Vintage Blue Note sounds are re-interpreted by the swinging team of Mike Manny/p, Nathan Hiltz/g Neil Swainson/b and Morgan Childs/dr. The joy here is in the song selection as these guys pick the best of the litter, as Hiltz creates…
Month: March 2023
Charles Lloyd 85th Birthday Celebration @ The Soraya 03.18.23
Celebration was truly in the air for Charles Lloyd’s presentation of two of his three recent trio recordings, for as soon as the jazz legend stepped on stage, the audience spontaneously sang “ Happy Birthday” to him. The rest of…
Taiko Saito: Tears Of A Cloud
Playing marimba and vibraphone, Taiko Saito mixes chimes and tones on nine original tunes. The ideas range from a rapid pulse of “Angry Bee” to soft dots and dashes for “Rain”. There are moments of delicate ambient silences during “Underground”…
Charles Ruggiero Plays Monk@The Baked Potato 03.15.23
If you want to get a sense of modern jazz history, an excellent place to start would be to hit the Baked Potato the third Wednesday of every month, and drummer Charles Ruggiero will give a Master Class workshop on…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Harry Skoler: Living In Sound: The Music Of Charles Mingus
Most tributes to the legendary bassist Charles Mingus fail because they try to reproduce the feel of the tormented genius, and the fact is that most jazz artists these days are just not that tormented. Harry Skoler avoids the problem…
Buster Williams: Unalome
The legendary octogenarian bassist Buster Williams focuses on lyricism and grace (what a surprise) on this latest session of his as a leader. He’s teamed with some of the best and brightest with Lenny White/dr, George Colligan/p, Stefon Harris/vib and…
THE VOICE OF DOO WOP…Clyde McPhatter: The Very Best of Clyde McPhatter 1953-62
One of the most original and genre defining voices of the R&B/Doo Wop era of the late fifties and early sixties belonged to Clyde McPhatter (1932-72). His honey of a tenor voice was as smooth as silk, and was with…
The Dave Stryker Trio: Prime
One of the most underrated guitarists around, Dave Stryker, has released another strong album, and as to his usual mode, made this one a bit different in conception than his usual format. This time around, he’s created a B3 trio…
SWINGING ON BOTH COASTS..PRESENTING RARE AND OBSCURE JAZZ ALBUMS-Elliot Lawrence: Octet/Septet, Jack Sheldon: A Jazz Profile of Ray Charles/Cappy Lewis: Get Happy With Cappy
With the demise of the Swing Era, and bebop flaming out, jazz artists were looking for ways of putting bread on the table. Alumni from bands like Woody Herman r Stan Kenton that were tired of endless touring took to…
TRIO TIME…Wayne Maureau: At The Water’s Edge
Trinitarian treasures… Drummer Wayne Maureau leads two trios through a mix of mostly originals with Joe Ashlar-Jordan Baker/p and Bian Ouezergue-Ed Wise/b dividing up the teamwork. The only major difference is that Ouezergue plugs in his bass, digging in to…