Dutch chromatic harmonica player Hermine Deurloo teams up with legendary drummer Steve Gadd and the flexible supporting cast of Kevin Hays on keyboards and bassist-guitarist Tony Scheer. The album sounds like a vintage Steely Dan session, with a mix of…
Month: September 2020
Jon Hassell: Seeing Through Sound
Jon Hassell uses electronics in a vein similar to vintage Brian Eno on this mix of synthy sound scapes. Mixes of ambience meld on the tropical “Cool Down Coda” and the digitally percussive “Fearless Touch” and breathy voices get spacy…
FREEDOM IN THE STREETS: Daniel Carter-Patrick Holmes-Matthew Putman-Hilliard Greene-Federico Ughi: Telepathic Mysteries, Test and Roy Campbell: Test and Roy Campbell, Jorma Tapio & Kaski: Aliseen
Intuitive sounds from 577 Records… Jorma Tapio plays a variety of flutes, saxes and the kantele while teamed with bassist Ville Rauhala and drummer/percussionist Janne Tuomi, who throws in an occasional kantele as well for these Tapio originals. Tapio’s Coltranesque…
Bob James: Once Upon A Time-The Lost 1965 Studio Sessions
While known these days as one of the smoothest pianists around, back in the mid 60s Bob James mixed proto-bebop with some splashes of avant garde, as this historic reissue by Resonance Records testifies. James is teamed with bassist Larry…
A CLASSIC COMBO REVISITED…Christian McBride Big Band w/ Joey DeFrancesco: For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver
Back in the mid- 60s, Hammond B3 legend Jimmy Smith got together with guitar icon Wes Montgomery for a made in heaven summit meeting. Add some charts by Oliver Nelson’s orchestra and you got a pair of albums that are…
MORE OF THE BEST VOICES THAT TIME FORGOT…Cora Lee Day: My Crying Hour/Debby Moore: My Kind of Blues, Sheila Guyse: This is Sheila/Joya Sherrill: Sugar & Spice
Just when you think there are no more ladies at the jazz microphone, Barcelona-based Fresh Sound Records does some fracking and comes up with more black gold! Cora Lee Day only recorded this one album before becoming an actress, ranging…
Javier Nero: Freedom
Trombonist Javier Nero leads a swinging and spirited septet of Tom Kelley/as-ss-fl, Jean Caze/gp-fh, Melvin Butler/ts-ss, tal Cohen/p, Dion Kerr/b, Aaron Kimmel/dr along with a collection of guests including Brian Lynch on this celebratory session. Nero shows his rich tone…
Angelica Sanchez & Marilyn Crispell: How To Turn The Moon
Piano duets have a long history dating back to the classic boogie woogies of Ammons-Lewis and Ellington-Strayhorn. Here, Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell mix intuition and spontaneity into their ten pieces. The result is a kaleidoscope of moods such as…
Allegra Levy: Lose My Number
Flexible and bop toned vocalist Allegra Levy interprets compositions of trumpeter John McNeil, who sits in a couple of songs with the regular team of pianist Carmen Staaf, bassist Carmen Rothwell and drummer Colleen Clark. At times, Levy gives hint…
CRESCENT CITY REISSUES ON VINYL…Irma Thomas: After The Rain, James Booker: Classified
Rounder Records has reissued a pair of vinyl albums that display the rich sounds of New Orleans. Officially dubbed “The Soul Queen of New Orleans”, Grammy-award winner Irma Thomas in 2006 released a heart-felt two album reflection of the devastation…