It could be easily argued that Jimmy Reed is rock and roll’s most influential artist. His patented style of blues boogie sound, which he created with soul-mate sideman guitarist Eddie Taylor, has been imitated by black and white artists in…
Month: August 2017
THIS IS WEST COAST COOL 101…The Dave Pell Octet: The Complete Trend & Kapp Recordings 1953-1956
Back in the 1950s, a group of guys from New York and Philadelphia moved to Hollywood to get steady work in the nascent TV and movie recording industry and developed a sound called “West Coast Cool.” Essentially, is was a…
DOO WOP LIVES! The Penguins: The Complete Releases 1954-62
Before going Back to the Future, the radio waves were filled with vocal doo wop bands, most of whom had names associated with birds, such as The Flamingos, The Orioles and The Crows. Best of all were The Penguins, whose…
A.J.Croce: Just Like Medicine
Son of famed singer/songwriter Jim Croce, A.J.Croce comes across as a mix of his dad with a leathery appeal akin to JD Souther. He plays piano and organ as well, with his voice ranging from a gruff leatherneck on the…
Dave Stryker: Strykin’ Ahead
Guitarist Dave Stryker continues his hot streak of groovers with a B3 as he teams up with Jared Gold as well as vibist Steve Nelson and drummer McClenty Hunter for a combination of jazz standards and originals. Stryker’s deliver is…
TWO SIDES OF BRAZIL…Jorginho Neto Collective: Harlem, Carol Albert: Fly Away Butterfly
The sandy beaches and funky streets of Sao Paolo…. Musical director and trombonist Jorginho Neto leads a team of Sidmar Viera/tp, Robson Couto/b, Gustav Bugni/p, Vitor Cabral/dr, Alexandre Mihanovich/g and Thiago ALves/b trough some funky and snappy originals. Neto’s trombone…
John Mayall Trio@The Broad Stage 08.25.17
Halfway through the 2 hour concert, John Mayall summed up the recently played song as well as his 50+ year career as he exuded “That’s the blues, man!” The 4 score and 3 year Bluesbreaker has more energy than artists…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Dan Dean: Songs Without Words
Wanna know what heaven is going to sound like? Grab a hold of this album and you’ll at least have a hint. Dan Dean supplies layers of his voice as well as an occasional bass and whistle to this wonderfully…
Vadim Neselovskyi Trio: Get Up and Go
Composer Vadim Neselovskyi plays piano and melodic with hsitrio of Ronen Itzik/dr-perc and Dan Loomis/b. Sara Serpa brings her intimate wordless voice to the moonlit sonata of “Station Taiga” and “ethereal “Almost December.” As for the leader, he’s got a…
Shubh Saran: Hmayra
Here’s an exciting album by Shubh Saran, who p lays both electric and acoustic guitar along with banjo on a collection of originals. He’s with a core team of Cale Hawkins/p-key-synth, Angelo Spampinato/dr, Mark Minoogian/b, Brian Plautz/as-ss, Jared Yee/ts-bs and…