Ranee Lee sings with a classic dark and haunting atmosphere, conjuring up sonic visions of Roberta Flack on this weary-soul covers. There’s a haunting chamber strings atmosphere to “ Nature Boy” and the eerie wall paper of “Tale As Old…
Month: September 2022
CHECK, MATE…Johnny Steele: The Game
It’s not often that someone mixes jazz with chess, but drummer Johnny Steele makes all of the right moves. With his team of Chris Bittner/ts, Esteban Castro/p and Cole Davis/b, he intertwines classy modern jazz sounds with spoken messages about…
VOICES FOR SOUNDTRACKS…Jeff Harnar: I Know Things Now-My Life In Sondheim’s Words, Melissa Errico: Out of the Dark-The Film Noir Project
If you don’t write your own material, the challenge is to create an album that has a connecting theme. Here are two vocalists that have rich concepts to sing about. Jeff Harnar creates a kind of autobiography through the songbook…
A SWEET BOPPING VOICE…Blossom Dearie: The Early Years Collection 1949-60
One of the most unique and influential female vocalists, who still can be heard in many of today’s singers, is that of pianist/singer Blossom Dearie (1924-2009). This 2 disc set contains 96 tracks, ranging from sessions with Dave Lambert, Stan…
NO SLIM PICKINGS HERE…Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith: The Singles Collection 1938-59
You want to hear the six strings swing? Check out this 55 song anthology by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, who lived from 1921-2014 and made his guitar give 8 beats to every bar. His songs have been covered by bluegrassers,…
LATE, LIVE MILES…Miles Davis: That’s What Happened 1982-1985-The Bootleg Series Vol. 7
While this is the seventh in a series of essential “lost” recordings of Miles Davis, it is the first one to release material after his “comeback” of 1981, returning with a series of impressive albums, starting with The Man With…
Gard Nilssen’s Acoustic Unity: Elastic Wave
Drummer and leader Gard Nilssen forms a trio with bassist Petter Eldh and Andre Roligheten, who quadruples on tenor, soprano and bass sax as well as clarinet for musical pastiches. Roligheten’s bass sax is a visceral rumble with NIlssen’s mallets…
Jim Dedrick: Findings
Bassist Jim Dedrick leads a team of pianist Tom Reyes and drummer Chuck Ferrell through a collection of his creative originals. His strings have a deep and thickly palpable feel, leading into the snappy sticks on the trudging “Demon” and…
Aimee Allen: Love and the Catalyst
Vocalist and composer Aimee Allen mixes post bop traditional themes with her own personal and musical creations on this passionate and dramatic collection of tunes. Her core team of Toru Dodo/p, Francois Moutin/b and Kush Abadey/dr is up to the …
Wayne Alpern: The Shape Of Strings
Most of the time that one thinks of “modern classical” music, or it being teamed with jazz, the first thoughts that come to your mind are “cacophony” or “traffic jams”. Not here with composer Wayne Alpern. His collection of “Reinventions”,…