Ah! A pair of Power Trios! One new, one veteran, one female and one male. What better way to spend a Sunday night?!? Opening up for guitar legend Robin Trower was the Katy Guillen band, fresh from Kansas City. The…
Month: May 2019
Kendrick Scott’s Oracle@Blue Whale 05.04.19
Drummer Kendrick Scott’s latest Oracle album A Wall Becomes A Bridge was presented in a passionate fashion, with the four songs in the first hour-long set at Blue Whale stretched out from concise 5-7 minute themes into rich opuses. Mike…
Marton Juhasz: Discovery
Drummer and leader Marton Juhasz creates a rich mosaic of songs ranging from majestic to free. His team of Yumi Ito/voc, Sergio Wagner/tp-fh, Paco Andreo/vtb, Enrique Oliver/ts, Szymon Mika/g, Olga Konkova/p and Danny Ziemann/b sound fresh in all of the…
Wynton Marsalis: Bolden (Original Soundtrack)
OK, first a disclaimer: no one even knows what the purported originator of jazz, Buddy Bolden, actually sounded like, since there are no recordings of his music. Second, I’m willing to bet a million dollars that he didn’t sound as…
BLUESY JAZZ AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK ON AVID…Hank Crawford: Three Classic Albums Plus, Jack McDuff & Bill Jennings: Four Classic Albums, Bill Haley: Five Classic Albums
You get some rocking and rolling from two sides of the fence on these latest reissues from Avid. Alto saxist Hank Crawford had one of the most influential tones and feels, honing his skills with Ray Charles and then putting…
Giovanni Guidi: Avec Le Temps
Pianist Giovanni Guidi leads a loose and frisky quintet with Thomas Morgan/b, Joao Lobo/dr, Francesco Bearzatti/ts and Roberto Cecchetto/g on a collection of originals that capture a wide swath of moods. The moods get rushed and jagged like a Neopolitan…
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL…Shirley And Lee: The Complete Singles As & Bs 1952-62
Most R&B groups of the Baby Boomer era that had male and female vocalists emphasized harmonies, not so with the team of Shirley Goodman and Leonard Lee, who made a career of duets that went back and forth as singing…
BEST FEMALE VOICES TIME FORGOT….Beverly Kelly: Sings- Dolores Hawkins: Dolores’; Thelma Gracen: Thelma Gracen-Milli Vernon: Introducing Milli Vernon; India Adams: Comfort Me With Apples-Easy Williams: Easy Does It; Norene Tate: Tenderly-Mae Barnes: Mae Barnes; Jennie Smith: Love Among The Young-Diana Trask: Diana Trask; Peggy King: Lazy Afternoon-Pam Garner: Sings Ballads For Broken Hearts; Jane Harvey: Leave It To Jane!-Anne Phillips: Born To Be Blue
If you’re a fan of female jazz vocals, you’re going to hit paydirt on this new series from Fresh Sound Records. I don’t know how the label found these obscure ladies from the 50s-60s, but you’re going to be shocked…
Will Brahm: Venture Atlas
Guitarist Will Brahm’s skills have ranged from being in big sounding orchestras including Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band to being a sideman to vocalists Jane Monheit and Gretchen Parlato. For his own album, he focuses on rich and lyrical themes,…
SFJAZZ Collective: 2018-The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim & Original Compositions
The venerable SFJAZZ Collective continues its delving into various songbooks; this time the team focuses on the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, mixing it with team-composed pieces on the 2 disc set of concert material. The band continues its revolving…