As they did with Elvis Presley, Sony Legacy has taken vintage material by Roy Orbison and given it an extra modern romance. This time, they added the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to give an extra Puccini effect to rock’s Pagliacci. Some…
Month: November 2017
UNDERAPPRECIATED REISSUES…Norma Winstone: Well Kept Secret, Manhattan In The Rain, …Like Song, Like Weather
Vocalist Norma Winstone, as one of her album titles suggests, is a well kept secret from jazz fans on this side of the Atlantic. She possesses a gentle grace, clear enunciation and a subtle sense of swing that focuses on…
Yotam Silberstein@The Blue Whale 11.03.17
Yotam Silberstein represents what I call “The New Mainstream” in jazz. As evidenced by his recent release The Village and his swinging set at The Blue Whale Friday night, the guitarist/composer shows allegiance to the tradition of jazz, but with…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Steve Smith and Vital Information: Heart of the City
Steve Smith brings his NYC Edition of Vital Information into the studio and delivers a highly grooving album that is both traditional and inspirational. His drumming skills are perfectly recorded here, and you feel like you’re sitting right next to…
FREE BRASS…Wadada Leo Smith, Natsuki Tamura, Satoko Fujii & Ikue Mori: Aspiration, Dave Ballou: Quadrants For Solo Trumpet
Trumpets on the free and intuitive… The two trumpet team of free thinkers Wadada Leo Smith and Natsuki Tamura join ideas with Satoko Fujii/p and Ikue Mori/elec for eight intuitive originals. Moods akin to ambiance dominate the album, with pieces…
Kermit Ruffins & Irvin Mayfield: A Beautiful World
Two trumpeters from the Crescent City, Kermit Ruffins and Irvin Mayfield, take you through a variety of sounds that come from the rich delta. With guests including Dr. Michael White/cl, Bill Summers/perc, Jason Marsalis/vibe, the Rebirth Brass Band and more…
Christina Pluhar: Handle Goes Wild
Can Baroque music team with improvisation? The chamber orchestra L’Arpeggiata, directed by Christina Pluhar, seems to defiantly say “Yes!” This album pieces composed by George Handel and through instrumentals and vocals by Valer Sabadus/ten and Nuria Rial/sop, mix rich classical…
ORGAN GRINDER’S SWING…Frank Marocco: Frank Marocco & Friends
Franc Marocco shows that the accordion doesn’t have to be relegated to Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs. His cd has him in two swinging small group sessions, one from 1960 and the second 17 years later. The Hollywood session from the…
Mike Downes: Root Structure
Bassist Mike Downes leads a sepia toned team of Ted Quinlan/g, Robi Botos/p-key and Larnell Lewis/dr through rich and textured originals. His pulse on the strings is thick and palpable, felt well on the steady “Moving Mountains” with Quinlan’s electric…
LEADING FROM BEHIND…Dave Potter: You Already Know
Drummer Dave Potter mixes jazz standards with modern originals and post bop on this team that has him teaming with a core of Jason Marsalis/vib while rotating Marcus Roberts-Austin Johnson-Louis Heriveaux/p, Rodney Jordan-Will Goble-Craig Shaw/b, Darren English-Andy Sloberg/tp and Miguel…