Month: December 2023

Joe Wittman Trio Works: Sol

Guitarist Joe Wittman trios up with Daniel Duke/b and Keith Ballas/dr on a collection of originals and covers, displaying his allegiances. First tip of the pick goes to Grant Green, as Wittman carries the same mix of clean lines and…

Debbie Spring: Tocamos

Debbie Spring plays the five string viola, teaming up with Hal Roland/key, Rusty Heck/b, Ettienee Fuentes Jr/dr, David Schanzer/perc and a collectionof guests on this exciting album. Her tone is strong on the melodies, and she sure can carry out…

Sara Serpa & Andre Matos: Night Birds

Dreamy soundscapes are put together with vocalist Sara Serpa and guitarist Andre Magtos, along with guests Dov Manskii/p-synth, Joao Pereira/dr, Sofia Jernberg-Lourenco/voc and Okkyung Lee/cel. Serpa’s ethereal voice is reminiscent of those Enya albums in the 80s and 90s, haunting…

Jesper Thorn: Dragor

Playing bass and some electronics, Jesper Thorn creates moods similar to ECM in terms of spaciousness, sounding highly influenced by Tomasz Stanko’s classic small group. He’s joined by Marc Mean/p-elec, Tbias Wiklund/ct, Cecile Strange/ts and Andreas Bernitt/vi-va for eight illuminative…

Silvan Joray: Updraft

Guitarist Silvan Joray forms a trio with Nadav Erlich/b and Jeff Ballard/dr for eleven originals. Joray never overplays a  piece, keeping things simple as on tasty pieces like “Kokodrillo” or the folksy “At Long Last Love”. One hears a dash…

Miguel Espinoza Fusion: Gabriella

Best known for his flamenco guitar work, Miguel Espinoza mixes styles of all types akin to Al Di Meola on this exciting acoustic collection of musical directions. Usually “fusion” means “plugged in”, but while there are no Marshall amps, there…