After he left the group the Soul Stirrers and before he became the proto-typical souls singer of the early 1960s, Sam Cooke took up a three year stint with the independent Los Angeles-based label KEEN records. This boxed set of…
Month: March 2020
John McLaughlin-Shankar Mahadevan-Zakir Hussain: Is That So?
While he has stopped touring the US due to arthritis in his hands, legendary guitarist John McLaughlin has not been sidelined from being creative. He’s turned his “weakness” into a strength, replacing rapid fire chops for space and lyricism as…
Lafayette Harris Jr.: You Can’t Lose the Blues
Pianist Lafayette Harris Jr. sounds like he’s taking the torch passed on from the likes of Harold Mabern, John Hicks and Cedar Walton.He’s got big hands filled with swing and lyricism, demonstrated on this rich album in a trio setting…
WHEN ROCK ROLLED…Dion & The Belmonts: The Singles & Albums Collection 1958-62
There aren’t many artists around that were around at the start of what became known as “rock and roll”, but Dion DiMucci, better known as “Dion”, is one of the survivors. Strong in faith, and still in voice, his beginnings…
Third Sound: Heard In Havana
Directed by composer Patrick Castillo, the Third Sound consists of a mix of woodwinds by Sooyun Kim/fl, Romie de Guise-Langlois/cl, strings by Karen Kim/vi and Michael Nicolas and pianist Orion Weiss, tackling modern classical material that is filled with grey…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Will Vinson: four forty one
Alto saxist Will Vinson does some creative mixing and matching with pianists in a series of quartet and duet settings. The pianists are a formidable collection, featuring Fred Hersch, Geral Clayton, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Sullivan Fortner and Tigran Hamasyan, with the…
Ferenc Nemeth: Freedom
Known for his work as drummer for Lionel Loueke, Ferenc Nemeth creates his own trio with its own personal sound with a team of tenor saxist Gregory Tardy and Tzumo Arpad on piano and keys, with the drummer even bringing…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Harrison Squared: Trout In Swimwear
Toronto-based tenor saxist Harrison Argatoff leads a double tenor front line quartet with Mike Murley on the other Selmer with drummer Harry Vetro and bassist Steve Wallace keeping everything both together and freely swinging. The result is a mix of…
THE GREAT ATARI SONGBOOK?!? Wolff Parkinson White: Favours
Here’s a WILD one for you. Wolff Parkinson White plays electronic sounds, noodles, ricochets and things that go bump in the night in a collection of duets with vocalists all intended to sound like they’re telling scary ghost stories by…
Joe McCarthy New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band: Upwards
Drummer Joe McCarthy leads the NYABABB through a mix of jazz standards and hard hitting originals. He gives a strong percussive foundation for the saxes of Kristy NBorter and Ben Kono on a riveting read of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” and…