The progression of European jazz musicians radically ascended from the days that Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins originally came to France and these 50s & 60s sessions of home grown artists sounded more authoritative than imitative. You’re going to be…
Month: August 2018
Billy Hector: Someday Baby
With street smart voice, a searing guitar and faded jeans, Billy Hector cruises through a collection of original blues rockers with a rotating rhythm team, keyboardist David Nunez and a blistering horn section of Steve Jankowski/tp-vtb, Tom La Bella/as-ts and…
John Pizzarelli@Catalina’s 08.24.18
After leading numerous bands that included his vocalist wife, the grandson of Tom Jobim, and various drummers, John Pizzarelli returned to his musical roots as he lead a vintage trio with Mike Karn/b and Konrad Paszkovozki/dr that continued the legacy…
Denny Laine@Bogie’s Bar 08-23-18
Like a prophet of old, music vet Denny Laine reminded the filled house at Bogie’s of the essential elements of good music. Since he was there “at the beginning” with the original Moody Blues and then with Paul McCartney’s Wings,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Dongfeng Liu: China Caribe
Pianist and composer Dongfeng Liu does an adept job at mixing flavors and sounds from his native China with Caribbean grooves and jazz concepts on this wide ranging album. The core team of John Benitez/b, Roberto Quintero/perc, Francis Benitez/dr deliver…
Gene Jackson: Power of Love
Drummer Gene Jackson leads his Trio NuYorx of Gabriel Guerrero/p and Carlo De Rosa/b for a mix of jazz standards and team-derived originals. Of the former, the team leans towards Monk territory with a pair of tunes, a coy read…
Matty T. Wall: Sidewinder
Matty T. Wall plays a rocking 70s styled guitar along with his juke jointed voice joiined with a core team of Ric Whittle/dr, Stephen Walker/b and a collection of guests including Gordon Cant/key and Steve Searle/horns. Wall’s metal strings work…
Jure Pukl: Doubtless
Jure Pukl is one of those artists that make you wonder if he would be more renowned if he weren’t stationed in Europe. The tenor saxist has a rich and palpable sound, getting thick and molten at times, but still…
TODAY’S TENORS…Tucker Antell: Grime Scene, Jarod Bufe: New Spaces
With Sonny Rollins retired from playing, the title of “Best Tenor Sax” is up for grabs. Here are a couple young bucks. Tucker Antell has a warm and thick sound with an open wide vibrato as he teams up for…
Makru: Tu Mission
Team Makru consists of Raul Vargas/voc-perc, Jenny Rodriguez/voc, bob Sanders/g, Vinicio Penate/b, Haluk Kecelioglu/oud-vio and a collection of cameos on percussion and horns. The clever mix in this band is Jecekuigkym who is able to create and change moods with…