As a tenor sax player myself, I’m always on the hunt for some new guy who has an Old School sound but isn’t locked into the past. I think I’ve found someone in Vito Dieterle, who’s got me excited by…
Month: May 2020
THE LAST LIVING SWINGER…Terry Gibbs: Featuring Pat Moran-Swing That Thing! And Straight Ahead
Vibist Terry Gibbs, born in 1924, is the last living musician to have played during the Swing Era, having been with Woody Herman’s world famous Second Herd and teamed up with famed clarinetists Benny Goodman and Buddy DeFranco between stints…
Deep Energy Orchestra: The Return
Exciting meldings of progressive rock and Central Asian tones work wonders on this album featuring Jason Everett on 7 string fretless and 6 string acoustic bass along with guitarist Fareed haque, V. Selvaganesh on various Indian percussion including the vocal…
Ben Sidran: The Ballad of Tommy LiPuma
The fascinating life of producer Tommy LiPuma is evocatively captured by raconteur writer Ben Sidran in this rich musico-biography. As a musician and composer himself, Sidran is able to give insight into the musical mind of LiPuma from his early…
Mette Juul: Change, New York-Copenhagen
I’ve never heard any material by vocalist Mette Juul, but these two albums got my attention. She has a warm and husky voice, but even more important, she knows how to take a lyric and make it sound like a…
Ross McHenry: Nothing Remains Unchanged
Bassist Ross McHenry teams with drummer Eric Harland, pianist Matthew Sheens and tenor saxist Ben Wendel (for the most part) on these intuitive post bop originals. There are a few trio settings, with the leader giving some nice solo work…
Sass Jordan: Rebel Moon Blues
Vocalist Sass Jordan sounds like a female version of Steve Marriott as she wails through a set of bluesy tunes with a team of Chris Caddell/g, Jimmy Reid/g, Derrick Brady/b, Cassius Pereira/dr and guests Steve Marriner/harp, Jesse O’Brien/key and backup…
Roscoe Mitchell with Ostraviska Banda: Performing Distant Radio Transmission
Compositions by the legendary Roscoe Mitchell are interpreted and performed in both orchestra and woodwind quintet settings on album that leans toward modern classical tones. The “Distant Radio Transmission” was recorded from one of Mitchell’s improvisations, with the large orchestra…
YES, BUT CAN SHE SPELL THE BLUES YET? Sophie Fatu: Love Is..
If you have young kids, and want to inspire them to practice their scales, give them a listen to seven year old Sophie Fatu, who sings with confidence and boldness on this ep of standards with LA’s finest. Of course,…
Pearl Django: Simplicity
The inspiration and mood of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt is adroitly captured by the team of Michael Gray/vi, Rick Leppanen/b, David Lange/acc and the two guitar front of Tim Lerch with Jim Char on this collection of originals. Waltzing themes…