The joke that “those who can’t do, teach” was put to rest Friday night at The Grape, as pianist and composer Vardan Ovsepian, instructor at Cal Arts, teamed up with USC faculty member Bob Reynolds in a quartet that turned…
Month: October 2024
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****GETZ A GO GO! Jeff Rupert: It Gets Better
Ok, am I the only one who sees the punny reference to tenor sax giant Stan Getz on Jeff Rupert’s latest release. First of all, he’s got a tone and style just like The Mellifluous One. Second, he’s brought Getz…
Paula Maya: Rio De Janeiro
Singing and playing piano, Paula Maya brings a strong Brazilian breeze to this album with Erick Vieira-Nema Antunes-Sizao Machado/b, Fernando Moneiro/eg, Humberto Mirabeill/ag, MonicaAila/fl, Teo Lima/dr, Andre Siqueira/perc and Tamlia Nikazm/voc. The tunes can range from a popish “Agua Sagrada”…
Rose Mallett: Dreams Realized
Soulful stirrings from a broad palette are delivered by the comfortable and confident voice of Rose Mallett on this release with Robert Kyle/sax-fl, Jamison Trotter/p, Trey Henry/b, Mike Shapiro/dr, Munyungo Jackson/perc and a handful of guests. She can get old…
Greg Satterthwaite: Crossing Lines
There’s a fine line in jazz between jazz that is smooth and “smooth jazz” and Greg Satterthwaite takes great pains to use his piano and keyboards to be on the right side of the line. This recent release of his…
Peter Bernstein: Better Angels
Three masters of today’s generation join with one from a previous, as AL Foster supplies the punch for leader Peter Bernstein/g along with Brad Mehldau/p and Vicente Archer/b. Bernstein displays his straight, no chaser tone on gorgeous arias of “Lament”…
Melinda Rose & Frenchy Romero: I’m On My Way
Vocalist Melinda Rose teams up with long time partner and pianist Frenchy Romero, and with Vince Dupont/b, Matt Wilson/dr and Summer Camargo/tp mix clever originals with some fun standards. Together, the two ladies get cozy and intimate on Stevie Wonder’s…
Walter Smith III: three of us are from Houston and Reuben is not
With as warm a tenor as legally possible, Walter Smith teams up with fellow Houston natives Jason Moran/p and Eric Harland/dr, and Virgin Island born Reuben Roger/dr joining in for the originals. The songs are all in medium to medium…
Alex LoRe: Motivity
Playing alto and the turn of the century C Melody sax, Alex LeRoe gives a tribute to the great Lee Konitz on this album teamed with Thomas Morgan/b and Johnathan Blake/dr. Having played the C melody, I can honestly not…
Mauricio Morales: Seven Days
LA-based bassist Mauricio Morales delivers a weeks worth of music with songs related to each day. Joined by Horace Bray/g, Luca Mendoza/p, Ido Mushulam/tb, Edmar Colon/ts and JK Kim/dr, Morales starts the week with an easy and lyrical swing of…