Once upon a time, R&B didn’t mean foul language and misogyny. It was associated with velvety vocal harmonies, slick and snappy horns and an irresistible groove. One of the best was the group The Dramatics, who had a couple big…
Author: George W. Harris
Bob Stewart Connections: Mind the Gap
Tuba player Bob Stewart puts together two seemingly incongruous bands, the PUBLIQuartet (string quartet) and the First Line bands that go from quartet to sextet in seconds flat. The FLB includes Jerome Harris/g, Matt Wilson/dr, Curtis Stewart/vio, Randall Haywood/tp and…
Brian Eno-Karl Hyde: High Life
Here is the second entry of the Eno/Hyde collaboration. This one is a bit more assertive than the earlier one, with lots more electronic percussion bouncing around the ears. There is one tune, “Cells and Bells” which hearkens back to…
Jacob Young: Forever Young
Guitarist Jacob Young mixes electric, acoustic and classical guitar with a subtly bopping team of Trygve Seim/ts-ss, Marcin Wasilewski/p, Slawomir Kurkiewicz/b and Michal Miskiewicz/dr through a collection of originals. The intriguing part of this disc is how easily Young can…
See-I: Knowledge Shine Bright
Fort Knox Collaborators & Thievery Corporation Vocalists Arthur “Rootz” Steele And Archie “Zeebo” Steele, Leaders of the Reggae-Soul Movement Are Back With A New Album Featuring Mr. Lif, Flex Mathews, Candice Mills & Edy Blu Ready for a mix with…
Michael Bellar & The As-Is Ensemble: Oh No, Oh Wow
Keyboardist Michael Bellar leads a groove-based team of Brad Wentworth/dr-perc, Rob Jost/b and Brook Martinez/perc through a Decalogue of toe tapping originals with a couple of surprises. As to the latter, a Weather Report-ish take of Bob Marley’s “Three Little…
Nobresil: Original
Not all family run businesses are dry cleaners or restaurants! Based in LA, the Brazilian band Nobresil is lead by the husband and wife team of Leo Nobre/b and Mari Nobre/voc, and they coax out an impressive collection of originals…
MARCUS MILLER’S REDEMPTION
Very few artists have had the range of a career as Marcus Miller. Producing and performing with popular artists as divergent as Miles Davis, David Sanborn and Luther Vandross, Miller gave an added boost to each of his employer’s careers…
ERIC REED: A MONK’S MOOD
ONCE YOU BECOME ADEPT AT YOUR TRADE, YOUR NEXT STEP IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BEST USE IT. PIANIST ERIC REED, ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE MUSICIANS AROUND, HAS BEEN WITH BANDS RANGING FROM WYNTON MARSALIS AS WELL AS…
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
NAMES! One of the things I loved to do as a kid is to scour over my Baseball Encyclopedia and learn the names and nicknames of baseball players. Why would I do that, and what did I learn? Well, different…