There are Standards, and there are Standards. We’ve got the Great American Songbook for jazzers, but rarely are the songs of the spiritual side of Americas music ever explored by jazz artists. Pianist and arranger Earl MacDonald makes an excellent…
Month: October 2021
SMALL GROUP HORN MEN…Turning Circles: What Goes Around Comes Around, Jared Hall: Seen On the Scene
Today’s trumpets… Post bop trumpeter and composer Kerry Moffit leads a team of Seth Ebersole/ts-as, Rob Kilips-Altin Sencalar/tb, Arlene Pritchard McDaniel-Luther Allison/key, Terry Newman/b and Ian LeVine/dr through a nice mix of jazz standards and originals. The horns are fluid…
Steve Million: What I Meant To Say
Pianist and composer Steve Million creates an impressionistic album with cool toned guitarist Steve Cardenas and the support pulse of John Sims/b and Ron Vincent/dr. Cardenas shows his homage to the ECM sounds of guitar legend John Abercrombie as he…
Alexis Cole: Sky Blossom
Not many singers can boast US military clearance, but that’s just part of the allure of Army trained Alexis Cole, serving on the musical front lines here with an all star big band conducted by Jeff Jarves and including guest…
Haeun Joo: We Will Find
Pianist and composer Haeun Joo creates relaxed and impressionistic moods with a post bop team of Matt Holman/tp-fh, Doug Weiss/b and Ronen Itzik/dr with her 8 originals. Her piano style gives hints of Mehldau, Evans and Hancock, dancing fluidly around…
EARLY NYRO…Laura Nyro: Go Find The Moon (The Audition Tape)
Laura Nyro, along with Joni Mitchell, seem to be the most influential Baby Boomer songwriters for today’s singers. Here are a couple of re-issued and undiscovered gems. Go Find The Moon is a collection of an 18 year old Laura…
DOWN ON THE CORNER…Clifford/Wright: For All The Money In The World
Former Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford teams up with bassist Steve Wright, Keith England/voc, guitarists Joe Satriani-Greg Douglass-Jimmy Lyon and keyboardists Tim Gorma-Pat Mosca to bring back rocking 70s and 80s grooves. The songs all have that mix…
Dr. Mike Bogle: Let There Be Light
Modern grooves are delivered by Dr. Mike Bogle, who playes keyboards, a bit of trombone and even throws in some vocals with his team of Dana Sudborough/vibe, Andy Barrus/Steel Pan-perc, Buddy Mohmed/b and Harrell Bosarge/dr. The flow is fluid and…
Satoko Fujii: Piano Music
When Satoko Fujii says that she’s playing “piano music”, she means every part of the piano. She “prepares” parts of the piano with paper, etc in the strings to create an almost synthesizer effect, strums and attacks the strings, uses…
Kevin Sun: <3 Bird
On this tribute to bebop pioneer Charlie “Bird” Parker, Kevin Sun uses his tenor sax and clarinet to team up with a core of Walter Stinson/b and Matt Honor/dr along with a rotation of Christian Li/p-key, Max Light/g and Adam…