OK, so technically, they all don’t sing, but still four out of five guys in the band do, and they do both solos and harmonies the best thing this side of the classic Four Freshmen days. They also play accompanying…
Month: August 2017
Plug and Play: Evergreens
Lonely moods permeate the duet recording between Benoit Delbecq, who plays piano, e-drumming, keys and “tronics”, and Jozef Dumoutin who brings in a Fender Rhodes along with keyboards and tronics. As expected, there’s more noodling around than a Japanese soup…
Glen Morrow: Cry For Help
Rock steady beats are delivered by leader Glenn Morrow as he sings and plays guitar with a barroom band of Ric Sherman/g-voc, Mike Rosenberg/b-voc and Ron Metz/dr along with guest Andy Burton/key for eleven originals. Morrow’s voice gives a hint…
Russell Malone: Time For The Dancers
One of the most lyrical of guitarists, Russell Malone delivers a rich album with a fluid team of Luke Sellick/b, Rick Germanson/p and Willie Jones III/dr. While his last album referred to melody, and the implication of this title leans…
FEMALE VOCALS FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM…Michelle Bradley: Body and Soul, Kathy Sanborn: Recollecting You, Janet Lawson: The Janet Lawson Quintet
Here is a trio of vocalists that have created intriguing ways of jazz interpretations. Michelle Bradley has a rich vibrato, and uses it well as she swings through a collection of standards. The team of Art Fristsoe/p, Tim Ruiz/b, Jerre Jackson-Richard…
BJ Leiderman: BJ
Best known for his musical prowess on programs like NPR’s Morning Edition, keyboardist/composer BJ Leiderman puts out a debut album that could easily be compared to vintage Billy Joel. He’s got a streetwise voice, and uses it well on the…
Jah Sun: Between the Lines
Jason Andrew McCommas, aka Jah Sun, mixes reggae and Southern African sounds in an infectious and agreeable mix on this collection of originals. The supporting team mixes and matches, with much of the support by Dubtonic Kru with occasional strings…
CHICAGO’S DEEP DISH…Robert Lamm: Time Chill
Best known as one of the founding members of the jazz/rock originator Chicago, vocalist Robert Lamm is given a retrospective here of his solo material from 2003-2012 with a few unreleased pieces as well. For those CTA fans, you get…
THIS IS A HARD BOP QUINTET…Kenny Dorham: K.D. Is Here, New York City 1962 & 1966
In jazz circles, hard bop trumpets have one of two sounds; either the brash and blistering chops of someone like Freddie Hubbard, or the sweet lyricism of Kenny Dorham. Dorham was one of the pioneers of bebop trumpet, having honed…
LEO IN THE SUMMER…Heath Watts & Blue Armstrong: Bright Yellow with Bass, Interzones: Volume 1, The Clarinet Trio plus Alewy Kruglov: Live in Moscow, Kanno/Poll/Pett/Shorr/MacDonald: Free Radicals, KusiManten: Bleib Ein Mensch
Leo is rising in the summer with these latest releases… Soprano saxist Heath Watts forms a duo with bassist Blue Armstrong for a recording in Butte, Montana, with lots of free range and open spaces. Watts experiments with harmonics and…