I just cannot figure out why everyone loves Michael Buble’. It’s becoming an obsession with me. He’s SUCH A POSER! All my friends think I’m crazy, or jealous (well, he does have a babe for a wife, but I’m content…
Author: George W. Harris
George Cotsirilos Trio: Variations
If you want to hear how a guitar is supposed to sound these days, you can’t go wrong with an album by George Cotsirilos. Here, he’s in a trio format with Robb Fisher/b and Ron Marabuto/dr, and together an intimate…
Leni Stern: Jelell
Guitarist Leni Stern continues her foray into mixing jazz and African sounds on this excellent session of originals. She teams up with Mamadou Ba/b and Alioiune Faye/perc as the core foundation, but various percussionists, vocalists and keyboardists pop in like…
Pete Rodriguez: Caminando Con Papi
Here’s a trumpet player you may not be familiar with, but you’ll like him a lot. Pete Rodriguez sings as well as writes most of the material here as he leads a band of Daniel Dufour/dr, Sam Pankey/b, Luis Perdomo/p…
GROUP EFFORTS: Wide Hive Players: Turnstyle, Alan Blackman: The Coastal Suite
Here are two self produced releases by artists and groups trying to develop their own sounds. Wide Hive Players consists of Matt Montgomery/b-key, Gregory Howe/B3, Calvin Keys/g, Doug Rowan/sax, Mike Rinta/tb, and Thomas McCree-Josh Jones/dr. Montgomery and Howe do the…
AXE MEN…Eric Divito: The Second Time Around, Perry Smith Quartet: Street Sense
Here are a couple of guitarists that are working on creating their own unique personal and group sound. Guitarist Eric Divito mixes his lithe and symbiotic trio of Corcoran Holt/b and Alyssa Falk Verheyn/dr with occasional guests Steve Wilson/as…
Ray Marchica: A Different View
Drummer Ray Marchica is best known for being in the Ed Palermo Big Band which focuses on Frank Zappa compositions. With chops like that, he can play anything, and he shows that here as he leads an impressive team of…
MUSICIANS OR INSTRUMENTALISTS? Matt Mitchell: Fiction, Platz/Demos/Delvo/McLellan: Differential Equations
As someone who plays the sax and clarinet, I have been told many times by my teacher, “Are you a musician or an instrumentalist?” What is the difference? One is using their technique on an instrument, while the other is…
Passafire: Vines
Composed of Ted Bowne/g-voc, Will Kubley/b-voc, Mike DeGuzman/key-g and Nick Kubley/dr, Passafire is an indie/rock band that has some husky vocals by Kubley and Bowne, and sounds that go from the reggae-ish “Earthquake” to modern rock such as “Black Dog.”…
Bernie Worrell Orchestra: BWO Is Landing
Keyboardist Bernie Worrell made his name working with Parlaiment-Funkadelic when an Afro was an Afro. Here, with disco behind him by a good 20 years, he leads a funky ten piece band that sounds like a modern version of rhythmic…