Month: January 2019

Minor Empire: Uprooted

The leaders Ozgu Ozman/voc and Ozan Boz/eg-el lead an eclectic team of Chris Gartner/b, Michael Occhipinti/g, Tamer Pinarbasi/kanun, Lina Allemano/tp, Patrick Graham/perc and Ben Riley-Mark Kelso/dr through a collection of heartfelt stories mostly sung in Turkish. Ozman’s nasaly focie works…

Mark Masters Ensemble: Our Metier

Composer and arranger Mark Masters juxtaposes a sextet with larger ensemble on this warm and pastoral album. The all star sextet of Andrew Cyrille/dr, Gary Foster/as, Tim Hagans/tp, Oliver Lake/as,  Putter Smith/b and Mark Turner/ts is in symbiotic mode with…

Gene Ess: Apotheosis

Leader Gene Ess plays guitar and synth as he  brings together the pastoral team of Thana Alexa/voc, Sebastien Ammann/p, Yosushi Nakamura/b and Clarence Penn/dr to interpret his own rich compositions. Alexa sounds wonderful as she uses her wordless voice away…

Chucho Valdes: Jazz Bata 2

Eloquent and elegant virtuosity on the Afro-Cuban side of life is delivered by legendary pianist Chucho Valdes and his team of Yelsy Heredia/b, dreiser Durrothy Bombale/bata-voc and Yaroldy Abreu Robles/perc. Valdes takes you on a wondrous journey with his fingers…

Eddie Palmieri: Mi Luz Mayor

At four score and two, pianist and band leader Eddie  Palmieri is still the master of creating exciting Latin jazz. This latest album has him with a muscular big band that includes guest vocalists Gilberto Santa Rosa and Herman Olivera,…

Thomas Fonnesbaek Trio: Sharing

Bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek leads a melodic trio teaming with pianist Justin Kauflin and Dummer Billy Williams through a mix of originals and standards. Kauflin brings his Rhodes keyboards in the studio in order to team up with the leader for…