Here’s a dreamy release by Wolfgang Muthspiel, who plays gracefully on both classical and electric guitar with like minded teammates Ambrose Akiinmusire/tp, Brad Mehldau/p, Larry Grenadier/b and Brian Blade/dr. The themes, ranging from the tribute to a friend on “Den…
Month: November 2016
GENIUS & SOUL…Ray Charles Orchestra: Zurich 1961
This album is Volume 40 of the acclaimed “Swiss Radio Days Jazz Series” and it’s an absolute stunner. Not only does it catch Ray Charles at his artistic peak, but this concert was right at the time he released his…
RE-MASTERED FUSION MASTERS…Return to Forever: Musicmagic, Weather Report: Tale Spinnin’
The company that represents the gold standard in remastering, Audio Fidelity, has released two new Hybrid SACD reissues of vintage fusion from two superbands of the 70s. Hold on tight! By 1977, Return to Forever consisted of Chick Corea/key, Stanley…
THREE FEMALE VOICES…Lauren Bush: All My Treasures, Kristin Chenoweth: The Art of Elegance, Sanna Ruoboniemi: Tales of a Stranger
Think all female vocalists are alike? Here are three sonic sides of a triangle. Lauren Bush has a clear, confident and strong voice, as she delivers vintage and Boomer standards with a team of Liam Dunachie/p-arr, Andrew Robb/b, David Ingamells/dr…
HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT…Kris Kristofferson: The Complete Monument & Columbia Albums Collection
Still undeservedly underappreciated outside of country circles, Kris Kristofferson at 80 is still one of America’s great songwriters. This collection of his 11 very important albums (along with 5 others of extra, bonus and unreleased material) contains his halcyon days…
LEO’S PRIDE…I Am Three: Mingus, Mingus, Mingus, Construction: Centreline Theory, Simon Nabtov Trio: Picking Orders, BBRS: Improvising In The Consulting Room, Sergey Kuryokhin: The Spirit Lives
Fresh and exciting sounds, always stimulating, come from UK-based Leo Records. Here’s a quintet of them… The legacy of Charles Mingus is well maintained in the I Am Three Trio. Consisting of Selke Eberhard/as, Nikolaus Neuser/tp and Christian Marien/dr, the…
EVERY BREATH SHE TAKES…The Tierney Sutton Band: The Sting Variations
One of the strengths of vocalist Tierney Sutton and her long time team of Christian Jacob/p, Kevin Axt-Trey Henry/b and Ray Brinker/dr is that they know how to select themes for their projects. Sutton and company have successfully created homages…
Audrey Silver: Very Early
Vocalist Audrey Silver displays a clever ability to select material on this wide ranging album. She has a warm and husky voice as well as clear enunciation to with her sense of swing, which is in strong display as she…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****WHO IS THIS GUY?!? Jules Farmer: Complete 1959 Imperial Recordings
And you thought Jackie Paris was obscure!!! After listening to this unbelievable reissue of the most obscure of the obscure male vocalists, I did a major Google search on Jules Farmer. All I came up with was references to these…
A BU: Butterflies Fly In Pairs
Don’t feel confused; A Bu is actually a person. Actually named Dai Liang, the Chinese-American prodigy (he’s now about 16) is giving Joey Alexander a run for his money if this ambitious album-dvd is any indication. He wrote everything here,…