Drummer Donald Edwards leads a post bop quintet that includes Walter Smith III/ts, David Gilmore/g, Orrin Evans/p and Eric Revis/b through a collection of originals. The leader’s drumming is varied, clever and quite diverse, ranging from an African influenced “History…
Author: George W. Harris
Theo Croker: Afro Physicist
Theo Croker actually has a pretty good pedigree for his career as a trumpet player, being the grandson of hall of famer Doc Cheatham. This album isn’t swing or mainstream, though, Croker does give homage to the jazz traditions of…
Paul Bley: Play Blue-Live in Oslo Solo
One of the more undeservedly overlooked members of the ECM family, pianist/composer Paul Bley has been one of the founding fathers of the experimental side of jazz, even though at one time he was known as a bebopper for the…
Nels Cline Singers: Macroscope
Guitarist/leader Nels Cline continues to mix forward looking music and experimentation with the jazz tradition like few others. Here, on his band’s fifth release, he and his base team of Scott Amendola/perc, and Trevor Dunn/b mix electronics and loops along…
A DESERT ISLAND DELIGHT…Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto: Getz/Gilberto-Expanded Edition
Let’s be straightforward about this: saying you know and appreciate music while not having heard “Getz/Gilberto” is like saying you know movies but have never seen Casablanca. You just don’t know what you’re talking about because a major piece of…
Deep Purple: Live in California ‘74
Back in the 70s, head banging rock ruled the world, and the Cal Jam in Ontario CA back in 1974 was the apotheosis of heavy metal heaven. If you were there that day in April, your ears were treated to…
Stick Against Stone: Live-The Oregon Bootleg Tapes
The team of Richard Vitale/dr, Sari Morninghawk/v-perc, David Soule/b, Daniel Ramirez/g and Robert Shepard/woodwinds make up the group Stick Against Stones, which is recorded here in a concert setting. The band mixes styles of indie rock, reggae and Afro Pop,…
Anne Mette Iversen’s Double Life: So Many Roads
Bassist/leader Anne Mette Iversen puts together an intriguing concept of a single 6 piece suite that includes both a Prologue and Epilogue, with four Chapters in between. Performing the music is Iversen’s jazz quintet of herself with John Ellis/ts-ss, Peter…
Jazz Bakery’s “Moveable Feast” Presents: Alan Broadbent@Kirk Douglas Theatre 06.12.14
There are certain images that come to your mind when you reflect on various pianists. With Oscar Peterson, there’s fervent swing; Cecil Taylor flashes wild experimentation while McCoy Tyner evokes intense penetration. The hour and a half solo performance…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK**** Eleni Karaindrou: Medea
Forget about The Great American Songbook. You want oldies? How about Euripedes, who composed the story of Medea and Jason (of “and the Argonauts”) in 431 BC. As Mr. Portokalos famously said in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, “We were…