Where do the lines of classical and jazz meet? They are blurred on these two recent albums. Paul Elwood plays five string banjo and “two-channel fixed media” while composing for a handful of settings ranging from solo to duet to…
Month: March 2019
Jonathan Bauer: Walk, Don’t Run
Jonathan Bauer has a classic Blue Note bopping sound on his horn, swinging like a modern day Lee Morgan on this album that’s filled with swinging swagger. He teams up with a macho group including Alexander Geddes/ts, Ryan Hanseler/p, Alex…
Dominic Miller: Absinthe
Guitarist Dominic Miller takes the listener on various countryside journeys on this gentle folk album with Santiago Arias on the bandoneon, keyboardist Mike Lindup, bassist Nicholas Fiszman and drummer Manu Katche’. Folk forms with a suave backbeat get bohemian on…
Arlen Roth: TeleMasters
One of the true guitar legends, Arlen Roth celebrates the legendary Fender Telecaster by bringing together some of his favorite 6 stringers, with the breadth, width and range of this legendary axe being shown in all of its glory. Roth…
Glen Whitehead Trio: The Living Daylights
Trumpeter Glen Whitehead leads a free thinking trio with Scott Walton/b and Britton Ciampa/dr through a collection of intuitive pieces. A three-part “Living Daylights Suite” has some easy gliding by the rhythm team under the leader’s sighing horn on “1”…
Justin Morell: Concert for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra
This three piece concerto composed and arranged by Justin Morell has a lot going for it. The woodwind-heavy 20 piece Frost Concert Jazz Band is directed by John Daversa, and it also features the guitar work of clear toned Adam…
Betty Bryant: Project 88
Still going strong at age 88, Betty Bryant is still able to sing like an imbiber of the Fountain of Youth as she sings and plays the piano with a rotating rhythm team and horn section hat includes Tony Gurrrero/tp,…
TWO SIDES OF FLORIAN ROSS: Florian Ross Trio: Pigs & Fairies, Florian Ross Quintet: Swallows & Swans
German pianist and composer Florian Ross shows two sides of his musical persona on these recent releases. Ross plays fm synthesizer grand piano and electric keyboards in a trio setting with Dietmar Fuhr/b, Fabian Arends/dr and guest Paul Heller/ts on…
Eyal Maoz & Asaf Sirkis: The Lie Detectors Part III-Secret Unit
A wide swath of moods are created by guitarist Eyal Maoz and drummer Asaf Sirkis, as the former mixes electric and acoustic strings to create a rich palate of songs. He plugs in for some heavy metal on a hard…
GUITARS OUT FRONT…Jon Lundbom Big Five Chord: Harder On The Outside, Doug MacDonald: View of the City
Here are a pair of albums from veteran guitarists that have their own voice and style. Jon Lundbom likes his bands with a big sax sound, here using the talents of Justin Wod/as-ss and bryan Murray/ten-bals along with the flexible…