The quartet of Marco Preti/g, Giovanni Micucci/b, Marco Cassai/dr and Potito Macchiarella/key mix some rock sensibilities like Boston and add dashes of the jazz-rock intellectualism of Steely Dan on this collection of 10 instrumentals and one vocal. You get some…
Month: August 2016
WHO ARE YOU?
It’s a simple question, but can be answered many ways with a plethora of aspects. I remember one time I was at John Pisano’s Guitar Night, and the guest was a young, more modern six stringer. Pisano asked between songs…
HOPEFULLY ONLY A QUARTER WAY THERE…Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Volume 21
I’ve listened to the first 20 Volumes of Storyville’s collection of Duke Ellington’s radio broadcasts, and after taking in the 21st 2 cd set, I have only one thing to say, “MORE!” Most of the material here has Ellington’s band…
FORGOTTEN SIX STRINGER…Rene’ Thomas: Quintet/Guitar Groove
European guitarist Rene’ Thomas isn’t exactly a household name in most jazz circles, but if you dig deep, your appreciation will grow. He’s got a sound and delivery similar to Jim Raney and Tal Farlow, and has graced bands and…
BON TON ROULET…Christian Chevallier: His Orchestra and Small Groups 1955-1961
Here’s what Fresh Sound Records does best; find a guy you’ve never heard of, and make you wonder why you don’t have more of his material. Case in point… Christian Chevallier was a French composer and a leader of small…
Nils Landgren with Janis Siegel: Some Other Time
In both classical and jazz there have been a surfeit of tributes to Leonard Bernstein. This one with the vocals trombonist Nils Landgren and Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel supported by either members of the Bochumer Symphoniker or Landgren’s quartet with…
Duke Ellington: Sacred Concerts
There needs to be a little truth in advertising here, as while the music is culled from Duke Ellington’s three famed sacred concerts, the material is presented by Fette Hupe’s Big Band, with Jorn Marcussen-Wulff as the artistic director and…
Bob Mintzer: All L.A. Band
Tenor saxist Bob Mintzer teams up with drum legend Peter Erskine for a fun and hard hitting big band mix and match with some of LA’s finest. Wayne Bergeron/tp, Bob McChesney/tb, Bob Sheppard/ts, Russ Ferrante/p and Larry Koonse/g are just…
Victor Gould: Clockwork
Here’ s a guy that is going to impress you. Pianist and composer, Victor Gould has both a gracious sound on his instrument and a clever handle of the pen. The core here is the “classic” sextet of trumpet (Jeremy…
Security Project: Live1
The team of Jerry Marotta/dr, Trey Gunn/g, David Jameson/key and Michael Cozzi/g work with vocalist Brian Cummins for a series of concert recordings from a 2015 European tour of the band. There are lots of synthesized grooves, rock guitars and…