Vibraphonist Joel Ross delivers a rich and impressionistic album with Immanuel Wilkins/as, Jeremy Corren/p, Benjamin Tiberio/b, Jeremy Dutton/dr and guest vocalist Gretchen Parlato for a lithe and alluring collection of originals. The mallets and moods are dreamy as Wilkins and…
Month: May 2019
FLAMENCO SKETCHES…Rodrigo Y Gabriela: Mettavolution
The two guitar team of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quinero mix exciting and concise material with a rich and ambitious opus on their latest release. Each song is delivered in a Spartan atmosphere, with usual only support by D. Sarby…
Stephan Micus: White Night
As a collector of exotic instruments, I can appreciate this album by Stephan Micus, as he brings various things that can be hit, shaken, blown and struck from the likes of Ethiopia, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania, India, Egypt and even…
Tuomo Uusitalo: Stories From Here And There
Pianist and leader Tuomo Uusitalo delivers impressive mainstream sounds as he goes trio and quartet with Myles Sloniker/b, Itay Morchi/dr and saxist Chris Cheek. In the more Spartan format, he shows his bop chops on the standard “Bouncing With Bud”…
WEST BANK COOL…Billy Byers & Marital Solal: Jazz on the Left Bank & Reunion A Paris
Back in the mid 50s, jazz was THE language of love in France. Here, you get a pair of albums from September 1956 by locals along with American Ex-pats that are as tasty as a Crepes with Nutella. The first…
Matt Skellenger Group: Vitality
Electric bassist Matt Skellenger creates some clever harmonics as he mixes pedal steel, brass and exotic pulsations on this wide ranging album. The team of trombonist Adam Bartczak and trumpeter Matt Reid makes for extra punch as on the funky…
Juan Alamo & Marimjazzia: Rua Panoramica
If there’s a Latin percussion instrument out Aizthere in the world, I’m sure that Juan Alamo has it in his garage, as he taps, plays and hits just about everything out there on this sizzling album with his Marimjazzia team…
Greg Reitan: West 60th
Pianist Greg Reiten leads a rich trio of Jack Daro/b and Dean Koba/dr that shows rich interplay and composing skills. All off the pieces clock inat under 6 minutes, so the focus is on clarity and arrangements, and it works…
Vijay Iyer Sextet @ The Soraya 05.10.19
One of the most important of today’s jazz artists, Vijay Iyer, came to The Soraya to supposedly feature his sextet that produced the thrilling Far From Over album from 2017, but instead gave a “two for the price of one”…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Franklin Kiermyer featuring Pharoah Sanders: Solomon’s Daughter
Vintage sounds from the ‘60s Impuse! years are conjured up on this 1994 recording lead by drummer Franklin Kiermyer and featuring tenor sax legend Pharoah Sanders along with John Esposit/p and Drew Gress/b completing the team. The spirit of John…