The band Hirie consists of vocalist Hirie along with a team of Cris Hampton/sax, Andrew McKee/tb, Andy Flore/b, Blaine Dillinger/g, John Asher/dr, Dan Hastie/B3-p and various other guests. The sound is based on reggae with dashes of calypso. The most…
Month: November 2016
Robin Barnes: Songbird Sessions
This five song ep (which would have passed for an entire album 20 years ago, but that’s another story) features earth toned vocalist Robin Barnes in an intimate setting. She mixes her voice with Pat Casey/b, Danny Abel-Steve Masakowski/g and…
John Brown’s Body: Fireflies
The band John Brown’s Body has been delivering reggae for twenty years, and are still sounding frsth. The mix of the irresistible beat with earthy horns continues to work on their most recent album. Vocalist Elliot Martin has a rich…
Takuya Kuroda: Zigzagger
Japanese Kakuya Kuroda mixes jazz with synthetic soul sounds on this funky mix of originals. He teams up with guests Corey King/tb, Rashaan Carter/b, Adam Jackson/dr and Takeshi Ohbayashi/key, and together the veer between hip hoppy sounds like “Do They…
John Pisano’s Guitar Night@Viva Cantina 11.15.16
As guitar legend John Pisano joked, “Django Reinhardt would not have worked in a Mexican restaurant!” But what does it matter in Los Angeles, as Pisano brought a band together that delivered a fitting tribute to the famous Belgian artist,…
OYE! Roberto Fonseca: ABUC
Pianist Roberto Fonseca continues is branching out from the Buena Vista Social Club and delivers here a knockout punch filled with more sparks than the exhaust pipe of a 57 Chevy. He shows his solo chops on a riveting…
BREATHE IN THE AIR…Pink Floyd: The Early Years 1962-1972 Cre/ation
Clear out some space on your book shelf, as this 27 cd boxed set with books and other goodies is going to take up some room. Legacy Recordings brings out the nascent and halcyon days of Pink Floyd, just before…
George Cables: The George Cables Songbook
Pianist George Cables demonstrates on this release not only his sensitive and technical touch on the piano, but his work with the pen as he interprets his own compositions on both instrumental and vocal form. The brings together Essiet Essiet/b,…
Nancy Harrow: The Song Is All
Vocalist Nancy Harrow first got my attention a couple of years ago when I came across a reissue of her 1961 classic Wild Women Don’t Have The Blues. Her sense of fun and swing was infectious,; since then I’ve heard…
Tami Neilson: Don’t Be Afraid
Vocalist Tami Neilson has a rich Patsy Cline-influenced delivery, and she uses it in a variety of dark settings with Dave Khan/g-str, Ben Woolley/b, Joe McCallum/dr and Delaney Davidson/g. The feel is mid 50s Santo and Johnny mood as on…