Bassist Joris Teepe puts together a combination 60 page book and cd in tribute to legendary drummer Rashied Ali who befriended him back when he first arrived in the US and transformed his musical direction. Teepe’s tribute is in conjunction…
Month: April 2019
Lawson Rollins: Dark Matter-Music For Film
Usually known for flamenco-styled acoustic music, Lawson Rollins branches out by adding extra sounds and musicians to his repertoire. While he himself plays various types of guitars, he also adds keyboards, programmed drums and percussion to his arsenal, as well…
ROCKIN’ JAZZ, OR JAZZY ROCK? Hoia: Scavenger, Shumaun: One Day Closer to Yesterday
Back when fusion began in the 70s, it was simply jazz guys plugging in. Now it’s a bit more complex. Here are a couple mixing of colors. Prateek Rajagopal does all the writing, producing and playing of the guitars and…
Frederico 7: Exotica Americano
Frederico 7 does the writing, singing, rhythm guitar, synth bass and some piano as he’s supported by a mix and match collection of musicians almost always joined by Michael Longoria/perc, Bruno Vineof/perc and Jet Jaguar/b. The material is a wide…
Tedeschi Trucks Band: Signs
The drawing on the last page of the liner notes to Tedeschi Trucks’ fourth studio album tells you about all the sounds that have influenced this rich album. The recently departed Gregg Allmann, blues guitarist and singer CeDell Davis, Leon…
Shelea: Pretty World
Quincy Jones’ latest discovery is sweet toned vocalist Shelea (Frazier), who brings modern soul sounds to the fore on this sensuous album. She gives a tribute to the songbook of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, twisting it with a romantic R&B…
Aimee Nolte: Looking For The Answers
Pianist and vocalist Aimee Nolte delivers soft and gentle tones as she mixes and matches with a team including John Clayton/b, Bruce Lett/b, James Yoshizawa/dr, Mike Scott/g and Doug Webb/wwinds . She delivers a gorgeous solo piano rendition of her…
Art Garfunkel: What Is It All But Luminous
Art Garfunkel’s long awaited autobiography is quite an eclectic affair. It has enough background info and insight to his days with friend and partner Paul Simon, but he intersperses it with a collection of free-form poetry, juxtaposing it with notes…
Leroy Ellington’s Sacred Hearts: Sanctified
If “sanctified” means to be “set apart,” then vocalist and saxist Leroy Ellington must be trying to set himself differently from the bland sounds permeating the airwaves. He’s got the vocal delivery of a street preacher, and mixes it with…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Pacific Harp Project: Play
You don’t often get a jazz album led by a harp this side of Alice Coltrane, so Megan Bledsoe Ward shows some moxie by bringing her heavenly instrument to the fore along with a jazz team of Noel Okimoto/vib, Todd…