Guitarist and composer Lyle Workman has carved out an impressive career as sideman for the likes of Sting, Norah Jones and Beck, as well as composing for films and movies such as Superbad, The 40 Year Old Version and Forgetting…
Month: April 2021
David Detweiler: The Astoria Suite
Tenor saxist David Detweiler carries the beefy toned tenor tradition on this album with trombonist Kevin Jones, drummer Leon Anderson and bassist Mikailo Kasha on this mix of originals. A touch of Coltrane comes in with Anderson giving some thrills…
BETTER THAN DISCO AND BREAK DANCING PUT TOGETHER…Various Artists: The Twist Hot 100
Before Youtube or MTV, there were television shows geared towards teens and adolescents. You had some avuncular adult like Dick Clark or Lloyd Thaxton introducing various songs and artists to the Boomer Generation, and we kids would dance to the…
Veronica Swift: This Bitter Earth
Better known for her work with pianist Benny Green as a trad/swinger, vocalist Veronica Swift shows a wide breadth and width of sounds on this album of rich environs. She has a core team of Emmet Cohen/p, Yasushi Nakamura/b and…
LADY AT THE HORN…Lina Allemano Four: Vegetables, Lina Allemano’s Bloop: Proof
Canadian trumpeter Lina Allemano shows here wares in a pair of different environs. On trumpet, Allemano teams with Brode West/as, Andrew Downing/b and Nick Fraser/dr for a collection of tunes dedicated to vegetables. “Beans” has a one short, one long…
Tivon Pennicott: Spirit Garden
Best known as a sideman for Gregory Porter, tenor saxist Tivon Pennicott delivers a tour de force release of his own, mixing rich strings (conducted by Olivier Glissant) along with his team of P hilip Dizack/tp, Joe Saylor/dr, Dominique Sanders/b…
Joseph Herbst Sextet: This is Our Environment
Sermonettes, narrations, poems and lectures about social/environmental issues are used as a platform by saxist/composer Joseph Herbst and his team of SJWs Luther Allison/p, Liany Mateo/b, Peter Martin/g, Zach McKenney/dr and Evan Taylor/tp-fh. Instrumentals such as “The say There are…
Gretchen Parlato: Flor
It’s been way too long since vocalist Gretchen Parlato has released an album, and this one may simply be her strongest. For one thing, it sounds most like her concert performances, as she stays mostly with a single working team…
Steve Hunt: Connections
Keyboardist Steve Hunt must have some nice jam sessions at home with his buddies, as this album is chock full of fist tier guests mixed and matched for his compositions. The “A” list includes Billy Cobham/dr, John Patitucci/b, Jimmy Haslip/b,…
Michael Wolff: Live @ Vitellos
Why did I miss this gig? Vitellos is the venerable jazz club/restaurant best known for a) the hang out for the Rat Pack guys where they’d bring their broads up stairs for carousing and music and b) where Robert Blake…