Every generation has its canon of songs, and The Beatles have been on of the major contributors to today’s songbook. Like Joni Mitchell (another contributor to the canon), The Fab Four composed songs with clever melodies for musicians and thoughtful…
Month: March 2019
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****A FUNK BROTHER RETURNS…Dennis Coffey: Live at Baker’s
Back in the day, every major label had a studio band to support either a vocalist or group. For Motown, it was the Funk Brothers, with Dennis Coffey being the guitarist on hits like “Cloud Nine” and “Just My Imagination”…
Steve Conn: Flesh and Bone
Singer/songwriter Steve Conn mixes and matches moods and musicians on this New Orleans-mooded album. He’s an excellent spinner of yarns, and puts them in various frames, accompanying himself on keyboards, accordion and alto sax with guests coming and going like…
Lewis Porter: Solo Piano
Lewis Porter goes it alone for a wondrous mix of standards and originals on his latest release. His touch and approach is parlor rich a la Art Tatum, taking you on wondrous journeys as on a flowing “What Is This…
Moppa Elliott: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band
What kind of a party do you want at your house? For this two disc set, bassist Moppa Elliott gives you three bands and three options. For six tunes, his Advancing on A Wild Pitch team of Sam Kulik/tb, Charles…
Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble featuring Clarence Penn: Forward
Composer Paul Dietrich fronts a large 17 piece and vocalist ensemble through some rich charts on this recent outing. Drummer Clarence Penn mans the rhythm section as Megan Moran brings her lovely voice for extra texture for most of the…
John Kilzer: Scars
For his last album, singer/songwriter John Kilzer (who passed away March 12) delivered material like he was raised on a breakfast of gravel on this rootsy collection of originals. He was teamed with a core group of Dave Smith/b, Rick…
Misha Tsiganov: Playing With The Wind
Pianist Misha Tsiganov leads a post bop team of Alex Sipiagin/tp-fh, Seamus Blake/ts, Matt Brewer/b and Dan Weiss/dr through some well crafted originals and cleverly arranged jazz standards. He has a warm touch on the ivories, leaning towards lyricism as…
A PAIR OF FOURS…Ryan Raziano Quartet: Blue Into Gray, Joe Martin: Etoilee’
Initiated by Lester Young in the Swing Era, the tenor sax led Jazz Quartet is on the most reliable staples on stage and record. Here are a pair of impressive recent releases. Ryan Raziano brings his horn to the front…
5 x 3: PIANO TRIOS! The Charles Williams Trio: Flavors of Jazz, Triple Tea: The Tunnel, Russ Lossing: Motian Music, Yaniv Taubenhouse: Perpetuation, Joe Policastrio Trio: Nothing Here Belongs
The piano jazz trio still remains the marrow of modern music. Here are five recent releases by the classic piano/bass/drums combo (with one exception) that never gets stale. Charles Williams leads a team of DeAndre Manning/b and Mike Warren/dr through…