Composer and congo player Alberto Nacif leads a sizzling salsa band of Jose Espinosa/timb-perc, Patrick Prouty/b, Rick Roe/p, Russell Miller/sax-fl, Anthony Stanco/tp-fh and Christopher Smith/tb through ten sparkling originals. The bass pulses through the peppy brass on pieces like “Senor…
Month: October 2018
Sasha Mashin: Outsidethebox
Drummer Sasha Mashin teams with Alex Sipiagin/tp, Zhenya Strigalev/as, Makar Novikov/b, Alexey Ivannokov/p-key and a series of guests on this collection of advanced post-bop originals. Mashin delivers a cavalcade of rhythm as he veers around the frenetic horns on the…
MODERN WOMEN VOCALS…Maggie Herron: A Ton of Trouble, Dana Marcine: To the Horizon, Judi Silvano & The Zephyr Band: Lessons Learned, Joani Taylor: In a Sentimental Mood, Gayle Kolb: Getting Sentimental
Standards? Originals? Obscurities?Own band or top level hired hands? Here we have four ladies that show the value of each presentation. Maggie Herron does most of the composing, along with some clear support and arranging by Grammy winning pianist Bill…
KRYSTALL BLUE PERSUASION… The Happenings: Music of Herbie Nichols, Marty Krystall: Marty’s Mode
Here are a pair of trio albums featuring Marty Krystall, who plays bass clarinet, tenor sax, alto sax, flute and alto flute in a wide variety of rich settings. Fresh and swinging! Krystall leads an intriguing trio on what was…
Rich Halley 3: The Literature
Thick toned tenor saxist Rich Halley strips down to trip format on this latest album with Clyde Reed/b and Carson Halley/dr. The spartan team covers an intriguing collection of songs and influences, ranging from bluesman Jimmy Rodgers to Monk, Miles…
Shelly Berg: Gershwin Reimagined-An American In Paris
A mix of history and fresh new ideas come together as pianist Shelly Berg uses his trio of Chuck Berghofer/b and Gregg Field/dr to combine with original orchestrations of Gershwin masterpieces. A rich read of “Rhapsody In Blue” includes Berg…
ALIVE AND WELL AT 60…Satoko Fujii & Joe Fonda: Mizu, Mahobin: Live at Big Apple in Kobe
Celebrating 60 years of age, pianist Satoko Fujii has delivering a surfeit of recordings so far this year. This latest is a pair of marathon duets and a 7 minute conversation with bassist Joe Fonda that are filled with free…
LIGHTING THE FUSION FUSE…Dwiki Dharmawan: Rumah Batu, Mark Wingfield: Tales From The Dreaming City, Dialeto: Live with David Cross
Moonjune Records keeps the fusion fuse burning brightly. Here are three recent releases that confirm the dynamic nature of the animal. Indonesian pianist Dwiki Dharmawan teams up with a dynamic core of Nguyen Le/g, Carles Benavent/b, Yaron Stavi/b, Asaf Sirkis/dr…
Roseanna Vitro: Tell Me The Truth
Roseanna Vitro does some clever re-arranging of jazz and pop standards on this rewarding album with Mark Soskin/p, Dean Johnson/b, RudyRoyston/dr, Mitch Stein/g, Tim Ries/sax, Nathan Eklund/tp and some guest vocalists. The Soskin-arranged horns serve Vitro well on a lonely…
Shai Maestro: The Dream Thief
For his first ECM release, pianist/composer Shai Maestro displays the same deep lyricism that worked so well for him with his teaming with vocalist Theo Bleckmann last year. He does a bit of solo here, but mostly leads a trio…