It’s ironic that the gospel group The Dixie Hummingbirds are best known for their work with Paul Simon on his mega-hit “Loves Me Like A Rock”, as the band (which ranged from quartet to sextet through the years and personnel…
Month: June 2025
VINYL REVIVAL…Benny Golson: Gone With Golson, Lee Morgan: Here’s Lee Morgan, Ken McIntyre with Eric Dolphy: Looking Ahead
Classic hard bop on vinyl continues with the latest releases from Craft Recordings… Tenor saxist Benny Golson’s pen got better known than the sword of his sax, but over the years this underappreciated aspect of his art has finally caught…
Anthony Wilson Nonet: House of the Singing Blossoms
A typical night at the magical jazz hangout SamFirst Bar is captured with local guitar legend Anthony Wilson bringing together some of LA’s finest for a classy mix of originals and covers. The first rate team of CJ Camerieri/tp-fh, Alan…
Dawn Clement: Delight
Pianist and vocalist Dawn Clement forms a satisfying trio with all stars Buster Williams/b and Matt Wilson/dr for a mix of post bopping instrumentals and indie-oriented vocals. Her voice has a folksy reflection to it, as on the Randy Newman-ish…
ITALIAN MASTERPIECES… Walter Davis Jr: A Being Such As You, Gerry Mulligan: Nocturne, Gato Barbieri: Standards Lost and Found 2
Italy based Red Records has released a collection of important albums from jazz greats that either toured or hit the country while on tour. Walter Davis didn’t make a lot of recordings as a leader, but the pianist put together…
WHEN FOLK WAS ROCKING…Renaissance: Running Hard-The Albums 1974-1976
Back in the 1960s-70s, the mix of classical, folk and rock produced a surfeit of clever bands that still sound fresh and intriguing. Along wit Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention and Pentangle, the band Renaissance, with Annie Haslam/b-voc, John Camp/b, John…
Yotam Ben-Or Quartet: Impermanence
Yotam Ben-Or makes the chromatic harmonica sing and swing on this album of modern jazz originals. He’s teamed with his core of Gabriel Chakarji/p, Alon Near/b and Alon Benjamini/dr and shows his incredible mastery of his instrument on the fascinatingly…
Theo Saunders Quartet @ The Grape Ventura 06.28.25
Los Angeles jazz legends brought a bit of history to The Grape, as veterans Theo Saunders/p, Henry “Skipper” Franklin/b, Chuck Manning/ts and Marvin “Smitty” Smith/dr brought vintage styles and sounds that have made the heads bop and the feet tap…
Marian McPartland: At The Peninsula Library 1972
One of the most famous jazz radio personalities due to her work with NPR, Marian McPartland is usually underrated for her swinging piano work. I saw her in concert back in the 1990s and she played like a classy lassy.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****BIG SOUND…Jon Bentley: Go Ahead!
I’m not sure how Vancouver-based Cellar Records finds these tenor sax players, but they draw them like a bee to a nudist colony. Jon Bentley sounds like he’s been working on long tones since he was weaned off of his…