While Kyle Eastwood may be better known for his composing skills, with movies like Gran Torino and Mystic River to his credit, what filled The Blue Whale was his allegiance to assertive hard bop, as he his long standing team…
Month: September 2017
TESTIFY! The Soul Stirrers, The Staples Singers, Five Blind Boys of Alabama, etc: Jesus Rocked the Jukebox
Back when I was growing up in the church, there was a popular song titled “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”. I later learned that with all things concerning Satan, he didn’t create what later became “rock…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****The New Vision Sax Ensemble: Musical Journey Through Time
Sorry if I sound prejudiced, but any time a sax quartet emerges, I get excited. Blame it on my being weaned on Duke Ellington’s, Count Basie’s and Woody Herman’s sax sections, but even when I hear The World Saxophone Quartet,…
Bill Simenson Orchestra: Big Alpaca
Minnesota-based trumpeter and composer Bill Simenson leads his big band through a collection of rich originals that sound like they were made for vintage movies of the film noir era. The reeds get bluesy for Ted Godbout’s piano on “Pete’s…
AMERICAN SONGBAG…Matt Wilson: Honey and Salt
Drummer and composer Matt Wilson gets creative as he delivers a tribute in both music and prose to poet Carl Sandburg.The team of Dawn Thomson/g, Ron Miles/ct, Jeff Lederer/reeds-harm and Martin Wind/b team up with Wilson in both instrument and…
The Marty Sheller Ensemble: Libre
Best noted as a composer and arranger for the likes of Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo, Marty Sheller puts together a caliente team of Oscar Hernandez/p, Ruben Rodriguez/b, Vince Cherico/dr, Steve Barrios/perc, Chris Rogers-Joe Magnarelli/tp, Sam Burtis/tb, Bobby Porcelli/as and…
Plucky Strum: Departure
The duo of guitarist Sheryl Bailey and bassist Harvie S creates some clever and melodic moments on this intimate collection of tunes. The selection of songs, as the delivery, is imaginative, ranging from rich bass work on a spacey read…
Akiko Tsuruga: So Cute, So Bad
B3er Akiko Tsuruga gets down and bluesy on this vintage organ trio disc with LA stalwarts Jeff Hamilton/dr and Graham Dechter/g. The team shuffles with delight on the hip title track and can boogaloo with the best during “Face to…
Aruan Ortiz: Cubanism Piano Solo
Pianist Aruan Ortiz takes the romance of Cuban piano and gives it a more elliptical feel on this collection of original compositions. A mix of intricacy and passion make up pieces such as “Louiverture Op. 1” and the abstract “Yambu’”…
INTIMATE VOICINGS: Vivian Buczek: Ella Lives, Ariel Pocock; Living in Twilight
Creative and understated sounds delivered by voice. Vivian Buczek gives tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with a core team of Martin Sjostedt/p, Niklas/b, Johan Lofcrantz Ramsay/dr and Mattias Stahl/vib along with a few guests on horn. Her voice is flexible yet…