One of the most creative pianists to come out of France was and still is Martial Solal, who’s found in his strongest setting, the trio, in this collection of studio and concert recordings on this two disc set. The studio…
Month: October 2019
John Miller: Takes On Broadway
John Miller sings, plays bass and acoustic guitar while serving up clever and original arrangements of classic Broadway songs. His mix and match team of musicians range from compact quartets to large orchestras. Miller’s voice and delivery are reminiscent of…
Veronica Swift: Confessions
Vocalist Veronica Swift has mostly been associated with her partnership with pianist Benny Green, and while she teams up with him on a handful of the tracks here, she stretches out as well with a mix and match collection with…
Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre: Love The Moment
Pianist Oscar Hernandez mixes and matches with scintillating Afro Jazz artists Justo Almario/sax-fl, Oskar Cartaya/b, Christian Moraga/perc, Gilbert Castellanos/tp and Dayren Santamaria/vi for a sizzling session. Almario earns his name as the “Latin Coltrane” here with a wonderfully mysterious soprano…
Corey Christiansen: La Proxima
Corey Christiansen plays electric and acoustic guitars in a collection of optimistic settings with a team of David Beove/b, Michael Spiro/perc and Colin Douglas/dr-perc. The extra rhythm pays dividends, whether on the acoustic guitared “My Sofiea” or electrical “Ambedo,” the…
Itamar Erez: Mi Alegria
Classical trained guitar and pianist Itamar Erez mixes jazz and Mediterranea on this charming and fluid collection of virtuosity with a collection of like minded artists. There’s a core of James Meger/b and Kevin Romain/dr along with guests Ilan Salem/fl,…
Joel Ross’ Good Vibes @ Blue Whale 10.15.19
Presenting music from his gracious and lyrical Blue Note debut , vibist Joel Ross brought most of the teammates from that same session, but allowing the concise studio tunes stretch out and segue into one another for two half hour…
Al Basile: B’s Hot House
Al Basile sings with a voice like Eddie Floyd, plays muted trumpet like Miles Davis and leads a band like Booker T Jones on this swampy collection of STAXY originals. He teams with guitar legend Duke Robillard along with Mark…
OUR BEST TRIO? The Fred Hersch Trio: 10 Years/6 Discs
People can argue ad infinitum as to whether the “best” trio around these days has been Keith Jarrett’s team with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, but I believe people vote with their feet, and the combo that I actually listen…
SWEET SOUNDS OF SWING…Guy Lombardo: Hits Collection Vol.1 (1927-37)
Back in the Big Band era, Orchestras were divided into “Sweet” and “Hot”. Believe it or not, Artie Shaw would win the former category, with Benny Goodman the latter. One of the sweetest sounding bands of all was the one…