Tenor saxophonist Rich Halley delivers a loosely swinging album with free spirits Vinny Golia/bs-bcl, Michael Vlatkovich/tb, Carson Halley/dr and Clyde Reed/b through a collection of originals that feel like vintage 60s Mingus material. The mix of Halley’s dark and pungent…
Month: October 2016
Ben Chatwin: Heat & Entropy
Do you miss Kraftwerk or Soft Machine? Ben Chatwin mixes string instruments and electronics to create synthetic moods on this collection of 9 originals. Chiming vibe sounds, effects and noodles are felt on the moody “Inflexion” and lectronically pulsating “Gravitational…
Wynton Marsalis with JALCO and the CSUN “A” Band@Valley Performing Arts Center 10.08.16
The past, present and future of jazz was delivered at the VPAC Gala Event Saturday night. In opposition to today’s political scene, conductor and director Matt Harris pointed to positive days ahead as he lead the CSUN “A” Band through…
Tony DeSare@Pepperdine Smothers Theatre 10.07.16
I’m not going to publicly degrade any artist, but after watching a solo concert by Tony DeSare, I have to ask you in all honesty, why are people (and maybe even YOU) listening to that guy who’s last name rhymes…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****BEST PIANO TRIO? The Fred Hersch Trio: Sunday Night At The Village Vanguard
I realize that “the best” is always a subjective thing, but the fact is that I return to Fred Hersch’s music more often than any other trio around. This team of Hersch with John Hebert/b and Eric McPherson/dr have been…
GET OUT YOUR SHARKSKIN SUIT…Jazz In The Movies: Shotgun Slade/Burke’s Law
OK, so technically the two albums on this cd are not from movies, but TV shows in the early 60s. Still, you’re gonna thank Fresh Sound Records for continuing to dig up these treasures that I’m sure NO ONE has…
FROM MACHU PICHU WITH LOVE…Damian Draghici: The American Dream
How many albums with Peruvian pan pipes do you have that aren’t filled with traditional folk music? I’m willing to bet that this one by Damian Draghici is going to be your first. He takes the unwieldy instrument, teams up…
A Tribute to Toots Thielemans: We Do It Out Of Love
Every Chromatic harmonica player worth his Horner gets on this album to deliver a tip of the hat to pioneer Toots Thielemans. Alex Rossi, Gabriel Grossi, Gregoire Maret, Antonio Serrano, Franco Luciani and Olivier Ker Ourio mix and match in…
TWO TRIOS…Uri Caine: Calibrated Thickness, Kevin Hays’ New Day Trio: North
Piano trios are one of the most flexible units in jazz. Here are two that are like rubber bands. Pianist Uri Caine teams up with drummer Clarence Penn and bassist Mark Helias for a freewheeling collection of originals. The themes…
STRING ALONG…Jerry Goodman: Violin Fantasy, Pat Muchmore: Babel Fragments, Maya Beiser: Tranceclassical
Strings come in various sizes and shapes on these three albums that mix strings with swing. Violinist Jerry Goodman earned a well deserved reputation with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Here, he creates music that seems made for a movie soundtrack. Some…