When this album came in the male, my pair of 20 something secretaries looked at it and said, “Are you REALLY going to review Boyz II Men?!? Don’t you need a mullet for that?” OK, so the trio of Nathan…
Month: November 2017
Kristina Koller: Perception
Indie-voiced Kristina Koller mixes jazz and bohemia on this clever collection of originals and standards. She teams up with Fima Chupakhim/pkey, Chris Talio/b, Joe Spinelli/dr and some guests to demonstrate her wide range of moods. She is flexible with piano…
Rondi Charleston: Reislience
Vocalist Rondi Charleston uses her husky voice to team up with director guitarist Dave Stryker along with Brandon McCune/p, Ed Howard/b, McClenty Hunter/dr and Mayra Casales and a couple guests for some world wise originals and covers. She handles the…
Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop: REV
Drummer Ernesto Cervini does successfully leads from behind with a flexible team of Tara Davidson/as-ss, Joel Frahm/ts, William Carn/tb, Adrean Farrugia/p and Dan Loomis/b through a mix of originals and modern material. Cervini uses his traps like a painter chooses…
Jure Pukl & Matija Dedic: Hybrid
Pianist Matija Dedic teams up with reedist Jure Pukl along with Matt Brewer/b and Johnathan Blake/dr for a mix of post bop beauties. Pukl’s tenor is Rollins-thick, and is used well on the tricky obstacle course of the title track…
James Armstrong: Blues Been Good To Me
Blues vet James Armstrong delivers some down home modern blues sounds on this strong and attractive batch of mostly originals. He’s got a rich sorghum voice which he uses well on the shuffling title track, and gets funky with B3er…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Or Bareket: OB1
With family and influences ranging from Morocco, Iraq, Israel and Argentina, bassist Or Bareket delivers an exciting album filled with sounds, rhythms and smells akin to an open market. He creates a band with Shachar Elnatan/g, Gadi Lehavi/p, Ziv Ravitz/dr,…
A REAL SOUL MAN…Johnny Rawls: Waiting For The Train
Classic Old School soul is delivered by vocalist Johnny Rawls. He’s got a voice that sounds like he grew up in the church; filled with strength and timed like a Baptist minister. His tone is similar to Clarence Fountain from…
Kent Miller Quartet: Minor Step
Bassist Kent Miller bops with the best on this album of trio and quartet performances with Darius Scott/p, Greg Holloway/dr and Benny Russell/ts-ss. With the reedist, the team cooks over Russell’s tenor on a swinging take of Hank Mobley’s “Workout”…
Abelita Mateus: Vivenda
Brazilian pianist and vocalist Abelita Mateus delivers a rich album co-produced by guitar master Romero Lubambo. The feel is flowing and rich, with instrumentals such as “Famiia Brandao,” “Saudades Do Brasil” and “Amor Ate’ O Fim” glistening with guiat, piano,…