Pianist Ellen Rowe leads a band with Ingrid Jensen/tp-fh, Andrew Bishop/ts-cl, Kurt Krahnke/b, Peter Siers/dr and guest Paul Ferguson/tb over a mix of tunes that exude a chamber jazz ensemble. Pieces such as “Circle of Life” and “Colindrinas de los…
Author: George W. Harris
ELLINGTON’S HIDDEN GENIUS…Billy Strayhorn: Out of the Shadows
Most Ellington fans know that one of the reasons for his success was his “discovering” composer/pianist Billy Strayhorn and making him almost an extended part of the famed bandleader. Few people are able to listen to a piece by the…
REED RAPTURE…Jerry Bergonzi: Intersecting Lines, JD Allen: Bloom
How is a tenor supposed to sound? Here are two modern guys giving a nice little workshop. Jerry Bergonzi teams up with alto saxist Dick Oatts to create a lithe and open air quartet with Dave Santoro/b and Andrea Michelutti/dr…
Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band: Life in the Bubble
The LA-based and Grammy-winning Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band scores another victory with this latest release. Usually, the BPB discs feature guest appearances to help goose up the radio play; it’s not used, or needed this time, sans the frenetic…
Mark Egan: About Now
Bassist Mark Egan continues his enthralling post-Metheny career in this latest release with Mitchel Forman/key and Danny Gottlieb/dr. A few of the pieces, such as “Sailing” and “Little Pagoda,” give reminiscences of those early days, with gently lyrical spaciousness, but…
Bibi Tanga: Now
Bassist, composer and vocalist Bibi Tanga has a pretty large following in France, and it’s easy to see why. His music has that alluring calypso thing to it, and his Mint Julep of a voice goes down sweetly. He leads…
Jamie Saft-Steve Swallow-Bobby Previte: The New Standard
The jazz trio takes various forms here with Jamie Saft/p-org, Steve Swallow/b and Bobby Previte/dr on this collection of originals. The interplay between the three is alarmingly symbiotic, with classic hard bop bluesies such as “Clarissa” and ”I See No…
Nat “King” Cole: Extraordinary DeLuxe Version
You can argue until you’re blue in the face as to who the greatest American singer was. (Hint: it’s NOT Michael Buble’)It always comes down to four: Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole. This retrospective of…
Studio Rio Presents: The Brazil Connection
Here’s a disc you weren’t expecting. In light of the World Cup being held in Brazil this year, Sony Legacy has taken hit songs from artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Andy Williams and flew them down to Rio for…
Johnny Rivers & Jimmy Webb@The Ford Theatre 06.21.14
Yes, I know that Johnny Rivers and Jimmy Webb were both recently reviewed here when they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the legendary opening of the Whisky A Go Go. This time around,the concert was a benefit to celebrate the…