I’m sure we’ve all heard many interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s classic “Nutcracker Suite”, even swung by Duke Ellington at one time. Here, we get a salsa’d Latin take, and it’s picante to the core. Drummer and leader Joe McCarthy leads a…
Month: October 2022
MODERN SWING…Danny Jonokuchi & The Revisionists: Together Again, The Revisionists: Let Me Off Uptown
Trumpeter Danny Jonokuchi has a comfort zone in the vintage swing era. His most recent is actually an encore of Let Me Off Uptown (see below) featuring the girl next door vocals of Alexa Barchini on the cozy “In A…
Jasper Hoiby: What It Means to be Human
Mixing speech and poetry while playing bass and electronics with saxist Josh Arcoleo and drummer Marc Michel, Jasper Oiby creates a melancholy mosaic of word and sound to “create a conversation of who we are as a people today”. There’s…
XX VOX…Hanka G: Universal Ancestry, Deb Rasmussen: Unspoken
While calling Slovakia her home country, Hanka G covers a wide width of sounds and cultures on this engaging album with a voice that fills a room. She’s supported by a mix and match cast that includes post bop saxist…
Mark Etheredge: Love Planet
Keyboardist and composer Mark Etheredge makes for smooth sailing on this upbeat album, produced by Paul Brown, who also brings his Larry Carlton-tasty ax in for a handful of pieces. A couple of pieces, like “Saucy”, “Peace” and “You &…
PROTO-PUNK…Jonathan Richman: Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Rock ‘N’ Roll With The Modern Lovers
Omnivore Records is reissuing for the first time what they claim are the first four albums by the charter member of the 70s punk rock movement, Jonathan Richman and his band The Modern Lovers. Unfortunately, they are not releasing the…
Ramsey Lewis: His Eight Finest Albums
One of the most popular, beloved and influential of pianists, the recently departed Ramsey Lewis exuded class and gospel tinged style in everything he touched, even forming the core of Earth Wind and Fire with his first group. These eight…
Bobby Broom: Keyed Up
Bobby Broom carries on the tradition of the lithe and #2 pencil thin bop lines of gents like Grant Green and George Benson, mixing soul and bop into a delicious stew. This album has him fronting a team of Justin…
Rob Silverman, featuring a ton of drummers: Drumology Volume II
Using his sticks as a vehicle for raising money for the Neil Pert Fun at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, drummer Rob Silverman puts together another drum master class of music, featuring rockers and proggers including Billy CObham, Maick Mangini and Todd…
Monty Alexander@Vibrato 10.05.22
“It’s good to have a job!” Which more than anything else captures the enthusiasm of pianist Monty Alexander as he opened his 100 minute set before a packed and enthusiastic audience at Vibratos Wednesday night. Not only was the evening…