Best known for it’s loyalty to hard bop, Canadian label Cellar Music Group releases a pair of albums that have one sticking to the tried and true, and the other looking for new territories. Pianist Charles Chen puts together a…
Month: May 2025
OH, YEAH! The Drinkard Singers featuring CIssy Houston: The Albums Collection and More
Emily Drinkard, later to be known as Cissy Houston, was a member of the family gospel group The Drinkard Singers, who like The Ward Singers, had earthy harmonies and a charismatic lead voice. Being the first gospel group to sing…
Eric Siereveld’s Organic Quintett: Sweet William
Playing trumpet and flugelhorn, Eric Siereveld brings in the father/son combo of Steve Davis/tb and Tony Davis/g to complete the front line with Bill Todd/ts-fl, while the rhythm team of Steve Snyder/B3 and Carmen Intorre Jr/dr add supple support to…
Curtis Nowosad: I Am Doing My Best
NYC-based drummer Curtis Nowosad creates an album that mixes indie ideas with jazz sensibilities, joining together with guitarists/vocalist Joey Landreth , guitarist Andrew Renfroe and vocalist Joanna Majoko. Nowosad digs into a hip little pattern for Renroe’s guitar riffs on…
Alan Arena: Deceived
Singer and guitarist Alan Arena brings a deep set of blues rockers together on this latest release. The team of Paul Nelson/g, Brad Hallen/b, Marty Richards/dr, Brooks Milgate/p-org and Stephens Clements/perc bring in some cameo guests for some clever originals.…
Lisa Mann & Groove Now: The Great Women In Blues
Vocalist and bassist Lisa Mann gives a tribute to ladies who sang the blues with guest singer Terrie Obadi along with Jimi Bott/dr, Louis Pain/org and Ben Rice-Jason Thomas/g. Captured at a 2023 performance in Switzerland, the wide swath of…
V & BT: Diamonds At The Rainbow’s End
Rough and tumble vocalist Bigdis Haugen fronts a hard hitting blues rocking band of Tom Petterson/g-org, Bjorn Lokling/b and Christer Persson/dr for an album recorded as live as you want it in Norway. Except for a dark and moody take…
Joaquin Nunez & Habana Safari: Ruta De La Clave
Playing drums and percussion, and even singing a bit, Joaquin Nunez creates fresh Cuban sounds with his core team of Dayramir Gonzalez/p-key, Roberto Riveron/b, Alexander Brown/tp-fh, Jeff King/ts, Estaban Vargas/vi-vi, Mark Daniels/effects and a rotating team of guests on horns,…
Jeffrey Schanzer: The Past Is Present
Composer Jeffrey Schanzer puts together a cantata of conversations about the Jewish holcaust, with text from a group of performers as relatives, supported by a small chamber ensemble. The 70 minute story mixes question and answer dialogues of autobiographical nature,…
VINYL REVIVAL…Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Himself
One of the all time solo piano albums has just been reissued on vinyl, which is the way it was meant to be taken in. Just on the cusp of becoming one of the most famous musicians in jazz, Thelonious…