Playing guitar and brandishing a street smarts voice, Christopher Dean takes you down the back streets of New Orleans with his team of Rob Fraser/b, Dave Hollingsworthy/dr, June Thomas/org, Carl Snyder/p and Steve Lombardelli/horns. Dean handles the big beat of…
Month: July 2021
Natsuki Tamura: Koki Solo
Celebrating his 70th Birthday, Natsuki Tamura goes solo, playing piano, trumpet and even the wok on this intuitive and personal album. On the horn, he flutters and spirals on “Sekirei”, has a soft puff to “Kawau” and splatters with his…
Glenn Close & Ted Nash: Transformation
Reed master Ted Nash, best know for his work with the JALCO, teams up with actress Glenn Close in a reciting role as he leads an orchestra that includes Sherman Irby, Victor Goines, Wynton Marsalis, Marcus Printup and Obed Calvaire…
Steve Goodman: It Sure Looked Good On Paper-The Steve Goodman Demos
One of the most gifted and clever of the 70s singer/songwriters, Steve Goodman (1948-84) left us too soon, but Omnivore Recordings has done a great job of not only reissuing his classic albums, but (as demonstrated here) has also gone…
Focus Year Band 2021: Bosque
The little big band of Focus Year Band 2021 consists of Yakiv Tsvietinsky/Sebastian Greschuk on brass, Joshua Schofield/Gianni Gaglirardi/sax, Lorenzo Vitolo/p, Ethan Cohn/b, Aron Talas/dr-key-perc and Tatiana Nova singing with and without lyrics. Jorge Rossy adds some vibes to the…
BUT CAN HE PLAY THE GOY’S HARP?…Mark Rubin-Jew of Oklahoma: The Triumph of Assimilation
I guess you might call this genre “Jewgrass”, as member of the Tribe Mark Rubin uses lyrics, sounds and attitude from his Jewish heritage to meld into traditional folk and country tunes to create a clever meld of Gentile/Jewish brotherhood.…
JAZZY VIBES AND EARLY ROCK FROM AVID: Victor Feldman: Four Classic Albums, Pat Boone: Five Classic Albums Plus
The latest two releases from AVID Records give us a glimpse into the wide variety of sounds in the 50s Best known for his work on classic Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley albums, vibist Victor Feldman released some impressive work…
Kayle’ Brecher: Bredux-Collected Edges
Vocalist and arranger Kayle’ Brecher makes music like a stroll through a modern art museum. This collection of eleven tunes, some standards, some originals are like a kaleidoscope of sounds and moods, each uniquely created, fitting into the whole of…
Max Highstein: Tiptoes
Max Highstein creates a velvety mix of tapestries as he plays the gamut of reeds (soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet) along with bass and piano with his supporting team of Ed Willett/cel, Jeff Pevar/g, John Yoakum/fl, Rusty Crutcher/as-ts and Mark…
JUMPIN’ THE BLUES…Peppermint Harris: The Peppermint Harris Collection: 1948-60
Mixing the heavy R&B boogie of Big Joe Turner with a Texas twang of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Peppermint Harris (1925-1999) had a successful career as a master of jumping the blues, with material ranging from Post WWII to the early days…