Keyboard legend Jan Hammer plays everything heard on this wide ranging album that successfully captures every color of his rich career on this latest album. The man who’s heard on albums from Mahavishnu to Beck keeps it lyrical and concise…
Month: September 2018
Trygve Seim: Helsinki Songs
The allure of Trygve Seim is that he takes the breathy legato of founder Lester Young, and takes it to its logical conclusion on both tenor and soprano sax. Case in point is this deliciously icy and delicate alvum with…
Jose’ James: Lean On Me
Vocalist Jose’ James did the world a favor by re-interpreting the Billie Holiday songbook a couple of years back. This call is even better, as he explores the world of the legendary Bill Withers, who ruled the airwaves in the…
Sungjae Son: Near East Quartet
South Korean artist Sungjae Son brings some rich tones and ideas out on this debut album of his for ECM. He plays tenor sax and bass clarinet with Suwuk Chung/g, Yulhee Kim/voc-perc, Soojin Suh/dr and a cameo appearance by Sori…
THE GERSHWIN OF THE BABY BOOMERS…Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now-Live At the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
Sometimes you realize in retrospect how important certain people are in life. When Joni Mitchell performed with guitar, dulcimer, piano and voice at the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight concert, (which was essentially the UK version of Woodstock), little did…
Tom Hook: 62
Vocalist and Pianist Tom Hook mixes nostalgia, Broadway and swing on this album where he teams with strings, saxes and female vocalists. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that he’s in charge, as he lets the ladies get in front of…
Eddie Palmieri: Full Circle
At 82 years young, pianist and composer Eddie Palmieri is one of the living masters of Latin jazz. This exciting big band album focuses on the vocals strength of Herman Olivera, as his passionate tenor is a full bodied delight.…
LOSS LEIDERS…Marion Rampal & Quatuor Manfred Featuring Raphael Imbert: Bye-Bye Berlin
Moods of the Weimar Republic are brought to the surface by vocalist Marion Rampal, the Quatuor Manfred of Marie Bereau/vi, Luigi Vecchioni/vi, Emmanuel Haratyk/via and Christian Wolff/vc along with Raphael Imbert/sax-bcl as they bring us material from Kurt Weill, Hanns…
MODERN GUITAR MUSINGS…Daan Kleijn: Passages, Aaron Shragge & Ben Monder: This World of Dew
In this modern world of electronics, the guitar is used for a wide range of atmospheres as well as showing off bop chops. Here are a couple recent explorations with six strings. Daan Kleijn forms a modern trio with Tobias…
REAL MEMPHIS “SOUL”: The Staple Singers: Collection 1953-62
Before creating one of the signature sounds for STAX Records with popular hits like “Respect Yourself,” the family of Roebuck “Pops” Staples along with children Cleotha, Pervis and Mavis created some of the most earthy and truly soulful music that…