Best known for his funk-jazz work of the 70s, particularly with his classic teaming with George Benson, organmeister Ronnie Foster returns to his jazz roots and original Blue Note label for a swinging soul fest of deep grooves and pulses.…
Month: June 2022
Mike Stevens: Breath In the World, Breathe Out Music
Sure, there are plenty of albums that have a guy playing the harmonica now and then along with strumming the guitar, but few cats have the courage (or chops) to emphasized the Hohner for an entire album, and not make…
John Wasson’s Strata Big Band: Chronicles
Bass trombonist John Wasson leads a 17 piece big band through a collection of his originals mixed some covers on this satisfying and bold album. The unit swings like Basie, with some hot solos by trumpeter Pete Clgett and tenor…
Jose Conde: Souls Alive In The 305
Stylish and energetically poppish mixes of soul and reggae are delivered by Jose Conde, who’s almost a one man band, playing guitar, moog bass, organ, and drum programming for starters alongside a mx & match team including Geminelle/voc, Armando Lopez/dr,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****WHO WAS THIS GUY?!?Bobby Cole: A Point Of View
Are you like I am? I’ve NEVER heard of this guy Bobby Cole before, so I had to look him up after getting knocked out by this album of his, a reissue (and then some) of essentially his only album,…
COZY GUITAR…Diego Figueiredo: Follow The Signs
Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo has to be one of the undiscovered treasures of six stringed fans. He’s released a ton of albums in solo format, also teaming with clarinetist Ken Peplowski or vocalist Cyrille Aimee to wonderous results. This time…
THINK YOU’VE HEARD EVERY SINGER FROM THE SWING ERA? Linda Keene: One More For The Road
Just when you think you’ve heard every canary from the big band era like Helen Ward, Helen Forrest or Martha Tilton, Fresh Sound Records digs up the virtually unknown Linda Keene, who was the vocalist for bands including Jack Teagarden,…
Susie Blue and the Lonesome Fellas: Blue Train
Did someone scrawl Susie Blue’s name on the wall for a good time to call? This ladie’s a hoot, hitting the juke joints with Howard Levy/harm, Eric Schneider/sax, Jack Gallagher/tb, Neal Alger/g, Don Stille/B3, Tom Hope/p, Chris Bernhardt/b, Phil Gratteau/dr…
SWINGING THE BREWS…Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra: Take It All
While best known for its beer, Milwaukee is now getting on the map with the Milwaukee Jazz Orchestra (MJO) , developed by saxist Curt Hanrahan and drummer Walt Hanrahan. This album is filled with enthusiastic charts, with some big brass…
JAZZ AND STRINGS…Yves Leveille: L’echelle du Temps, Chris Torkewitz: NY Ensembles
While strings have teamed with jazz since the earliest days with Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra, the marriage has always seemed a bit forced. Here are a couple of releases that keep working on the covenant. Pianist Yves L’eveille teams with Lizann…