The team of Barnaby Weir/voc-g, Daniel Weetman/voc-erc, jarney Murphy/dr, Nigel Patterson/key, Ned Ngatae;g-voc-key and Francis Harawira/b-synth form The Black Seeds, a band that mixes reggae grooves with synth and soul. Weir’s got a deep and rich voice, sears over the…
Month: November 2017
Giancarlo Mazzu, Luciano Troja & Francesco Branciamore: Broad-Ways
The Italian trio of Giancarlo Mazzu/g, Luciano Troja/p and Francesco Branciamore/dr give homage to the Great American Songbook with postmodern jazz mentalities. Pieces by Berlin, Porter and Kern are highlighted here, with clever re-interpretations. Dot’s of notes form a dainty…
Lisa Hilton: Escapism
Pianist/composer Lisa Hilton’s last album was a rich solo excursion; this time out she returns to her small group format with compatriots Gregg August/b, Rudy Royston/dr, JD Allen/ts and Terell Stafford/tp for a focus on home grown material. She and…
BIG HUNK OF CHRISTMAS LOVE…Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Elvis Christmas
No, Elvis is not still alive and sneaking into studios. Continuing with the successful trend, Legacy has brought together vintage recordings, this time of Elvis in a Christmas mood and supplemented classic sessions with rich orchestrations. Swivel hip deliveries of…
A SWINGING MENORAH…Eyal Vilner Big Band: Hanukkah
Eyal Vilner plays reeds and leads a Shwingin’ band that takes traditional Jewish holiday themes and gives them a kick in the tuchis. He even pulls out the classic Shofar for a moody “Mi Yemalel” while his clarinet sounds like…
BLACKMORE GOES NATAL…Blackmore’s Night: Winter Carols
If you hadn’t known, ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has been carving out a career of Renaissance-styled music for the past score years, here delivering a two disc Christmas stocking stuffer on this joyful collection of Medieval moods with Candice…
Reggie Pittman-Loren Daniels Quartet: Smilessence
Leaders Loren Daniels/p and Reggie Pittman/tp co-lead a swinging quartet Mike Richmond/b and Jonathan Peretz/dr through a swinging collection of bop-themed originals and standards. Pittman’s got a golden tone akin to Art Farmer and he glistens on the snappy “Knee…
Chris Pasin and Friends: Baby It’s Cold Outside
Chris Pasin brings his trumpet and flugelhorn to a wide variety of Natal settings on this collection of traditional tunes. A gorgeous duet with vocalist Patricia Fennell delivers “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and with pianist Armen Donelian “Greensleeves,”…
David Ian: Vintage Christmas Trio, Jason Paul Curtis: These Christmas Days
How to keep the Christmas season fresh? New material, or new arrangements? The trio of David Ian/p, Jon Estes/b and Josh Hunt/dr-perc deliver traditional Natal songs with an uptown approach. Hunt’s brushes skate like Linus on the cozy “Deck the…
Idit Shner: 9 Short Stories
Idit Shner plays alto and soprano on nine tunes ranging from 3-6 minutes. No long stretched out solos, just rich melodies and ideas well delivered. On soprano, she’s delicate and delightful with pianist Josh Hanlon on “Departure” while the rest…