Vocalist Nicolas Bearde shows his heart for Johnny Hartman on this attractive collection of sensuously swinging mood tunes. The mixed matched team includes Nat Adderley Jr’s piano on most of the tracks as well as Vincent Herring’s alto on a…
Month: March 2016
The Stryker/Slagle Band Expanded: Routes
The team of Dave Stryker/g and Steve Slagle/as has been as consistently swinging as it has been unheralded over the years. They both have done a few projects apart from each other the past year or two, with Slagle’s duet…
Great On Paper: Great On Paper
Six tracks and 40 minutes used to make up a nice sized album, but now this release by the collective team Great On Paper is relegated to the designation of “ep.” The team consists of Kevin Sun/ts, Isaac Wilson/p, Simon…
Gabriel Mervine: People
His parents were spot-on for naming this guy Gabriel; he plays the trumpet like an angel from heaven. He fronts a team of Eric Gunnison/p-key, Ken Walker/b, Peter Sommer/sax and Steve Kovolcheck/g that punches like Rocky Marciano on this wide…
Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel: This Could Be That
I love the fact that on the back of this album it reads “file under TROPICAL LATIN JAZZ.” Now, THAT’S a genre! But it’s also misleading, as “tropical” sounds more like a Disneyland show than the hard hitting and exciting…
Svetlana & The Delancey Five: Night At The Speakeasy
It’s bands, and albums, like these that kindle your first love for jazz. Vocalist Svetlana Shmulyian swings and sings with a team of Adrian Cunningham/woodwinds, Charlie Caranicas/tp, Dalton Ridenhour/p, Vinny Raniolo/g, George Delancey/b, Rob Garcia/dr and guest Wycliffe Gordon/tb for…
Idan Raichel: At the Edge of the Beginning
Here’s an intimate and warm album by composer, vocalist and pianist Idan Raichel, who weaves a tapestry of pastoral tunes on this gentle release. The accompaniment is Spartan, including cello (Yael Shapira), bass (Gilad Ephrat), guitar (Arie Tuchman) and various…
Arnan Raz: Second To The Left
Tenor saxist Arnan Raz forms a quintet with a velvety front line as he brings alto player Eyal Hal along to the fore with the conversant rhythm team of Daniel Meron/p, Nadav Lachish/b and Dani Danor/dr. The saxes intertwine to…
Jazz Bakery’s “Moveable Feast” Presents: The Bill Laurance Project 03.21.16
If jazz is going to get a foothold in the present generation’s ipod, it is not going to be through mindless and endless cacophonic solos, but through the type of accessible yet swinging music delivered by bands like Snarky Puppy.…
Avishai Cohen: Into The Silence
Space is the place here, and trumpeter Avishai Cohen brings together Bill McHenry/ts, Nasheet Watts/dr, Eric Revis/b and Yonathan Avishai/p for explorations that give a hint of ESP era Miles Davis in terms of interplay and conversation. Cohen’s horn weaves,…