Vocalist Sara Gazarek and pianist/arranger Josh Nelson have been staples of the LA scene for years, usually performing together in small group gigs around town. For this album, they played to their strengths and deliver a definitive album for each…
Month: September 2016
The DIVA Jazz Orchestra: Special Kay!
Stanley Kay had a successful career as back-up drummer and manager for the Buddy Rich Band; he’s also credited for coming up with the idea of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, which returns the favor by putting together an album of…
Yoser Rodriguez: Pollen
Yoser Rodriguez plays bass, acoustic guitar and even sings with a core team of Jeremy Ledbetter/p-key-perc and Luis Orbegoso/perc and a rotating guest list of vocals, percussion, strings, keyboards and horns. He possesses a warm and honey’d voice in his…
Daniel Bennett Group: Sinking Houseboat Confusion
While the back cover shows Daniel Bennett holding a flute, alto sax and oboe, he actually is not heard on the double reed instrument, but on the clarinet instead on this album. He also plays piano on this succinct album…
Dan St. Marseille Quintet: Invitation
Warm sounds and grooves abound on this rech and accessible mainstream session by Dan St. Marseille. He plays tenor and clarinet as he teams up with the solid group of Claudio Roditi/tp-fh, Bill Cunliffe/p, Roger Shew/b and Paul Kreibich/dr. The…
Szilard Mezei Septet: CET
Music influenced by George Russell and what was once called “Third Stream” is given a second look by the team of Szilard Mezei/va, Andrea Berendika/fl, Bogdan Rankovic/as-bcl, Branislav Aksin/tb, Mate Pozsar/p, Ervin Malina/b and Istvan Gsik/dr. Even the titles have…
Idiotfish: Idiotfish 3
The team of Wally Schnalle/dr, Hristo Vitchev/g and Dan Robbins/b get together for a fun frolic that head fakes to jazz and leans to rock. Vitchev’s electric work gets assertive on the groove pieces like “Roses Are Drugs” and “Spun.”…
Steve Cole: Turn It Up
Too muscular to be called “Smooth Jazz,” this album by saxist Steve Cole feels like an instrumental Earth Wind and Fire session, with lots of R&B grooves and moods. The core team includes David Mann/key, Ricky Peterson/B3, Bernd Schoenhart/g, Khari …
Joshua Redman & Brad Mehldau: Nearness
When I first saw this, I thought “Oh, just like Redman with The Bad Plus, we’re going to get another mix and match session.” No way; this is the kind of duet album that you beg for. Two simpatico buddies,…
Steffen Kuehn: Leap of Faith
Trumpeter Steffen Kuehn shows his skills at both playing the horn and arranging on this upbeat collection of mostly originals. Instead of featuring himself, he likes showing off his horn section of him with John Gove/tb, Tom E Politzer/ts and…