Call me silly, call me old fashioned, but don’t call me late for dinner-I’m just a sucker for a warm toned tenor, and Jan Kus (who also plays soprano here) fits the bill stupendously here. He has a core team…
Month: November 2016
Pablo Held Trio: Lineage
Pianist Pablo Held brings together his trio of Robert Landfermann/b and Jonas Burgwinkel/dr for an intimate conversation around his originals. Held grasps an influence from Bill Evans with his intricate and delicate touch, as he creates a digital web with…
DUCAL DELIGHTS…Ed Neumeister: Suite Ellington
Trombonist Ed Neumeister explores the underappreciated small group sound and vision of Duke Ellington on this album with Billy Drewes/as-cl, Jim Rotondi/tp-fh, Fritz Pauer/p, Peter Herbert/b and Jeff Ballard/dr. Neumeister wisely gives homage to the harmonies and textures of Ellington…
Kokko Quartet: Orient Express
Technically, you’ve got a quartet here with Kaisa Sirrala/wwinds, Johanna Pitkanen/key, Timo Tupperainen/b and Risto Takala/dr, but percussionist Ricardo Padilla makes it a quintet for half the tunes, so who’s counting? You get a variety of moods here, and it…
Bill Johnson: Cold Outside
Ah! The blues with a guy named Johnson! What more could you want? Here, you’ve got Bill Johnson on all the guitars and singing with a rough and ready voice. He’s teamed up with Rick Erickson/b, Darcy Phillips-David Vest-p—org and…
Saltman Knowles: Almost
Bassist Mark Saltman and pianist William Knowles team up for some fluid sounds on this mix of post bop and standards. The concluding team of Keith Killgo/dr, Grant Langford/sax and “DeAndre Schaifer/tp keeps the feel upbeat on the swinging “Alias”…
Daniela Schachter: Vanheusenism
Vocalist/pianist Daniela Schachter gives a tribute to the famed songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen. Not a bad call, as he’s penned some of the best jazz tunes ever. She treates them right, along with Mike Tucker/ts, Michael O’Brien/b and Mark Walker/dr.…
Francisco Pais: Verde
Francisco Pais teams up his guitar and voice along with the open minded team of Myron Walden/ts, Godwing Louis/as, Julian Shore/p, Connor Schultze/b and Ferenc Nemeth/dr to create a mixing of moods and styles. At times the band gives off…