Vocalist Dena Taylor mixes jazz with a bit of country/western here on this album of covers and one new piece. The team of Floyd Domino/key, Ernie Durawa/dr, Terry Hale-Brad Taylor/b, Redd Volkaert/g and Joe Colarusso/sax make well for Taylor to…
Month: May 2016
Yellowjackets: Cohearence
Still together after 35+ years and various incarnations, the Yellowjackets still sound fresh and bright. Russell Ferrante and Bob Mintzer are still around, with Dane Alderson/b and William Kennedy/dr-synth being the newest members since Haslip and Bailey have moved on.…
Nils Okland Band: Kjolvatn
Violinist Nils Okland may hail from Norway, but the sounds and moods he emits on this recording could make you think that at times you’re in Gaellic country or even the Western Sahara. Hints of Irish folk and the Sahel…
TWO SIDES OF PAT METHENY…Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions, Cuong Vu Meets Pat Metheny
One of the things that has created such a devoted following for guitarist Pat Metheny is that each recording seems like a personal quest. Never does he rest on his laurels; he takes his fans on his musical sojourns. Here…
Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke
Here’s a summit meeting between two sensitive spirits that also have a sense of adventure. Pianist Vijay Iyer teams with outside trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith for an album with a seven part suite as its major focal point. The suite…
OH, YEAH!! Rhythm ‘N’ Bayous: A Road Map to Louisiana Music
All that’s missing is the fried chicken on this documentary by Robert Mugge. What you get here is a cozy and intimate tour of Louisiana’s diverse music scene, including the North Counties, New Orleans and Baton Rouge and the Southwestern…
Bill Charlap Trio@Catalina’s 05.06.16
There aren’t many mainstream jazz pianists around anymore; they all seem to have gone to either the dark side of dissonance or to meditative navel gazing. Bill Charlap with his long time trio of Peter Washington/b and Kenny Washington/dr keep…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ibrahim Maalouf: Kalthoum
Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf put out an impressive album back in 2013 titled Wind, but nothing could portend the power of this latest release. He delivers a tribute to famed Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum by taking an hour-long song of…
SOUNDS FROM THE AGES…Arsen Petrosyan: Charentsavan
You know that you’re getting the real deal of Armenian music when the album label is Pomegranate Music. Arsen Petrosyan has an album subtitled “Music For Armenian Duduk,” an instrument which is sort of a pre-western clarinet. It has a…
HARPERS’ BAZAARE…Gregoire Maret: Wanted, Yvonnick Prene: Breathe, Hendrik Meurkens: Harmonica Rex,
When you think of the harmonica, usually blueswailing comes to your mind. These two releases have artists playing the more jazz-friendly chromatic harp. Think Toots Thielman. Lots to like here! Gregoire Maret uses his writing skill, socializing skills and expert…