Yes, there have been many peaks to Sonny Rollins’ storied carrier. But if you were to give the uninitiated potential jazz fan ONE single album to whet the musical palate, it would be included in this three disc box set.…
Month: June 2023
SFJAZZ Collective: New Works & Classics Re-imagined
For most of its existence, the SFJAZZ Collective have produced albums focusing on a singular musical artist, as in Wayne Shorter. This time around, the team of Chris Potter/ts-ss, Kendrick Scott/dr, David Sanchez/ts, Warren Wolf/vib, Mike Rodriguez/tp, Matt Brewer/b and…
Dr. John: The Montreux Years
Transcending styles and genre, Mack Rebennack (aka “D. John”), is captured here in a collection of appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1986-2011, and you won’t be able to tell any sense of progression or regression; you get a…
Keigo Hirakawa: Pixel
Sophisticated, intricate and complex music is written by pianist Keigo Hirakwawa and performed y his team of Rafael Statin/sax-flpbcl, Brandon Scott Coleman/g, Robert Hurst/b and Alex White/dr. The songs demand various shapes and sizes, with “Yaw Pitch Roll” a snappy…
THIS IS BEBOP PIANO…Hank Jones: The Savoy Albums Collection
Eldest brother of Hank and Thad, pianist Hank Jones was one of the pioneers of bebop piano, having done sessions with artists ranging from Coleman Hawkins to Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald. He was classy and swinging in every and…
Thelonious Monk: The Classic Quartet
By the time of this 1963 concert in Tokyo (recorded for TV in mono), Thelonious Monk was at the peak of his popularity, signed to a major label (Columbia) and with a regular working quartet with tenor saxist Charlie Rouse…
Pharoah Sanders Quartet: Live At Fabrik-Hamburg 1980
While you could argue that tenor saxist Pharoah Sanders got better each year, as his sound slowly evolved from inspirations from John Coltrane to Ben Webster, this 1980 concert in Germany has him still with the fire of the former…
THE BIRTH OF SWING…Fletcher Henderson: The Golden Years Hits and Classics 1923-37
Yes, Benny Goodman has been given the title “The King of Swing”, but you may not know that the King himself gave credit to Fletcher Henderson for creating the actual pulse and arrangements of the style that captured America in…
LADIES SING THE HUES…Aymee Nuviola: Havana Nocturne, Nadia Washington: Hope Resurgence, Hailey Brinnel: Beautiful Tomorrow
XX voices at the mic. We’re binary here… Vocalist Aymee Nuviola teams with pianist Keumuel Roig and guests Hilario Bell/dr, Jose Aguilera/perc, Lowell Ringel/b, Julian Avila/g and a handful of backing vocalists for an Old World collection of passionate arias.…
Emile Parisien & Roberto Negro: Les Metanuits
French saxist Emile Parisien teams up with Italian pianist Robert Negro for a reading of Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 1, entitled “Metamorphoses Nocturnes”. The team bounces to “Vivace Capriccioso” while getting dark keys and subtones for “Adagio Mesto”. Parisien flutters…