Here’s a creative mix of woodwinds, percussion and vast ideas melded together by percussionist Alan Purves and horn player Mark Lotz, as they create songs and sounds from a wide variety of countries, taking you to journeys inspired by National…
Month: August 2018
Alex Lefaivre Quartet: YUL
Canadian bassist Alex Lefaivre creates a series of impressionistic landscapes with his pastel-toned team of Erik Hove/as, Nicolas Ferron/g and Mark Nelson/dr. Lefaivre’s pen is as subtle as his bass, creating reflective material for Hove’s fluffy alto to float like…
Duende Libre: Drift
The trio of Alex Chadsey/p-key, Farko Dosumov/b and Jeff Busch/dr-perc create rich Afro-Cuban pulses on this rich collection of material. The team has an elegant flow to their cadence, teaming with ethereal voiced Chava Mirel on the glistening “Zephyr” as…
Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein & Bill Stewart: Toy Tunes
Most guitar/organ trios focus on the deep groove. Not so with the long-standing team of Larry Goldings/B3, Peter Bernstein/g and Bill Stewart/dr. The name of their game is to overpower you with subtlety, making bluesy conversations with shadows, musings and…
Erik Applegate: Three’s A Crowd
Bassist and composer Erik Applegate creates a variety of trios on a mix and match system a collection of friends. Brian Horton/ts, Jim White/dr, Greg Gisbert/tp, Dana Landry/p, Steve Kovalcheck/g, Kenyon Brenner/ts, Julia Dollison/voc and Julian Carey/voc are cut and…
John Holmstrom: Om Tat Sat Vivian
This album by pianist/composer John Holstrom and his team of Niklas Barno/tp, Susanna Risberg/, Palle Sollinger/b and Gustav Nahlin/dr has 8 tunes by the leader to sonically represent “a person, a place and a period in my life.” Thus various…
PICK AND GRIN….I See Hawks in LA: Live and Never Learn, Grit: Grit
Sounds of Martin Guitars are in full force here on these recent releases. The shadow cast by bands like The Eagles and the Flying Burrito Brothers is felt hear by the team of Rob Waller/g-voc, Paul Lacques/g-voc, Paul Marshall/b-voc, Victoria…
DAVID MCMURRAY: MUSIC IS LIFE!
IT’S RARE THAT A VETERAN SIDEMAN MAKES SUCH A SPLASH ON WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A DEBUT ALBUM. SURE, SAXIST DAVID MCMURRAY HAS RELEASED A FEW ALBUMS IN THE PAST, BUT HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR IS ASSOCIATION WITH FAMED PRODUCER…
DON BRADEN: A MAN OF EARTH, WIND AND WONDER
WHEN YOU HEAR OF AN ARTIST PLAYING “THE STANDARDS” WHAT COMES TO YOUR MIND? RIGHT. SOMETHING BY GERSHWIN, PORTER OR BERLIN. BUT AT ONE TIME, ALL OF THOSE SONGS WERE CONTEMPORARY PIECES. SO, ASKS DON BRADEN, DOES A STANDARD HAVE…