Can political campaigns from the progressive branch of the Democratic party be an inspiration for a movie soundtrack? Why not? Just goes to show unworkable policies can coincide with successful sounds. The team of Tyler Wood/p-key, Ryan Blotnick/g-key-perc, Sam Sadifursky/cl,…
Month: September 2019
Scotty Dennis: Back to the Blues
Kansas City bred vocalist Scotty Dennis dips his sounds in a thick BBQ sauce on this easy to like blueser of a session. He’s got a gritty gospel sound to his voice, weaned on Sunday morning services as he preaches…
Steve Cole: Gratitude
Smooth schooled tenor saxist Steve Cole sails glassy seas on this collection of R&B flavored originals with a team of Trevor Neumann/tp, Dan Levine/tb, David Mann/woodwinds, Ricky Peterson/key, Bernd Schoenhart/g, Kari Parker/dr and Lamar Jones/b in a cut and paste…
Claudia Koval CD Release @ Feinstein’s at Vitellos 09.15.19
Is there a world for jazz singer/songwriters? Well, judging by the packed house at Feinstein’s Saturday night, Claudia Koval sure thinks so. Performing songs from her recent release (Songs From the Raggedy Road) as well as her first album, Ms.…
MODERN TRIOS IN THE WAKE…Aki Rissanen: Art In Motion, Extended: Harbinger
Every era has bands and artists that create seismic shifts in style. The Bad Plus came around in the 1990s to formulate a new type of piano trio, going away from the “mow, blow and go” of standards to a…
Jon Irabagon: Invisible Horizon
Best known for his creative alto sax work, Jon Irabagon searches new musical lands with the tiny sopranino sax, teaming with pianist Matt Mitchell and the Mivos String Quartet for a two disc session that veers towards modern classical moods.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****A TRIBUTE TO AN OVERLOOKED ORIGINAL…Mark Turner & Gary Foster: Mark Turner Meets Gary Foster
When you think of people that were true originals, Lennie Tristano is one of the forgotten renegades of modern jazz. Tenor saxist Mark Turner teams up with alto man Gary Foster to give tribute to the classic front line of…
Michael O’Neill Quintet with Tony Lindsay: Pacific Standard Time
Michael O’Neill plays tenor sax, bass clarinet, clarinet and flute as he leads a swinging bop team of horn men Erik Jekabson & Mike Olmos along with pianist John R. Burr, bassit, Dan Feiszli, drummer Alan Hall, percussionist Omar Ledezma…
SLAM AND HASLAM…George Haslam & Nikolas Skordas: Lethe, George Haslam-Steve Cohn-Steve Kershaw: Ancient and Modern
George Haslam displays control of a wide variety of instruments ranging from baritone sax, alto sax, zither and tarogato as he explores music of folk traditions and jazz on these two albums. Haslam teams with Nikolas Skordas, who plays soprano…
Bob Sheppard: The Fine Line
LA’s first call man on the horn, Bob Sheppard, shows what he can do when leading a band on this album with the strong team of John Beasley/p, Kendrick Scott/dr and Jasper Somsen/b on this mix of standards and originals.…