Wonderful and rich moments abound on this collection of jazz sonatas by tenor saxist Jeff Rupert and pianist Richard Drexler. Jazz duets can be a dangerous road to forge, as it can veer towards boring introspection or cacophonic jousting. This…
Month: September 2018
The Denny Seiwell Trio: Boomerang
Drummer Denny Seiwell teams up with Angelenos John Chiodini/g and Joe Bagg/key for an organ trio date that mixes vintage sounds with fresh tonalities. The team shows its bebop bonafides with some hot Parker-like unison lines on “Cheetahs & Gazelles”…
The Count Basie Orchestra: All About That Basie!
Going strong after 80 years, the Count Basie Orchestra, under the leadership of trumpeter Scotty Barnhart, mixes the past and present on this swinging session. The band revisits a number of the classic hits, but with some fun and forward…
Judith Lorick: The Second Time Around
Judith Lorick sings like she’s been around the block and knows a few things about lyrics and life on this rich album of standards and surprises. Piano-meister Eric Reed gets credit for mixing and matching the intimate arrangements with artists…
Paul McCartney: Egypt Station
Sir Paul McCartney still shows his creative juices on this latest album, a kind of musical travelogue. He’s in strong voice and it’s interesting that his title is about a journey, as some of these songs have a feel like…
WHO WAS THIS GUY?!? Leo Busch/Joe “Fingers” Carr: The Collection 1940-62
Here’s someone that was under the radar as far as fame, but had a big imprint on the music scene. Leo Busch, who was also known as “Joe ‘Fingers’ Carr, was an erstwhile pianist, but made a living as arranger/conductor/composer…
Marcin Wasilewski Trio: Live
Unbeknownst at the time of their August 2016 concert performance in Antwerp, pianist Marcin Wasilewski’s team with Slawomir Kurkiewicz/b and Michal Miskiewicz/dr were recorded for posterity. This is usually the best way to capture a band as their mind and…
Steven Taetz: Drink You In
Steven Taetz is a tenor ranged vocalist that mixes vintage sounds with artsy modernism on this satsifyning album. His core team is a deep pocket tight Soren Nissen/b, Ernesto Cervini/dr and Ewen Farncombe-Adrean Farrugia/p, Drew Jurecka/reeds-strings and a collection of…
Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band: West Side Story Re-Imagined
As if Leonard Bernstein’s classic West Side Story isn’t Latin enough, drummer Bobby Sanabria adds some extra salsa with a hard hitting 20 piece big band that includes four, count ‘em four percussionists! Sanabria even sings during the bel canto…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jay Lawrence: Sonic Paragon
Drummer Jay Lawrence shows impressive versatility and swing on this album of originals and very clever covers. He brings together a group of all stars in John Patitucci/b, Renee Rosnes/p, Romero Lubambo-Anthony Wilson-Yotam Silberstein/g, Harry Allen/ts and Terell Stafford in…