Still with original member Miguel Zenon, the SFJAZZ Collective is in head to head competition with the JALC orchestra for preserving “classic” jazz sounds and mixing them with modern interpretations and compositions. The current incarnation of Zenon/as with David Sanchez/ts,…
Month: May 2018
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT…The Classic Songs of Cole Porter
One of the greatest American composers, Cole Porter, is the subject of a new series of reissues by UK’s Acrobat Music. This two disc set features songs both famous and obscure by the king of Tin Pan Alley, who supplied…
Bill O’Connell: Jazz Latin
Pianist Bill O’Connell confirms my long held belief that Latin music saved jazz. From the begins of Jelly Roll Morton’s “Latin Tinge,” the groove from Central and South America as kept America’s classical music from descending into intellectual navel gazing…
Elina Duni: Partir
Elina Duni takes you to various villages of the Mediterranean and middle east on this enticing album of folk music. She plays piano, percussion and guitar as well as adding voice to dreamy traditional material from places like Albania, Armenia,…
BIG BAND FOR MODERN TIMES…Bob Washut Dodectet: Journey Knowhere, Katherine Windfeld Big Band: Black Swan, Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin: Ninety-Nine Years
While they don’t tour as regularly as during the Swing Era, modern big bands still flourish via recordings. Here are some nice samples… Bob Washut writes and arranges the material for this album as he conducts a big band which…
Ricardo Bacelar: Sebastiana
Ricardo Bacelar brings his Brazilian keyboard concepts along with a fresh and energetic core team of Cesar Lemos/g, Anderson Quintero/dr and a large guest list of voices, percussions, strings and horns on this upbeat collection of material. A mix of…
THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS RETURNS…Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow: Memories in Rock II
Just as Miles Davis is well suited as jazz’s Dark Prince, Ritchie Blackmore fits well into his role as rock’s Prince of Darkness, or Black Knight. Serving as a guitar hero in Deep Purple and Rainbow, Blackmore has spent the…
Eliane Elias: Music From Man of La Mancha
Eliane Elias takes a break from singing to show off her formidable piano chops in a pair of trio settings with Marc Johnson/b & Satoshi Takeishi/d or Eddie Gomez & Jack Dejohnette/dr. Manolo Badrena takes a break from his stint…
Jason Klobnak Quartet: Friends & Family
Trumpeter Jason Klobnak teams with beefy tenor saxist Eric Erhardt to form a thick and tasty B3 quartet with Jeff Jenkins/B3 and Kevin Matthes/dr. The two horns create creamy and soulful melodies as on the bluesy and relaxed “Through Her…
Kira Kira: Bright Force
Featuring veteran pianist Satoko Fujii, the band Kira Kira with Alister Spence/key-elec, Natsuki Tamura/tp and Ittetsu Takemura/dr deliver five spontaneously passionate and explorative pieces composed by the artists. A Three part “Luna Lionfish” mixes moody electronica with spacious piano and…