Composer Fraser MacPherson gets his songbook delivered in a wide variety of settings from a mix and match artistic group that includes Scott Hamilton/ts, Jan Lundgren/p, Hans Backenorth/b, Morgan Childs/dr, John Lee/b, Phil Stewart/dr, Harry Allen/ts, Grant Stewart/ts, Bruce Harris/tp,…
Month: January 2023
CONVERSING PIANOS…Cavanagh/Miley/Hollenbeck: Another Life, Duran Virelles: Front Street Duets
176 dancing ivories… Dan Cavanagh and James Miley switch between piano and synthesizer, bringing in drummer John Hollenbeck for about half of the 9 pieces here on this collection of seemingly freely formed originals. The two pianists joust well on…
Paul Marinaro: Not Quite Yet
Vocalist Paul Marinaro creates relaxed and relaxing jazz moods with various support, ranging form small combos to strings. The team of Tom Vaitsas/key, Mike Allemana/g, John Tate/b, George Fludas/dr, Chris Madsen/ts, Greg Ward/as, Marques Carroll/tp, Raphael Crawford/tb, Rajiv Halim/cl, Jim…
Alex Tremblay: Thoughts & Images
Bassist Alex Tremblay leads a post bopping team of Nicholas Biello/as, Taber Gable/key, Tony Davis/g and Evan Hyde/dr through a collection of warm originals. Vocalist Vanish Gould shows up for a warm and lyrical “The Yellow Rose” as well, but…
Sam Blakeslee & Wistful Thinking: Busy Body
Sam Blakeslee plays trumpet on this album with Brandon Coleman/g, Chris Coles/as, Matt Wiles/b-moog, Jamey Haddad/perc, Brian Krock/wwinds and Dan Pugach/dr, but you almost wouldn’t know it as the brass instrument is almost completely obscured by electronics, tapes and effects…
Jason Yeager Septet: Unstuck In Time-The Kurt Vonnegut Suite
Leader Jason Yeager puts together a mix and match septet including Lucas Pino/ts-bcl-cl, Patrick Laslie/ts-bcl-fl, Alphonso Horne/tp-fh, Riley Mulherke/tp-fh, Mike Fahie/tb, Yuan Su/vib, Danny Weller/b, Jay Sawyer/dr and guest Miguel Zenon/as on this tribute to the famed novelist Kurt Vonnegut.…
Christy Bennett’s Fumee’: Good Morning Heartache-The Music of Irene Higginbotham
Just when you thought you had heard every songbook, here comes one featuring the more obscure Irene HIgginbotham (1918-88). She’s best known for her tune “Good Morning, Heartache” that Billie Holiday made into a classic, but that isn’t enough for…
TRIO TIME..Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Turning Point, Trio Reverso: Harmonic Alchemy, Harvie S and Roni Ben-Hur with Sylvia Cuenca: Wondering
Music in three… Best known for his extroverted post bop work, Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba explores new worlds with his Trio D’ete of Matthew Brewer/dr and Eric Harland/b. There is still a presence of his bop chops, as on the…
Ron Bosse: Burning Room Only
Guitarist Ron Bosse delivers a sleek and soulful collection of originals with an all star cast of LA studio studs. He must have just gone into the Baked Potato one night and raided the joint, as the album includes BP…
Blind Boys of Alabama with Charlie Musselwhite @ Pepperdine’s Smothers Theatre 01.17.23
“Are you ready to be happy?” Thus officially began the travelling musical revival team, also known as the multi-Grammy winning Blind Boys of Alabama. Sure, they’ve gone through various changes over the decades, but the message of God’s love has…