Essentially overlooked in America, tenor saxist Guy Lafitte was one of the stars of jazz in Paris in the post-war years. His tone and approach were inspired by Coleman Hawkins, and there are a lot worse decisions to make in…
Month: January 2019
Venture: Life Cycle
The deeply grooved team of Mark Sherman/vib-p, Mike Clark/dr, Felix Pastorius/b and Chase Baird/ts create rich post bop moods on this collection of originals. Legendary drummer Mike Clark gives a workshop on swing with class, brushing like a home plate…
Lone Justice: The Western Tapes, 1983
The roots rock band Lone Justice (Maria McKee/g-voc, Ryan Hedgecock/g-voc, Dave Harrington/b, Don Willens/dr and David Mansfield/pst-fid) made a name for itself in the mid 80s. This 5 song ep from 1983 is mostly previously unissued material from their fledgling…
Wadada Leo Smith: Rosa Parks-Pure Love
The last several years have seen Wadada Leo Smith create albums that have given tribute to Thelonious Monk, National Parks, rivers and lakes. They’ve been unified in that they had the trumpet player in a single musical milieu, be it…
OKAN: Laberinto
Sweetly honeyed voices from Elazabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne combine with Afro-Cuban beats and themes as the ladies sing, play violin and percussion respectively and join with Roberto Riveron/b, Anthony Szczachor/dr a rotating piano team and collection of guess on…
THE REAL SOUL OF NEW ORLEANS…The Ric & Ron Anthology: Feelin’ Right Saturday Night
While Stax and Motown got all of the publicity, for a few short years, there was a label in New Orleans that created a few waves with some of the earthiest R&B to hit the streets. Founded by Joe Ruffino…
Way North: Fearless and Kind
The team of Rebecca Hennessy/tp, Petr Cancura/ts, Michael Herring/b and Richie Barshay/dr create New Orleans-traditional moods, themes and lines with some modern touches on this collection of 11 tunes. A “Jelly Roll Morton Medley” has some rich two stepping on…
The Hot Club of San Francisco: 30 Years
This single disc compilations serves as a “humble sampling of the past 30 years,” as described in the liner notes, of the gypsy caravan of the Hot Club of San Francisco. Their motto is “What Would Django Do,” and it…
Burning Bridge: Blood
Composer and violinist Jason Kao Hwang leads an 8 member band that combines jazz and traditional instrumentation on this five song suite that is continuous in its delivery. The song titles such as “Breath Within the Bomb,” “Surge Part 1…
Blood, Sweat, Drum and Bass: Concierto de Scheherazade
The famed story of Schehereazade has taken many musical forms, most popularized by Rimsky-Korsakov. This time, the environment takes on a Middle Eastern flavor, as “Chappe” Jensen brings a new selection of material that gives dashes of vintage jazz and…