‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and all through Vibrato Forman and Senatore were serving it hot-o Ah, just another day at Herb Alpert’s upscale jazz club. Bassist Pat Senatore, who toured with Herb Alpert before thousands of fans in…
Author: George W. Harris
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Meg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Music of Ryuichi Sakamoto
You may not have heard of composer Ryuichi Sakamot, but odds are that you’ve heard his music. He’s known for eclectic music ranging from techno to symphonic, usually in the form of movie soundtracks such as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,…
Paquito D’Rivera and Trio Corrente: Song For Maura
This might be the Paquito D’Rivera you’ve been waiting and hoping for. He spends most of the time on his gloriously woody clarinet, and frames himself with the gentle team of Fabio Torres/p, Paulo Paulelli/b and Edu Ribeiro/dr for some…
Avishai Cohen: Duende
This impressive disc consists of series of duets with pianist Nitai Hershkovits, mixing originals with jazz standards in a conversant manner that makes you feel like you’re part of a dialogue between old friends. Cohen uses his bass for bowing,…
Yeahwon Shin: Lua Ya
Here’s a quiet and spacious collection of material with the sensitive support of Aaron Parks/p and Rob Curto/acc. The songs have a traditional Korean folk feel to them in the sense of spaciousness, yet because of the mix of Shin’s…
Sultans of String: Symphony!
You want fusion? How about from a 55 piece orchestra?!? Jamie Hopkings leads a gigantic band that has guests coming in and out like an Agatha Christie novel. The music itself is so celebratory and infectious that you can’t resist…
LATIN LOVERS…Miguel Zenon: Oye! Sergio Galvao: Phantom Fish, Todo Mundo: Conexion
Latin music comes in all shapes, sounds and styles. Here are three results of Christopher Columbus landing on Hispaniola a few years back… Alto saxist Miguel Zenon and his Rhythm Collective are caught in 2011 at a fiery concert at…
TWO FROM NINE WINDS RECORDS…Gavin Templeton: In Series, Daniel Rosenboom: Book of Omens
Here are a couple releases from Nine Winds Records, showing a wide color palate for such a small label. I tend to listen to tenor players more often because the alto guys nowadays hit their reeds too sharp for my…
Ray Charles: Forever
In honor of Brother Ray getting his own “Forever” stamp for the USPS, Concord has put together a pretty nifty cd/dvd that gives a nice overview of the width and depth of this American Icon. Early crooning R&B stuff like…
4 SERIOUS STRINGS… Stephen DiBonaventura: Not Your Average Banjo
The four string (aka “tenor”) banjo is not one you usually associate with jazz, unless it’s old time stuff like Johnny St Cyr strumming away on an old Armstrong disc. Otherwise, you’ve got most current guys like Bela Fleck picking…