The New Orleans team of Dan Ruch/voc-tp, Alex Canales/sax-cl, Chris Butcher/tb, Romain Beauxis/g, Spike Perkins/b and Robert Montgomery/dr mix traditional tones of the Crescent City with a dash of the modern. Ruch is warm in both voice and horn on…
Month: September 2020
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mafalda Minnozzi: Sensorial-Portraits In Bossa & Jazz
OK! Sue me, sue me, what can you do me? I love bossa albums! This one by Mafalda Minnozzi is a real treat in that her voice and emotions show a dash of late period Billie Holiday, making it a…
Chick Corea: Plays
Sometimes, you forget that “plays” can have two meanings. Piano legend Chick Corea is one of the few remaining artists who works on connecting and having fun with his audience. This album has him in a solo concert format, and…
Dave Bryant: Night Visitors
Dave Bryant plays piano and a wide variety of keyboards in a trio setting with bassits Charnett Moffett and Gregg Bendian, who works out on drums, percussion and more exotic things like the glockenspiel and doumbek. Bryant’s keyboard work gives…
Azat Bayazitov: The Doors Are Open
Tenor saxist teams up with all star guitarist Adam Rogers and an impressive team of David Kikoski/p-key, Boris Kos Kozlov/b and Samvel Sarkisyan/dr for interpretations of his own material. Bayazitov’s tone is strong, muscular and assured, and with Rogers sitting…
The Mark Masters Ensemble featuring Gary Smulyan: Night Talk-The Alec Wilder Songbook
Always in the top tier of baritone saxists, Gary Smulyan joins in with the hard hitting team of Bob Summers/tp Don Shelton/as-af, Jerry Pinter/ts-ss and Dave Woodley/tb to create a swinging front line for the hard bopping rhythm section of…
Misha Mullov-Abbado: Dream Circus
Bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado leads a post-bop team of James Davison/tp-fh, Matthew Herd/as, Sam Rapley/ts, Liam Cunachie/p-org and Scott Chapman/dr through a mix of contemplative and loose fitting originals. Mullov-Abbado’s bass his a palpable tone, rich during “Seven Colours” under Davison’s…
TELL YO MAMA…The Flying Horse Big Band: Florida Rays
Brother Ray Charles is celebrated by the Flying Horse Big Band, with some foot stomping reads of tunes from all periods of the icon’s career. The Jeff Rupert-directed 18+ member band shuffles and swings to wailing Hammond breezes on instrumentals…
Igor Kogan: In A Big City
Bassist and composer Igor Kogan delivers vintage sounding hard and post bop originals with a muscular team of Jeremy Lappitt/ts, Joshua Aguiar/tp-fh, Marco Apicella/p and Matthew Baker/dr. Ethereal vocalist Tierney Sutton adds velvety harmony to a gorgeous “Vocalise”, stepping out…
BLUES LEGENDS WITH BUDS…Shirley King: Blues For A King, Joe Louis Walker: Blues Comin’ On
When you’re blue, you never want to be alone, as these two blues greats show, both bringing in buds and bros to share the heat. Shirley King at 70 years young has made a name for herself besides “simply” being…