ONE OF MY FAVORITE TIMES OF THE YEAR ACTUALLY STARTS BY LOOKING BACKWARDS. WHAT WERE THE MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR? OH, YES, WE CAN TALK ABOUT “THE BEST” ALBUMS OF THE YEAR, BUT WHICH ONES ARE WE GOING TO…
Month: December 2024
Angell & Crane: For The Living And The Dead
Guitarist Simon Angell joins forces with drummer Tommy Crane to create an album that is part Eno-ish ambient and part metallic rock. Angell uses his six strings like a paintbrush, creating effects on the driving “Swingjugend” as well as synthscapes…
Mike Stern @ The Baked Potato 12.13.24
Legendary guitarist Mike Stern came to the Baked Potato Friday night that was stuffed like a stocking on the mantle, and the audience was treated to a night that reflected the allure of improvisation, in more ways than one. First,…
Marcus Miller@Catalina’s 12.12.24
When Marcus Miller comes to town, the question seems to always be which part of his illustrious career as a bassist/producer is he going to emphasize? The good news for the packed house at Catalina’s is that the Grammy Winning…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK***The Crew: The Crew
You gotta love this team of Bryan J Hughes/voc, James Suggs/tp, Alejandro Arenas/b, Jean Bolduc/dr and John C. O’Leary III/p-key, just for moxie alone on this totally hip album. They’ve got swing in their collective bone marrow, but keep everything…
Dann Zinn: Two Roads
Playing tenor sax and a “processed” sax, Dann ZIn brings together heavy hitters Rachel Z/p, Jeff Denson/b-voc, Omar Hakim/dr and Brian Rice for a collection of rich originals. I assume the sax gets processed on the echoey “East Bay Punk”…
Papo Vazquez’s Mighty Pirates Troubadours
Trombonist Papo Vazquez sings and joins in the chorus with Jose Mangual/voc, Ivan Renta/ts, Rick Germanson/p, Ariel Robles/b, and various guests on this earthy mix of salsa originals. There’s a big Afro-Cuban sound to “NYP 9 Hudson” and the stop…
Yosef Gutman & Itay Sher: Unity
Gorgeous gentle tapestries are sewn by nylon string guitarist Itay Sher and bassist Yosef Gutman Levitt,as the two (with occasional additional reeds and orchestra by Gilad Ronen)create a soft pastel collection of sounds. There’s a plaintiff folk feel to pieces…
VOCALS OR KARAOKE? Yuka Mito: How Deep Is The Ocean, Doug Ferony: Alright Okay You Win
People sing for various reasons. Is imitation a possible choice? Yuka Mito has a warm voice on this album of standards with Hiroki Morioka/p, Iwao Masuhara/b and Yoshifumi Nihomatsu/dr. The problem is that her accent is so rounded that her…
Satoko Fujii Quartet: Dog Days of Summer
Free jazz legendary pianist Satoko Fujii brings together the like minded Natsuki Tamura/tp, Hayakawa Takeharu/b and Tatsuya Yoshida/dr for seven originals that beg for sheet music. Actually, there is a lot of cohesion to the pretty “Low” with Fujii in…