A gorgeous mix of modern jazz and timeless African pulses are produced by composer/trombonist/vocalist Malcolm Jiyane, and performed by the team of Nhlanhla Mahlangu/as, Nkosinathi Mathunjwa/p-key, Tebogo Seitei-Brandon Ruiters/tp, Gontse Makhene/perc, Ayanda Zalekile/b, Lungile Kunene/dr and Tubatsi Mpho Moloi/voc. There’s…
Month: February 2022
Chris Trinidad: Certain Times, Changing Tides
Bass guitarist Chris Trinidad creates a pair of albums with two distinct groups interpreting his own compositions in two different settings. The Certain Times release has Trinidad with Charlie Gurke/bs, Alex Conde/p and Aaron Kierbel, creating a kind of hip…
SERVING BLUE PLATES…Grant Dermondy & Frank Fotusky: Digging In John’s Backyard, Mike Nagoda: Outside The Box
Two filling servings of the blues… Shades of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee are brought up with this fun and relaxed teaming of harpist Grant Dermody and guitarist/vocalist Frank Fotusky. The folksy sounds work well, with Fotusky showing his Delta…
Greg Amirault: News Blues
Guitarist Greg Amirault teams up with brother Steve/p, Adrian Vedady/b and Jim Doxas/dr for a mix of jazz standards and originals. There’s a pleasant and easy swing to these pieces, reminding you of West Coast Cool with glowing strings on…
Le Coq Records Presents: The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2
Le Coq records reminds me of the old days of Blue Note, when an artistic family shared albums and were passed around to each other for various sessions. This latest album has a whole collection mixed and matched, including but …
Yuko Mabuchi: The Caribbean Canvas
I missed pianist Yuko Mabuchi the last time she came to LA; this album makes me regret it doubly so. She’s got a warm and upbeat touch and uses it well on this journey to the warm waters of South…
GIRLS WITH THE BLUES…Katie Henry: On My Way, Julie Christensen: 11 Songs From Kevin-Songs of Kevin Gordon
Katie Henry sings with a rural grit, playing piano and guitar as well with a band of Antar Goodwin/b-slg, Ben Rice/g, Kurt Thum/p-org, Greg Wieczorek/dr and Giles Robson/harm, who blows a mean wind off of Lake Michigan on the Chicago’d…
Jon Balke’s Siwan: Hafla
Leading a team of exotic instrumentalists such as Mona Boutchebak/voc-oud, Derya Turkan/kemence, Pedram Khavar Zamini/tomback, Bjarte Eike/vi and Per Buhre/voc-viola, Jon Balke brings his own tombak, keyboards and electronics to create Iberian and Mediterranean atmospheric journeys. Boutchebak’s Middle Eastern nasally…
WHEN HITS ACTUALLY HIT SOMETHING….America’s Greatest Hits 1948, The 1957 R&B Collection, The 1000th Billboard Chart-7th September 1959
If you watched the Super Bowl Half Time Show a couple weeks ago, I’m sure you must have wondered how Western Civilization collapsed so dramatically. These three multi-disc sets reflect an era and worldview that believed that good music could…
A MAJOR HORN CUT SHORT…Booker Lilttle: The Complete Albums Collection
One of the sad stories in jazz history is the large number of great trumpeters that have died all too soon. The list, including Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Woody Shaw and Kenny Dorham, up…