Deep visceral three member sonatas are delivered by the trio of John Surman/bcl-ss-bs, Nelson Ayres/vib-mar and Rob Waring/p. Surman’s soprano is full bodied and bright, giving a clarion call on pieces like the luminous title track, or going folksy with…
Month: February 2018
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Nick Maclean Quartet: Rites of Ascension
Pianist Nick Maclean delivers a tribute to Herbie Hancock’s 60s Blue Note with a collection of interpretations and originals. His team of Brownman Ali/tp, Jesse Dietschi/b and Tyler Goertzen/dr is up for the task, with Ali tapping into his inner…
Clovis Nicolas: Freedom Suite Ensuite
Clovis Nicolas revisits Sonny Rollins’ famed 1958 Freedom Suite with Brandon Lee/tp, Bruce Harris/tp, Grant Stewart/tp and Kenny Washington/dr. The major variant from the original is the inclusion of the trumpet, but the bassist/leader makes it work, with some sublime…
Wayne Escoffery: Vortex
Best known for his seminal work with Tom Harrell, tenor saxist Wayne Escoffery displays excellent leadership skills on his own album, leading a quartet of David Kikoski/p, Ugonna Okegwo/b and Ralph Peterson Jr/dr and guests through 9 strong originals. Escoffrey…
Dave Young/Terry Promane Octet: Volume 2
Dave Young and Terry Promane share the arrangements as they play bass and trombone, respectively and lead a swinging team of Kevin Turcotte/tp-fh, Vern Dorge/as, Mike Murley/ts, Perry White/bs, Dave Restivo/p and Terry Clarke/dr through a creative mix of standards…
FEMALE VOICES…Katharine McPhee: I Fall In Love Too Easily, Lisa B: I Get A Kick-The Cole Porter Songbook, Amy London: Bridges
Here are some of the latest sounds from women singers you might not be aware of. Katharine McPhee is better known as an actress, but since I’ve never seen her anywhere I don’t have a prejudice one way or the…
SONIC EXCURSIONS…Rosebud: Rosebud, LEF: Hypersomniac
Music or moods? FM Einheit plays “metals, sand, stones, tools and electronics.”Hmmm. Jo Quail is on the cello, and Eraldo Bernocchi does baritone guitars as well as electronics. The result? The six songs range from spacey sounds akin to a…
The Eargoggle: The Beautiful Creatures Really Are So Cruel, VSR’s Brooklyn Mixtape
The label Very Special Recordings delivers a pair of releases. Who is the audience? 19 songs written by Ezr Gale make up the first release, comprised of ideas taken from “Strawberry Fields” on “Elizabeth,” Brian Eno during “The Alien I…
Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Fukushima
Composer Satoko Fujii brings together a free from orchestra to perform music concerning the ill fated 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima. The 13 member orchestra includes Oscar Noriega/as, Tony Malaby/ts, Joe Fiedler/tb and Nels Cline for the 5 pieces, three…
INDIE-INDIAN…RINI: Maya
Rini’s voice and violin team with Aleif Hamdan/g, Achal Murhty/b, Yogev Gabay/dr and Indigo Galdeano Lasheras/sax-ewi for a mix of indie pop and modern Indian sounds. South Asian “oos” and American beat join on “Warp 9” and exotic violin adds…