I was at a blues fest awhile back, and Kelly Zirbes and her band of Perry Robertson-Rob Zucca/g, Matt McFadden/b, Robert Dill/dr, Pred Mandel/p, Bill Johnston/ts and Dave Welch/tp opened the show with a hard hitting set that sounded like…
Month: August 2016
BET YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF…Sonny Grey: At the II Festival Internacional De Barcelona 1967
How does Fresh Sound find these guys?!? Jamaican born Sonny Grey is one of those guys like Dizzy Reece and Joe Harriott who were impressive on the trumpet, but never got top billing. Grey spent his time with the Kenny…
HISTORY LESSON VIA MUSIC…Joseph C. Smith’s Orchestra, 1916-1925: Songs of the Night
Based in Illinois, Archeophone Records, Archeophone Records specializes in releasing music from the “acoustic era” of recordings, meaning vintage sounds from the 1890s through the Roaring 20s. They fill in important historic and musical gaps through their impressive catalogue. The…
PRE- THAD JONES ORCHESTRA…Mel Lewis: Septet & Sextet
Before becoming known for leading a world famous jazz orchestra with Thad Jones, drummer Mel Lewis had an impressive career with Stan Kenton and even lead a few groups of his own. This single disc has two very impressive small…
A TRIO OF VOCALISTS…Margrete Grarup: Walk With Me, Signe Juhl & Nikolaj Bentzon Trio: A Midsummer Night’s Jazz, June Garber: This I Know
Here are three ladies that are able to create unique and fresh material through either composition or interpretation. Margret Grarup has a husky voice and is able to make it folksy, intimate and flexible. She teams up with Mads Vinding/b,…
AH! Houston Person & Ron Carter: Chemistry
First, a disclaimer: I’m a sucker for a breathy tenor sax, so I’m a devotee of Ben Webster-inspired Houston Person. There’s also a soft spot for duets, as this format can be the most intimate and expressive form of jazz.…
Café Society: Original Soundtrack
One extra beneficial aspect of Woody Allen movies; there’s always good music in the background. This time around he mixes vintage uptown swing from the Rogers and Hart songbook with present day trad vocalist Kat Edmonson, Vince Giordano and the…
PLUG IN! Maynard Ferguson: Complete High Voltage
Back in the mid-80s, trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson left his comfort zone of big band sounds and experimented with electronics and funk grooves. It raised a lot of eyebrows at the time and divided up his followers, but he stuck…
Travis Green: A Little Too Late
Here’s a guy that puts some fun back into the country, rock and blues genre. Travis Green has a BBQ Beans of a voice, teaming up with Kid Anderson/g, Randy Bermudes/b, Jason Hansen/dr, Jim Pugh/key and Nancy Wright/sax on his 10…
David Benoit@Scherr Theatre 08.04.16
Call it contemporary jazz, call it “smooth” call it “fusion,” but whatever you want to label it, David Benoit performed it, and performed it wonderfully during a solo piano concert at the acoustically adroit Scherr Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Jokingly…