Drummer Daniel Freedman leads an exotic and warm team of Lionel Loueke/g-voc, Fason Lindner/p-key, Omer Avital/b-oud and Gilmar Gomes/perc through some thoughtful and moving originals and one indie cover. Of the latter, Radiohead’s “Codex” is a cleverly arranged piece, opening…
Month: July 2016
Labtrio: The Howls Are Not What They Seem
Lander Gyselinck/dr, Anneleen Boehme/b, Bram De Looze/key, Michael Attias/sax and Christopher Hoffman/cel make up the freely flowing team Labtrio. The clever combination of bass and cello make for some rich lower tones, as the strings bow and pick their way…
Maggie Herron: Between The Music & The Moon
Maggie Herron impresses on this album not just with her voice, but with the double barrel of composing all of the pieces here. She teams up with LA all stars Bill Cunliffe/p-arr, Grant Geissman/g, Abe Lagrimas/dr, Dean Taba/b, Alex Acuna/perc…
Kandace Springs: Soul Eyes
Vocalist Kandace Springs delivers an album that gives two dimensions to the phrase “old soul.” On one hand, the Larry Klein produced album has the vocalist teamed up with Vinnie Colaiuta/dr, Terence Blanchard/tp, Jessie Harris/g, Dan Lutz/b, Pete Kuzma/p-key has…
WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO ANY OTHER TENOR? Stan Getz: Quartet 1960
Yes, I know! Someone’s going to contact me and get on my case about John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins. Don’t even bring up anyone after those guys; just remember that during the time this recording was made, John Coltrane was…
Luis Perdomo: Montage
Pianist Luis Perdomo goes solo on this lyrical and flowing album that mixes original themes with some richly interpreted covers. His heart is in the Latin Quarter, with his reading of “Si Te Contrara” and “Mambo Mongo” filled with percolated…
Matt Wilson’s Big Happy Family: Beginning of a Memory
Felicia Wilson must have been a wonderful helpmate for husband Matt. After a 4 year battle with leukemia, she finally left her partner, but judging by the music on this album dedicated to her, she (as with all good wives)…
Matt Von Roderick: Hero’s Journey
Trumpeter Matt Von Roderick attempts to bridge the gap between traditional jazz and modern urban sounds on this album filled with attitude. The cover has him with some women that look like they came out of a modern Roman bacchanal,…
Roy Hargrove’s Quintet@ Catalina’s 07.14.16
It was a mysterious night at Catalina’s for Roy Hargrove’s first set of his weekend long run. Once perennially one of jazz’s top 2 or 3 trumpeters, Hargrove hasn’t released a new album for over 6 years. This evening, he…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Allen Toussaint: American Tunes
Here’s the final recording by New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint. It’s an absolute beaut, and not just because it’s his adieu. The man that gave us such songs as “Yes We Can Can” and “Mother In Law” mixes originals with…