Here’s a pianist that plays like he means it! Marcus Persiani has Blue Note tones in his blood, well circulating on these two recent releases; one is a hard hitting trio and the other a vintage and classic sounding quintet…
Author: George W. Harris
VELVET BONES…Bob Brookmeyer: The Classic Albums Collection
Playing the rare valve trombone, Bob Brookmeyer was one of the warmest brass players during the hard bop era. He was also known as a first class arranger, preferring understatement as opposed to the more aggressive style of the era.…
Bryan Lubeck: Welcome Winter
Guitarist Bryan Lubeck creates Cumberland Gapped moods of Christmas on this album with Nick Besesi/fl, Matthe Agnew/cel, Ted Yoder/ dulc, Joel Norman/vb Luke Ratley-Nate Lacny/perc, Jon Paul/b, John Erickson/mel, Eric Salazar/cl, Neil Artwick/p, Don Stiernberg-Ry Herma/mand and a string team…
DIG DEEP: The Griffin Brothers & Margie Day: Weepin’ and Cryin’-The Singles Collection 1950-1955
One of the overlooked and underappreciated R&B bands of the 1950s was the team of brothers Jimmy and Buddy Griffin with the vocalist Margie Day. Jimmy played trombone while Buddy hit the piano, and for the most part there was…
Ellas Kapell: For All We Know
The team of Lovisa Jennerval/voc, Manne Skafvenstedt/p, August Eriksson/b and Edvin Giante/dr coalesce for a collection of soft and subdued standards. Jennerval is Norah Jones restrained on the mellow “I Get Along Without You Very Well” and fragile with Skavenstedt…
STOCKING STUFFERS…John Paul McGee: A Gospel Jazzical Christmas, George Burton: The Yule Log, Isaiah J. Thompson: A Guaraldi Holiday
Music for mistletoe… Singing and playing piano, John Paul McGee gets into the spirit of things by going from solo to small band in interpreting the Reason for the Season. On solo piano, he sparkles on “Oh Holy Night” and…
Benet McLean: Green Park
Violinist Benet McLean teams up with Duncan Eagles/ts-fl, Liam Dunachie/p-org, Rio Kai/b and Zoe Pascal/dr for a mix of originals and covers. The team gets fusion on a read of Bobby Watson’s “Fuller Love” with the team handling the tricky…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Madre Vaca: Knights of the Round Table
Hey, you gotta take n otice of a jazz album if the music is a concept album about the Knights of the Round Table. I mean, come on!! The music is cleverly composed by Benjamin Shorstein, peformed by Jarrett Carter,…
House of Waters: On Becoming
Jazzy folk themes are created by the hammer dulcimer of Maz ZT, joined by Moto Fukushima/eb, Antonion Sanchez/dr and guests Mike Stern/g with Priya Darshini/voc. Stern’s guitar is dark and echoey on “Hang in the Air” with Darshini providing konnakol…
John Wojciechowski: Swing Of The Pendulum
Tenor saxist John Wojciechowski (and that’s the last time I’m writing that name all the way out) sounds like Atlantic-Records era John Coltrane with a simpatico team of Xavier Davis/p, Clark Sommers/b and Dana Hall/dr on this collection of originals.…