claude Bolling: Suite For Flute & Jazz Piano
Yes, once upon a time jazz made some daring music. Here, you’ve got jazz pianist/composer Claude Bolling returning to his classic 1975 album of combining classical sounds with the added sounds of small symphony, as well as this time along with jazz flutest…
Lorraine Feather: Flirting With Disaster
Vocalist/composer Lorraine Feather is sort of a Tom Waits-Mort Sahl kind of jazzer. She writes songs about people and issues that normally fall through the cracks and gives an insight into the foibles of life in a thoughtful, winsome and…
Maxwell Gualtieri: For Los Angeles
What you’ve got here from Maxwell Gualtieri is a solo electric guitar creating various sounds and distortions over a pair of opus-like “tunes” for 26 and 34 minutes. The first, “A Dance” is a mix of Metal Machine Music by…
COME SWING WITH ME! Matt Forbes: Coulda Woulda Shoulda, Patrick Williams: Home Suite Home
Swing is still the thing on these two releases, and nothing sounds re-hashed or nostalgic here. It’s as hot and piping as rolls at Pat’s Steak House in Philly. Is Matt Forbes a poser? Well, he’s definitely posing in a…