Here’s a winning vocalist outing with high baritonist Paul Marinaro, who’s caught in Chicago’s High-Hat Club with Ben Paerson/p, Andy Brown/g, Joe Policastro/b and Mike Avery/dr. He’s able to swing a lyric, able to go laid back on a slinky…
Month: February 2016
Aaron Irwin Quartet: A Room Forever
Clarinetist Aaron Irwin teams with tMatthew McDonald/tb, Pete McCann/g and Thomson Kneeland/b for a gentle collection of soft and flowing originals. The two horns work on forming pastel tones as McCann and Kneeland deliver fragrant rhythms. Irwin’s stick gets moody…
Elikeh: Kondona
Here’s a short and sweet ep by the band Elikeh which mixes Afro funk with ska and a bit of funk on three songs. The bouncy band is made up of Serge Massama Dogo/g-voc, Clayton Englar/fl-ts, Scott Aronson/b, Frank Martins/g,…
Thorgjorn Risager & The Black Tornado: Songs From the Road
Didn’t think Denmark had blues roots? Thorbjorn Risager will make you reconsider as he sings and plays guitar with a swagger on this cd/dvd. Teamed with Peter Skjerning/g, Emi Balsgaard/ey, Saren Gijgaard/b, Martin Seidelin/dr and a supporting and snappy horn…
Ottmar Liebert: Waiting n Swan
Famed for his “world music” albums, guitarist Ottmar Liebert takes us to a country and genre that was the soundtrack for his youth, reggae. As incongruous as that sounds, Ottmar’s flamenco guitar along with Jon Cagan/b and Chris Steele/dr-perc does…
PRESIDENTS OF JAZZ!
Yes, this is the month that we celebrate President’s Day! Whoo Hoo! It used to be the month that we had holidays for our two most important presidents, George Washington (Feb 22) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb 12) but a trade…
SWING AND SING! Jay McShann: Hootie Blues 1941-1955, Martha Tilton: And The Angel Sings 1937-1955, Eve Boswell: Pick’ A Chicken: 1949-1958
UK-based Retrospective Records specializes in bringing back music from the swing-to-bop era. These latest three releases include some vitally important music that reflects an era when jazz was popular. What a concept! If you want to know how far jazz…
BEST OF THE WEST COAST FROM AVID…Manny Albam: Four Classic Albums, Bob Cooper: Four Classic Albums, Teddy Edwards: Four Classic Albums, Russ Freeman: Four Classic Albums
The latest cache from Avid Records focuses on music from the days of “West Coast Cool.” The only problem is that all things California are not cool; there’s a lot of heat emanating from these sounds! Manny Albam is probably…
ZEV FELDMAN : SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT
ONE OF THE JOYS OF JAZZ IS THE UNEXPECTED. IT’S THE FREEDOM OF IMPROVISATION, AND WONDERING WHAT COULD COME NEXT THAT MAKES JAZZ SO EXCITING. NOT ONLY IS THIS TRUE ABOUT JAZZ BEING PERFORMED, BUT IT ALSO APPLIES TO RECORDED…
LARRY CORYELL: THREE ALBUMS, THREE LIVES
GUITARIST LARRY CORYELL HAS RECENTLY REISSUED A THREE CD SET, AURORA CORYELLIS, WHICH REFLECTS THREE DIFFERENT ERAS AND STYLES OF HIS CAREER. DURING THE EARLY 70S, HE WAS ON THE VANGUARD OF THE JAZZ FUSION MOVEMENT WITH HIS BANDS OFFERING…