Fresh sounds from Jamaica… OTSCBA stands for “Old Time Something Come Back Again,” so the team of John Asher/dr, John Butcher/g-vox, Roy Fisherll/key, Chiquis Lozoya/b-vox, Devin Morrison/g and Scott Abels/perc mix prophetic messages with lilting grooves. Lots of vocal harmonies…
Month: December 2017
Mike Stern Quartet@Catalina’s 12.14.17
The house was packed at Catalina’s Thursday night, filled with fans and Middle School Band students to see how guitarist Mike Stern’s playing skills were affected since his hand and shoulder injury last year. Teamed with all stars Dave Weckl/dr,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****FORGET THE OTHER POSERS…Matt Forbes: Solitary Man
I said it before on his 2015 debut album Coulda Woulda Shoulda, and I’m saying it again after his new release Solitary Man…this Matt Forbes is the vocalist that you want to discover. Forget the posers and TV personalities. Forbes…
Ghost Train Orchestra: Book of Rhapsodies Volume II
The Ghost Train Orchestra takes you back to the day when jazz mixed with quirky classical sounds to add sophistication to swing. Composers like Carl Stallings, Raymond Scott and Alec Wilder made music suitable for parlors or Saturday morning cartoons,…
GUITARS! Tom Guarna: The Wishing Tones, Carl Verheyen: Essential Blues, Marnix Busstra: Old School Band
Somewhere along the line, the six string guitar replaced the tenor sax as modern music’s spokesman. Here are three excellent examples… Tom Guarna has a modern almost MEtheny-esque tone to his sound, and teams up well on a collection of…
Chris Parker: Moving Forward Now
Drummer Chris Parker displays a wide variety of styles on this album of originals and covers. He’s with an impressive team that includes Dave Stryker/g, Luke Gillespie/p, Jesse Wittman/b and Jeremy Allen/b as well as various guests. Clever ideas like…
Ken Wiley: Jazz Horn Redux
The French Horn is rarely given a chance in jazz circles; usually there’s a problem with either dynamics or dexterity, so it’s relegated to being a “section” instrument, unless it’s in the right hands (and mouth). Ken Wiley shows how…
Nestor Torres: Jazz Flute Traditions
Nestor Torres takes his flute and teams up with Silvano Monasterios/p, Jamie Ousley/b, Michael Piolet/dr, Jose Gregorio Hernandez/perc and a handful of guests for a salute to grand masters of the woodwind. Along with alto saxist Ian Munoz and percussionist…
VINTAGE SOUNDS…Rob Schneiderman: Tone Twister, Jared Hall: Hallways
Trends come and go; just give me the hard bop or post bop quintet, and I’m set for the day. Here are a couple perfect examples. Pianist Rob Schneiderman teams up with the strong team of Brian Lynch/tp, Ralph Moore/ts,…
Simpkin Project: Beam of Light
Comprised of Sean Kennedy/dr, Phil Simpkun/voc-g, Shawn Taylor/voc-key, Nick Zermino/b, Jules Luna/voc/g and Sergio Sandoval/perc, The Simpkin Project delivers up traditional reggae fare, but with an extra dash of Americana. Along with chunky chords and grooves, there are some C&W…