The last time I was this excited about a male jazz vocalist was when Gregory Porter had his debut album. Here, you’ve got this guy Sidney Jacobs who sings, writes and arranges his own stuff and displays an amazing wide…
Month: April 2017
GENTLE STRINGS…Nate Najar: This is Nate Najar
You know it’s going to be a good album when you see a guy playing an acoustic guitar on the front cover, and on the rear liner notes there is a dominance of material composed by Chick Corea and Tom…
DRUM UP BUSINESS… Peter Erskine: New Trio-In Praise of Shadows, Peter Erskine and the Dr. UM Band: Second Opinion
Drummer Peter Erskine shows the breadth and depth of his talents on these two diverse releases. He leads a sensitive and communicative trio with Damian Erskine/eb and Vardan Ovsepian/key on material that gives hints to sounds and songs from Japan.…
Bohemian Trio: Okonkolo
Yosvany Terry brings his saxes and percussion to form a unique trio with pianist Orlando Alonso and cellist Yves Dharamraj. The three mix folk harmonies and rhythms with European chamber sounds and improvisation for some enchanting moments. Percussion and alto…
INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM INNOVA…Mari Kimura: Voyage Apollonian, Dana Jessen: Carve
Intriguing experimental ideas deliver pleasing results on these two albums from Innova Records. Julliard professor Mari Kimura plays her violin with an interactive computer to include sounds that explore the undertones and subtones of her instrument. She creates the appearance…
SIX SLEEK STRINGS…Shambhu: Soothe, Baron Tymas: Montreal
A pair of guitarists who lean toward rich sounds and tones. Guitarist Shambhu performs music with his acoustic and electric guitars that is reminiscent of vintage New Age material delivered from Windham Hill. Paul McCandless brings his English horn and…
Nick Finzer: Hear & Now
Trombonist/composer Nick Finzer teams up with Alex Wintz/g, Glenn Zaleski/p, Dave Baron/b, Jimmy Macbride and Lucas Pino/bcl-ts to create a musical form of political statement. While the titles of each piece have politically motivated themes, you don’t have to be…
Austin Hanks: Alabastard
Alabama native Austin Hanks is rootsy and gritty on this album produced by guitarist Billy Gibbons, who brings some ZZ toppings to the scene. Hanks has a Bruce Springsteen-flavored urgency and tone to his voice, which works well in this…
Jihye Lee Orchestra: April
Berklee School student Jihye Lee brings together a 20 piece orchestra of faculty members for an interpretation of her compositions that reflect the tragedy of the Sewol ferry capsizing and killing more than 300 of its passengers. The six songs…
Rich Hirsch’s Big Ol’ Band: Pocono Git-Down
Conductor/composer Rick Hirsch puts together a modern sounding big band that packs a wallop. The rhythm section of Steve Rudolph/key, Tim Breon/g, Jeff Beck/b, Kevin Lowe/dr and Bob Velez are able to go from a New Orleans street fest on…