Every now and then, each person on earth needs to be refreshed by the sounds of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra, and these 2 cd sets of their shows during the WWII era are the perfect oasis of swing and creativity in…
Month: January 2016
SWEET AS CIDER…Karrin Allyson: Many a New Day, Cyrille Aimee: Let’s Get Lost, Stacey Kent: Tenderley
There’s two ways to be successful as a vocalist. One is to have built up range and chops in order to conquer the song; think Sarah Vaughan. The other is to have a tone and means of expression that lures…
MUSIC OR AMBIENCE? Mette Henriette: Mette Henriette, Food: This Is Not a Miracle
So, when does music stop being considered music and re-classified as “background sounds”? Here are a couple albums to help that discussion along. Mette Henriette puts 35 songs together on this two disc release; some under a minute, others up…
Logan Hone: Logan Hone’s Similar Fashion
Lots of free flying ideas bouncing around the walls on this release by Logan Hone/as-bcl, Lauren Baba/viola, Gregory Uhlmann/g and Mike Lockwood/dr. Hone’s sax along with Baba’s viola create some tricky and complex line for melodies which intersect and cross…
CONSUMATE SIDE MAN…Jerome Richardson: Complete 1958-1962 Recordings
Largely forgotten these days, but Jerome Richardson was one of the first-call artists for decades in the LA jazz scene. He is on the classic Mingus albums on Impulse! and is found on many sessions by Hampton, Basie and the…
Fred Locks & David Ondrick: Time to Shine
Here’s a fun filled reggae fest that includes the vocals of Fred Locks and his meeting with director-percussionist, woodwinder, keyboarder-what have you David Ondrick. The bring together a whole slew of musicians that come and go in the background, supplying…
Gilad Hekselman Trio@ The Blue Whale 01.08.16
For guitar fans, Gilad Hekselman showed his bridge linking the past to the future of the six strings as he showed up with the simpatico team of Dave Robaire/b and Jonathan Pinson/dr to deliver material from his latest album Home…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK*****Scott Hamilton & Jeff Hamilton Trio: Live in Bern
Hard to believe it’s been over 40 years since tenor saxist Scott Hamilton set the jazz world on its heels in the 70s and eschewed the popular jazz fusion and returned to swinging acoustic jazz years before the Marsalis family…
BEST VOCALIST YOU NEVER KNEW…Jackie Paris: Sings the Lyrics of Ira Gerswhin/The Song of Paris
On the documentary ‘Tis Autumn, jazz journalist Will Friedwald states that the way to separate “real” jazz fans from the rest of the crowd is if they have any Jackie Paris albums. Paris was the rare combination of being both…
Burak Kaya: Climate Change
Guitarist Burak Kaya comes from Turkey along with his team of Ozan Muslouglui/b and Yinon Muallem/perc for a collection of soothing and adroitly swinging originals. He’s got a delicate tone with a winning lilt, displayed on “Hasankeyf” and “Eylemciler.” The…