Originally from South Korea, pianist Dabin Ryu displays the skills she’s honed from the likes of Carl Allen, Kurt Elling and Joanne Brackeen with an impressive post bop album. She teams with a core of Benjamin Young/b and Willis Edmundson/dr…
Month: June 2021
MODERN BIG BANDS…Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra: Twisting Ways , Tim Hagans NDR Big Band: A Conversation
Just FYI…Glenn Miller is dead, but big bands live. The Canadian tundra swings with rich harmonies and a clever mix of poetry and pulses delivered by the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. A number of the cleverly arranged charts include vocals. Sarah…
Blue Muse: It Never Entered My Mind
Tenor saxist Sarah Lee started the group Blue Muse after leaving a 20 year career in the IT field. She must have downloaded a lot of Blue Note sessions during her computer career, as this hard bop beauty oozes of…
Arturo O’Farrill Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra: Virtual Birdland
Since the jazz clubs have been closed for over a year, Arturo O’Farrell socially distanced his Jazz Orchestra to give a “live” session from the 20+ musicians recording in their living rooms. Well, jazz is improvised music, isn’t it? The…
Michael Mason: Human Revolution
A rich mix of jazz and grooves from Africa and South Asia are stirred by Michael Mason on a variety of flutes, mixing and matching atmospheres with Danny Goessling/dr-perc, Geoffrey Lowe/b, Scott Ashley-Jeff Rutter/eg, Dave Rice/p-key, and Aras Biskkis-Jose Natal/perc.…
Berta Moreno’s Afro-Jazz Project: Tumaini
Tenor saxist and composer Berta Moreno creates ten rich and pulsating Afro-Cuban originals with an upbeat team of Manuel Valera/p-key, Maksim Perepelica/b, Raphael Pannier/dr, Franco Pinna/perc and vocalist Alana Sinkey. The band mixes contemporary jazz sounds a la bands like…
John Hasselback III: Entrance
Trumpeter John Hasselback III leads a post bop team of Jonathan Barber/dr, Luques Curtis/b and Taber Gable/p as he rotates horn men Wayne Escoffery/axs and Steve Davis/tb through a collection of mostly originals. The one cover is a gorgeous duet…
Kevin Hays, Ben Street, Billy Hart: All Things Are
All stars Kevin Hays/p, Ben Street/b and Billy Hart/dr put together a classy interplay of trio work on this recent get-together. Hays has teamed with Hart in years past, and although he’s better known for his work with Bill Stewart…
Frank Morelli and Keith Oxman: The Ox-Mo Incident
No, Dana Andrews or Henry Fonda don’t show up on this album, but vintage and timeless sounds, with a bit of creativity, definitely do. The unique mix of Frank Morelli’s bassoon and Keith Oxman’s tenor make for some fascinating sounds,…
VINTAGE COUNTRY AND VO-COOL FROM AVID: Hank Snow: Five Classic Albums, June Christy: Five Classic Albums
Timeless sounds and voices on this latest collection of reissues by Avid… Hank Snow has been around for so long, he even preceded “Old School” country music. Things actually start in 1953 here on the last album of this 2…