Longtime friends like trumpeter Avishai Cohen and pianist Yonathan Avishai play with a symbiosis that can only be created over years of musical conversations. For this recording in a richly spacious studio in Lugano, Italy, the two Sabras mix originals…
Month: September 2019
Ilya Portnov: 3
Blowing through the diatonic harmonica, Russian born and bred Ilya Portnov musically visits various American juke joints with a sweat team of Kid Anderson/g-b, Chris Burns/p-key, June Core/dr Endre Tarczy/b and Ben Andrews/g-vi. The result is a foot stomping blues…
Kamasi Washington @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel 09.20.19
After taking in Friday night’s 100 minute concert at the Ace Hotel, I’m convinced that If anyone is going to carry the torch for carrying jazz into the 20th Century, my vote was going to Kamasi Washington. During a time…
****RINGER OF THEWEEK****Avery Sharpe: 400-An African American Musical Portrait
Since stepping away from his work with McCoy Tyner, bassist Avery Sharpe has amassed a catalogue of albums dedicated either to strong people (Harriet Tubman, Sister Rosetta Tharpe) or strong causes. This time around Sharp creates a rich tapestry of…
Rodney Whitaker: Common Ground
Famed Detroit bassist Rodney Whitaker takes on compositions by Gregg Hill with an ESPish team of post-boppers Terell Stafford/tp-fh, Tim Warfield/ss-ts-ss, Bruce Barth/p, Dana Hall/dr and guest vocalist Rockelle Fortin. Fortin’s sweet voice is bluesy on the hip title track,…
Pablo Embon: Reminiscent Moods
Israeli jazz Pablo Embon plays everything here from piano to bass and guitars on this easy on the ears session of originals. The moods range as widely as a market in Tel Aviv, with sounds from all across the glove.…
Mark Doyle: Watching the Detectives
Subtitled Guitar Noir III, this album has Mark Doyle on guitars, drums, bass and drum programming in order to create moods that conjure up images of Gloria Graham, Edmund O’Brien and Bogie. Long dark shadows echo on the ”Detectives Medley”…
Rebekah Victoria: Songs of the Decades
Warm voiced Rebekah Victoria not only comes up with the clever idea of singing a song from each decade of the 20th Century, but she arranges them in clever and original formats. She’s teamed with a core of Rick Vandivier/g…
PIANO TRIOS…Jeff Williams: Bloom, Joshua Espinoza Trio: Journey Into Night
Drummer Jeff Williams leads a trio with pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Michael Formanek through eleven well composed originals. A handful of the tunes have an allegiance to the quirky bop of Thelonious Monk, with a hip swinger in “Scattershot,”…
Alex Sipiagin: NoFo Skies
Trumpet master Alex Sipiagin brings together a strong post bop team of Chris Potter/ts, Will Vinson/as, John Escreet/p-key, Matt Brewer/b, Eric Harland/dr and vocalist Alina Engibaryan for ten rich and creative originals. The inclusion of Engibaryan is a wise one,…