At 73 years young, drummer Steve Gadd continues to drink from the musical fountain of youth, as his band of Walter Fowler/tp-fh, Kevin Hays/key, Jimmy Johnson/b, Michael Landau/g and recent addition Duke Gadd/perc create music that brims over with fresh…
Month: December 2018
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Van Morrison: The Prophet Speaks
For his last album, the rock icon Van Morrison reached back to his R&B roots,teamed with B3er Joey DeFrancesco and tapped into his inner Hank Crawford for a swinging You’re Driving Me Crazy, which made my Top 10 release for…
LEGENDAY COMEBACK…Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Volume 10-Toronto
This 3 disc set of previously unreleased material from the vaults of widow Laurie Pepper may be the most important collection of “Unreleased Art” yet. Featuring alto legend Art Pepper in a Toronto set of concerts in 1977, just before…
Lauren Henderson: Riptide
Vocalist Lauren Henderson goes deep with a bedroom eyes of a voice on this seductive ep. The team of Chris Pattishallpp-key, Eric Englid/b and Joe Saylor/dr create deep and thick soulful moods for Henderson’s palpably soft coo. The team is…
Darryl Holter: Roots & Branches
Darryl Holter plays acoustic guitar and sings with two different bands, a “Roots” band that takes you to Nashville with Greg Leisz/steelg, Todd Sickafoose/b, Gabe Witcher/v-p-g and Don Heffington/dr, and a “Branches” band including Jebin Bruni/p-key, Tim Young/eg, Kaveh Rastegar/eb…
John Moulder: Memoirs
John Moulder brings electric, nylon and acoustic guitars to the front of his band with Gwilym Simcock/p, Tim Garland/ss, bcl, Steve Rodby/b, Paul Wertico/dr and Ernie Adams/perc on this collection of originals. His electric strings get rocky as they pierce…
Steve Kuhn Trio: To and From the Heart
Piano icon Steve Kuhn forms a trio for the ages with bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. The intuitive and sophisticated reading of these six songs can only be achieved through the copious talents of gents that have over…
Alex Clough: Near, Far, Beyond
Playing piano and Fender Rhodes, Alex Clough brings together David Smith/tp-fh, Steve Kortyka/ts, John Tate/b and Jay Sawyer/dr through some vintage Blue Note hard and post bop sounds. On piano, the team shows some nimble pulses with a hip front…
Henry Conerway III: With Pride For Dignity
Drummer and composer Henry Conerway III leads an impressive and versatile trio of Kevin Smith/b and Kenny Banks Jr/dr through a mix of team arranged covers and a handful of originals. Smith leads the way as Conerway guides with a…
Connie Han: Crime Zone
Just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover. The two phots of leader and pianist Connie Han make her out to be some sort of electro-punker, but the music is undeniably swinging and mostly acoustic. She brings together…