Composer and arranger Jim Olsen brings together a richly textured and snazzily swinging big band which includes top notch soloists such as Bobby Shew/tp, Dick Oatts/sax and John Harmon/key. The eight originals mix toe tapping swing such as on “Illogical…
Author: George W. Harris
FUN TIME! Chris Parker: Full Circle, ES2: AlgoRhythms
Forget getting serious. It’s time to have some good times with jazz, and these two releases get the job done. We need SOMETHING to cheer us up! Pianist Chris Parker writes and arranges this Decalogue of swinging and danceable ditties…
Noah Baerman: Ripples
Band leader Noah Baerman patches and pastes a variety of bands, sounds and settings on this recording that includes strings, vocals, winds, vibes and Kenny Barron’s piano. Ambitious chamber pieces such as “The Outer Circle” combine strings with a jazz…
Matt Newton: Within Reach
Keyboardist Matt Newton leads a lithe trio with Dan Fortin/b and Ethan Ardelli/dr through some well crafted originals. He includes Felicity Williams’ voice and Harley Card’s guitar on “Our Own World” to break the color code, but otherwise pieces such…
Dan Weiss: Fourteen
Drummer Dan Weiss puts together a highly ambitious album here in terms of conception, musicality and instrumentation. The pieces come together in almost kaleidoscopic fashion, mixing modern classical piano and progressive rock as in “Part One” to acoustic/classical guitar with…
Joseph Klein: Improbable Encounters
This cd/dvd consists of compositions by Joseph Klein, in the style of post modern classical, or avant garde jazz, depending on which circles you care to associate with. The cd and dvd include completely different material, ranging from solos for…
Good Grief! Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Boy Named Charlie Brown Sound Track
Bet you thought you’ve heard all of the music associated with Charlie Brown and the gang! Guess again! This 1964 recording with Vince Guaraldi/p, Monty Budwig/b and Colin Bailey/dr was supposed to be the sound track for a network TV…
Lalo Schrifin: Bullitt Soundtrack
The classic soundtrack of the classic movie Bullitt that had the classic car chase scene with the classic Steve McQueen (how many times DID that VW show up in that sequence?!?) is now available on vinyl and digital download. There…
MORE CLASSICS FROM AVID! Dorothy Ashby: Four Classic Albums Plus, Bill Evans: Three Classic Albums Plus, Ella Fitzgerald: Three Classic Albums Plus, George Shearing: Four Classic Albums Plus
No one puts out reissues like this UK label. They resurface gems that have been hiding in the mines since Moby Dick was an anchovy! Here’s the latest cache: Did you even KNOW there was such a thing as a…
Dorothy Donegan: Strength-Energy-Imagination
This 2 cd set capture the sound and style of a pianist unfortunately long forgotten. Dorothy Donegan was a local figure in the Chicago area performing in local clubs, while occasionally visiting Europe during some tours. Her style, influenced by…