Soft and folksy pastoral moods are created by the wisp voiced Rebecca Hennessy, who also uses her trumpet playing to fill out the impressionistic album with Kevin Breit/g-mand-banj-org, tania Gill/p, Michael Herring/b and Dave Clark/dr. All contribute backing vocals, forming…
Month: November 2020
Dion Kerr: Ivy
Sonic moods filled with textures are created by Dion Kerr, who plays a surfeit of instruments including bass, guitar, piano, drums, samples and flute along with an Agatha Christie rotating guest list. Adam O’Farrill brings his post bop trumpet to…
Hamilton Loomis: This Season
What sets this Christmas album by blues rocker Hamilton Loomis apart from the rest is that many of the pieces come from his own pen, and the ink was running well. He lays electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboard and…
Marius Nest & DR Bigband: Tributes
Norwegian saxist Marius Nest teams with the DR Big Band for some exciting charts that mix post bop jazz as well as R&B and rock moods on this recent release. There is a two part “Bicycle Town” that has Nest…
The JCA Orchestra: Live At The BCP
On this “live” recording, the Jazz Composers Alliance stays on course of its statement of purpose to “support, develop and promote the art of jazz composition” combining a rich 21 piece orchestra along with vocalist and guest by the Strings…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Lionel Loueke: HH
Guitarist Lionel Loueke has carved a creative path with his mixing of West African sounds and beats with post bop jazz in a plethora of settings, ranging to sessions as a sideman with Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock and Luciana Souza…
THE FOUNDATION OF JAZZ GUITAR…Eddie Lang & Joe Venuti: The New York Sessions 1926-1935, Django Reinhardt: Postwar Recordings 1944-1953
If you’re an aspiring guitar player, or simply a fan of jazz/rock guitar, there is simply no better place to begin that with these two box sets that feature the work of guitarists Eddie Lang and Django Reinhardt. Everything, and…
ECHOES OF AN ERA…Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things, Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes
Available digitally, these two documentaries are absolutely essential bundles of insight, joy and history, with a fresh reminder of why jazz is still one of America’s greatest contributions to civilization. The 90 minute Just One Of Those Things takes you…
NELS AT THE FILLMORE WEST? Nels Cline Singers: Share The Wealth
Guitarist Nels Cline sounds like he’s going back into the psychedelic 60s on this recent album with saxist Skerik, keyboardist Brian Marsella, bassist Trevor Young, drummer Scott Amendola and percussionist Cyro Baptista. Long jams such as on “Stump the Panel”…
FREE AND EASY…Natsuki Tamra, Satoko Fujii, Ramon Lopez: Mantle, Rich Halley-Matthew Shipp-Michael Bisio-Newman Taylor Baker: The Shape Of Things
Loose and intuitive improvisations are created by the triumvirate of trumpeter Natsuke Tamura, drummer Ramon Lopez and legendary pianist Satoko Fujii. The nine pieces are filled with various moods, stark and dark with soft brass on “Metaphors” and building up…