Sounds inspired by the Modern Jazz Quartet are delivered by the trio of Ben Markley/p, Seth Lewis/b, Andrew Wheelock/dr and guest Steve Nelson/vibes. The comparison to the MJQ is inevitable, but the sound hear has a bit more muscle as…
Month: May 2024
MODERN COMPOSERS…Juan J.G. Escudero: Ice Door, Robert Carl: Infinity Avenue, Rick Baitz: River of January
The modern pen gets a chance to cut like a sword on these three new releases from Neuma Records. Spanish composer Juan J. G. Escudero has his piece interpreted and performed by a mix an d matching team of Emille-Anne…
LADIES SING THE HUES…Angela Verbrugge: Somewhere, Karrin Allyson: A Kiss For Brazil
Female forms… Angela Verbrugge sings with clarity on this album teamed with Ray Gallon-Miles Black/p, Cameron Brown-Jodi Proznick/b, Anthony Pinciotti-Joel Fountain/dr and Dave Say/ts. In a small group format, she is relaxed and personal on a read of “I Had…
Sergio Pereira: Bossa+
Sergio Pereira creates a rich Brazilian atmosphere that salutes the classic bossa nova sounds of Antonio Jobim on this album of originals and covers. He plays guitar, violao, percussion and sings a bit with his team of Chipi Chacon/tp-fh, Luis…
Olivia Foschi: A Window Within
Vocalist Olivia Foschi delivers originals with a dash of bohemia, not unlike other understated masters like Stacey Kent on this lyrical album with Mauricio Zottarelli/dr, Matt King/p-key-mel, Marco Panascia/b and Vinicius/g. Her flexibility is completely unforced as she veers around…
David Bixler: BEATitude
Alto saxist David Bixler puts the “beat” in “beatitude” on this album of originals with his mates Jon Cowherd/p, Ike Sturm/b and Rogerio Boccato/perc. Bixler’s tone gets warmer each album, wondrously relaxed on the hip “Balm” , palpable on “A…
Four + Six: Four + Six
Playing tenor and soprano saxes, leader Mark Watkins puts together a band that is reminiscent of the Charlie Parker tribute band from the 1970s Supersax, with a reed heavy team of Ray Smith/as, Sandon Mayhew/ts and Jon Gudmundson/bs joined with…
Steve Hunter: The Deacon Speaks
Known for his work with the likes of Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, Steve Hunter releases a solo album where he plays just about every instrument, supported by his dark and ominous voice. The collection of tunes and arrangements are…
John von Seggern & Dean De Benedictus: Taking Shasta Mountain By Strategy
If you were to go back to 1974 and look at all of the albums released that year, and all of the popular artists on the airwaves, who would have bet that the legacy of Brian Eno’s ambient music, and…
Veronica Swift @ The Sun Rose 05.15.24
There’s an old adage, “you either build from your twenties, or recover from your twenties” The saying is fitting for Veronica Swift, who celebrated her 30th birthday on her second of four Wednesday residencies at the acoustically adroit Sun Rose.…