Pianist, composer and arranger David Berkman creates rich sonorities with a chamber team of Tim Armacost/ts, Dayna Stephens/ts, Adam Kolker/bcl, Billy Drews/as, Rogerio Boccato/perc, Chris LIghtcap/b and Kenneth Salters/dr. You get a mix of sweet clarinet on “Rain Rain” with…
Month: June 2019
Herlin Riley: Perpetual Optimism
Herlin Riley takes some time off from his drumming chair with Wynton Marsalis to lead a tasty small band and show what how to master the sticks. His band of Emmet Cohen/p, Russell Hall/b, Godwin Louis/as and Bruce Harris/tp are…
Lynne Arriale Trio: Give Us These Days
Glassy smooth pianist Lynne Arriale is a master at creating rich textures and reflective moods. Her trio mates Jasper Somsen/b and Jasper Van Hulten/dr are equally sensitive, brushing to the leader’s chimes on The Beatles’ “Let It Be” and giving…
Eric Reed: Everybody Gets The Blues
Once the “up and coming” pianist in Wynton Marsalis’ quintet, Angeleno Eric Reed has now become on of the sages of SoCal, taking younger gents into his fold and equipping them for their own ventures through the puree of his…
The Tierney Sutton Band: Screenplay
For their latest session, Tierney Sutton and her long time band of Christian Jacob/p, Trey Henry-Kevin Axt/b and Ray Brinker/dr deliver an ambitious mix of songs from American films. The result is a rich film noir soundtrack that is richly…
Tom Culver: At Duke’s Place
Singer Tom Culver has an earnest and hip cabaret style of delivery, not unlike that of Bobby Short, as he teams with a collection of Angelenos for a fun tribute to Duke Ellington’s songbook. The tunes are arranged by pianists…
THE LAST UNIQUE FEMALE VOCALIST…Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops
You could make a pretty convincing argument that Betty Carter was the last of the female singers that had her own personal and unique sound. Her style, swinging yet as flexible as salt water taffy, melded swinging bebop with avant…
60’s SOUL RETURNS…Crowd Company: Live At The Jazz Café, Tanika Charles: The Gumption
Everything eventually comes back in style. Here we have a pair of albums that take us back to vinage days of 60s and 70s soul. Where’s the Afro Sheen? Robert Fleming, Esther Dee and Joanne Marshall share vocals with a…
KIND OF BLUE…Denny Zeitlin: Solo Piano-Remembering Miles
One of our most lyrical pianists, Denny Zeitlin delivers a tour de force solo performance, interpreting songs from the wide ranging Miles Davis songbook, from his early bebopping days to his plugged in comeback. The 2016 concert at the Piedmont…
THIS ISN’T YOUR FIRST GIRLFRIEND’S GEORGE WINSTON…George Winston: Restless Wind
Back in the 1980s, pianist George Winston almost single-handedly, (well, double handedly, since he played the piano) started a musical genre called “New Age.” It was EVERYWHERE, and it was simply “mellow” and impressionistic music, with albums titled December, Autumn…