The legendary singer/songwriter Tim Buckley is caught in vintage minstrel form during this pair of performances in Chicago, 1968. He’s supported at times by Carter CC Collins on congas and an unnamed bassist, with many of the tunes here feeling…
Month: February 2020
Dan Weiss Trio Plus 1: Utica Box
Drummer Dan Weiss leads an unorthodox team with pianist Jacob Sacks along with a pair of bassists, Thomas Morgan and Eivind Opsvik. The songs range from concise themes by the bassists on tip of hat to a famed Funk Brother…
BLUES AND ROCKIN’ INSTRUMENTALS FROM AVID…Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee: Four Classic Albums, T-Bone Walker: Five Classic Albums, Various Artists: Instrumental Gold-Five Classic Instrumental Albums Plus
UK-based Avid Records starts the year in a blue mood, with some great roots and grooves. One of the great blues duets, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, have their heyday anthologized here. Their 1958 debut is an intimate folk/blues delight,…
PRISM Quartet: Real Standard Time, Animal Vegetable Mineral
Over twenty years separate the reissue of the eclectic sax quartet Prisms Real Standard Time with their recent release Animal Vegetable Mineral, with changes in sound and personnel. Both have their rich rewards. The original team of Tim Ries/ss, Michael…
THE BEST VOICES TIME FORGOT…Rose Hardaway: It’s Time For Rose Hardaway/Ada Lee: Comes On!, Crystal Joy: The Fabulous Crystal Joy/Althea Gibson/Sings
I have given up trying to figure out how Fresh Sound Records finds these obscure vocalists that are simply amazing. This last batch might be the best of all; no one is scraping the bottom of the barrel here. On…
IF YOU LIKE CHET BAKER…Don Elliott & Bob Corwin: The Don Elliott & Bob Corwin Quartet
I bet you didn’t know that back in the 1950s, Don Elliott was a consistent winner in Downbeat’s polls, under the category of “Miscellaneous Instruments” as he played the obscure mellophone along with vibes, trumpet and bongos. He also worked…
THE BIRTH OF THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND…Buck Owens: The Capitol Singles and Albums 1957-62
Rare is the artist that actually pioneers a musical sound and movement, but Buck Owens (along with Merle Haggard) created a unique blend of honky tonk and twangy rock that was a slap in the face to the staid Nashville…
GET DOWN! Lloyd Price, James Brown, Sam Cooke, etc: The 1960 R&B Hits Collection
The 115 songs on this sumptuous 4 disc collection successfully argue that the high water mark of American music of the early 1960s was not in white American pop like Fabian and Bobby Rydell, but in the black R&B charts.…
Michael Waldrop: Triangularity
Drummer Michael Waldrop leads a trio from behind with pianist Vlad Girshevich and bassist Eric Thorn on a collection of self-penned tunes. Hints of vintage Bill Evans trio is felt with the Waldrop on brushes and Girshevich deft on the…
Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: The Road Less Traveled
While Knoxville itself may be best known for white water rapids and tornadoes, the KJO directed by Vance Thompson shows another reason to visit East Tennessee. The 16 piece band tackles standards, traditional Americana and some clever covers on this…