Pianist Marcos Ariel goes solo on this collection of originals, all dedicated to flowers that are as pretty and fragrant as his playing. There’s an elegant darkness to the Mozartian “Orchid” and “Calla Lily” with Chopinesque nocturnes with his classy…
Month: February 2022
Sara Serpa: Intimate Strangers
Vocalist Sara Serpa mixes poetry, voices and lyrics together on this album that feels like a collection of modern madrigals. For her compositions, she brings in the voices of Emmanuel Iduma (who provides the spoken words), Sofie Rei, Aubrey Johnson…
Jazzlab Orchestra: Loguslabusmuzikus
Jazzlab Orchestra consists of the three reed team of Mario Allard/sp-as-cl, Benjamin Deschamps/sp-tn-fl, Samuel Blais/ss-bcl, the brass players Jacques Kuba Seguin/tp with Thomas Morelli-Bernard/tb and a rhythm team of Felix Stussi/p, Alain Bedard/b and Michel Lambert/dr. The plethora of horns…
Halley-Clucas-Reed-Halley: Boomslang
Tenor saxist Rich Halley brings back aural images of the free flying days of Charles Mingus with his lithe team of Dan Clucas/ct, Clyde Reed/b and Carson Halley/b. A sort of Monk minus piano takes place on the quirky pieces…
AN EMPLOYEE OF THE BOSS…Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers: American Babylon-25th Anniversary Edition
Pittsburgh-based Joe Grushecky led the type of working class band that typified the nightclub scene of the 80s and 90s. Other bands, like Joe Mellencamp or Graham Parker and the Rumour, had similar blue collar styles, and it never does…
INNOVATIONS FROM INNOVA RECORDS…Chris Campbell: Orison, Danielle Eva Schwob: Out of the Tunnel, Emily Koh: (Word) Plays-Microtonal Works for Saxophone(s), Tiffany Ng: Dark Matters
Surviving the lockdown and musical social distancing, St. Paul-based Innova Records is back on track with some adventurous recordings to brighten your day and widen your ears. Leader Chris Campbell leads the Orison Ensemble through a collection of seven pieces…
Alex Hamburger: And She Spoke
Playing a rich flute and singing a bit, husky voiced Alex Hamburger brings in a flexible team of Jose Luiz Martins/p-key, Doug Weiss/b and Chase Kuesel/dr to interpret her own material and some clever Baby Boomer pieces. Of the latter,…
Gabriel Zucker & The Delegation: Leftover Beats From the Edges of Time
Gabriel Zucker plays piano and electronics on this two disc set of his compositions, producing the album and even bringing in lyrics that he vocalizes on with an ensemble of horns, strings and rhythm. The music is a four part…
END OF FANTASY’S ERA…Daggerboard: The Last Days of Studio A
At one time, Berkley’s famed Fantasy Studio A was the home of the glory days of jazz as well as the place where rock bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival started out. This album is the swan song, featuring musicians Erik…
RICK BRAUN-A SMOOTH RIDE
FOR 30 YEARS, RICK BRAUN HAS SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATED THE JAZZ FIELD WITH A CAREER THAT INCLUDES GOLD RECORDS, WELL ATTENDED TOURS AND SESSIONS WITH THE LIKES OF ROD STEWART, TINA TURNER, TOM PETTY AND SADE? SO WHY ISN’T HE ON…