Keeping the jazz tradition alive, the Verve Jazz Ensemble expands and retracts into various sizes and shapes on this collection of vintage sounds. The core trio of Josh Fledstein/dr, Steve Einerson/p and Elias Bailey/b serve as a rich foundation for…
Month: September 2018
LADIES OF SONG…Marty Elkins: Fat Daddy, Anita Aysola Beyond Our Dreams, Susan Hodgdon: So In Love With Cole
Ladies at the mic for diversly swinging moods… Marty Elkins teams up with Jon-Erik Kellso/tp, James Chirillo/g,Joel Diamond/p-org-as, Steve Ash/p, Lee Hudson/b, Taro Okamoto/dr and Leopoldo Fleming/perc for a collection of vintage sounds and songs. Her voice is clear and…
MND FLO: From Time
The quartet MND FLOW tries to look like a bunch of hip hoppers on their cover poses, but the sound is more akin to an ambient read of a modernized Weather Report. Simon Moullier/vib, Sharik Hasan/p, Alexander LJ Toth/b and…
Michika Fukumori: Piano Images
Solo piano work by Michika Fukumori emphasizes rich original melodies and creative harmonies with succinct solos woven in like a Raphael tapestry. She shows a bopper’s heart on “Colors of the Blues” but has a watercolor brush stroke to reflective…
THE MALE VOICE…Wayne Powers: If Love Were All, Maurice Frank: Mad Romance and Love
Like in college, men are outnumbered by women about 2 to 1 in the jazz vocalist field. Here are a pair of guys that deserve some attention. Wayne Powers has a warm and relaxed baritone sound along with a rich…
Sam Bevan: Emergence
Bassist and composer Sam Bevans creates rich harmonic panoramas on this album with a core team of Eric Garland/dr, Kasey Knusden/as and Cory Wright/as, and brings along guests Ian Carey-Henry Hung/tp, Patrick Cress/bs-bcl, James maone/ts, donna Viscuso/fl and Jackie Rago/per…
MELODIC IVORIES WITH HARMONICA…Roger Davidson Quartet featuring Hendrik Meurkens: Music From the Heart, Hendrik Meurkins & Bill Cunliffe: Cabin in the Sky
Usually when you think of piano and harmonica, images of Chicago blues stomps pop up. Here, with the chromatic harmonica in the hands of Hendrik Meurkins, suave a sensual melodies breeze by. Pianist Roger Davidson brings up 15 original Brazilian…
Harsh Armadillo: Bite
Consisting of Daniel Taurillo/dr, Thomas Forbes/b-voc, Aiden Earley/g, Dimitry Harris/key, Maxim Harris/sax-voc, Camden Riley/g-voc and Andrea Belaidi/voc, the band Harsh Armadillo deliver a 4 soung ep that focuses on 70s style funk with a STAX groove. The team gets soulful…
James House: And The Blues Cowboys
Guitarist, B3er and singer James House delivers two different shots of the Southern Comfort sounds of The Blues Cowboys on this album. The Side A band has House with Will Kimbrough/g, Mike Brignadello/b, Eamon McLoughlin/fid and Crash Jones/dr while Side…
Madeleine Peyroux: Anthem
Madeleine Peyroux delivers her most bonafide troubadour’d album in years, possibly since her debut Dreamland. Producer Larry Klein keeps the atmosphere like you’re sitting around the campfire and taking in Peyroux’s delivery of songs by herself, Klein, David Baerwald, Leonard…