Here’s an exciting duo disc that bridges music of the Far East, Mid-East Mediterranean and free jazz in an exciting way. Jason Kao Hwang supplies the voices of viola and violin while Ayman doubles of guitar and bouzouki on nine…
Author: George W. Harris
John La Barbera Big Band: Caravan
The Marsalis family gets better press, but the La Barbera family consisting of brothers John, Pat and Joe is at least on a par with Crescent City natives. John leads the band and writes the charts and/or tunes, Pat is…
BiG BAND SOUNDS FOR THE 21st CENTURY…M13: 1 Human, Too Human
M13, named for the membership of the big band being 13, is a Chicago based band that is lead by saxophonist/arranger Aaron McEvers. There are essentially dtow closely related but different bands that split the material which is a mix…
Paulinho Garcia: Beautiful Love
A number of years ago I went to the old Jazz Showcase in Chicago and heard Brazilian guitarist/vocalist Paulinho Garcia do some duets with a warm tenor sax player. The simplicity of the sounds won me over, and I’ve enjoyed…
Peter Kerlin Octet: Salamander
Bassist/composer Peter Kerlin leads a rotating octet consisting of vibes (Sam Sowyrda, Cesare Patetti), Viola (Amy Cimini, Jessica Pavone, Karen Waltuch), bass (Taylor Bergren-Chrisman, Brent Cordero), Organ/Wurlitzter (Emily Manzo) and drums/percussion (Mike Pride, Charles Burst). The songs themselves lean towards…
Pat Metheny Unity Group@CSUN 02.25.14
Pat Metheny is probably the only artist around that would have one band that he leads open up for the SECOND band that he also is in charge of, but that’s what he did at CSUN’s Performing Arts Center Tuesday…
Guitar Passions w/ Sharon Isbin, Stanley Jordan & Romero Lubambo@CSUN 02.23.14
Fans of the guitar and a fretful feast at the Valley Performing Arts Center at CSUN. Three diverse artists ranging from the classical Sharon Isbin to the string tapping jazzer Stanley Jordan with Brazilian Romero Lubambo rounding out the sounds…
Dianne Reeves: Beautiful Life
One of the major voices on the jazz scene, Dianne Reeves takes her husky and tonally perfect delivery into the world of smooth jazz/R&B this time around. She uses the keyboards and programming of Robert Glaspar with Terri Lyne Carrington…
A FORGOTTEN BE-BOPPER…Howard McGhee: Nobody Knows When You’re Down & Out/House Warmin’!
You may not have ever heard of Howard McGhee, but at one time he was one of the top notch bebop trumpeters, up there with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. He’s on Charlie Parker’s notorious “Lover Man” date, and actually…
The Jazz Crusaders: At The Lighthouse ‘62
A number of years ago, Mosaic Records put out a multi-disc set of the “Pacific Jazz Studio Sessions” of the prototypical jazz/soul group The Crusaders. I remember my frustration back then when I realized they left out the cooking “At…