Tubby Hayes was one of the few real important jazz artists to come out of England in the post-war years. He played tenor sax and flute, giving hints of both Zoot Sims & Hank Mobley on the former and James…
Month: February 2017
Yotam Silberstein: The Village
The jazz tradition and future melds well on this disc by guitarist Yotam Silberstein and his team of Aaron Goldberg/p, Reuben Rogers/b and Gregory Hutchinson/dr. All four of these gents have carved out respectable careers as leaders and sidemen, serving…
Carol Morgan Quartet: Post Cool
Soft toned trumpeter revisits the mood and sounds of 50s cool with a modern touch on this pianoless quartet with Joel Frahn/ts, Martin Wind/b and Matt Wilson/dr. The team is light on its collective feel as Wilson sets the pace…
Chieko Honda: Aquarelle
Vocalist Chieko Honda got her bonafides from Barry Harris, and mixes jazz with Brazilian Samba with a dash of pop on this highly satisfying album. Her voice is clear, dreamy and upbeat, showing much depth and sensuality with Cesar Garbini’s…
Colin Vallon Trio: Danse
Pianist Colin Vallon creates rich and hymn-like moods on this ruminating trio album with Patrice Moret/b and Julian Sartorious. Vallon’s touch is reflective and rich, like a morning light in a church stained glass window, while Sartorious gently nudges the…
STILL BLUE AFTER 83 YEARS…John Mayall: Talk About That
Talk about playing a winning hand, John Mayall has been cashing in his chips for over half a century with nary a variation on his original blue theme. At 83, Mayall and his team of long standing team of Rocky…
Alex Weitz: Luma
Tenor saxist Alex Weitz drinks deep from the Sonny Rollins well, as his tone has the same deep growl, and he uses it well with the flexible post bop team of Tal Cohen/p, Ben Tiberio/b and Michael Piolet/dr for this…
Johnny Rivers@The Saban 02.10.17
The past few months have seen a plethora of blues rockers play through the City of Angels. Johnny Lang, Joe Bonamassa and Keith Wayne Shepherd just to name a few. Without a scintilla of doubt, the guy that is still…
TRIOS! Yago Vasquez, Jeff Hirshfield, Scott Lee: Second Stream, Omer Klein: Sleepwalkers, Keith Oxman: East of the Village, Ben Rosenblum: Instead
Pianist Yago Vazquez teams up with Scott Lee/b and Jeff Hirshfield/dr for 11 originals of post bop. The team is quite cohesive, working as a communicative unite as Hirshfield’s cymbal dances on “Passing By” and wafts impressionism with Lee’s bass…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****FEVER! Peggy Lee: Swingin’ Brightly and Gently
Miss Peggy Lee is always guaranteed to stump listeners on Blindfold Tests. Depending on the record, people mistake her for a young Billie Holiday, but never a white singer, as she’s got a delivery that was years ahead of most…