Want your intelligence insulted? Pop in this dvd of Ceelo Green “performing” an act in Vegas. Every negative stereotype of Vegas, Black entertainment and exploitation you could ever imagine or wouldn’t want to imagine is portrayed here. How about a…
Author: George W. Harris
Boz Scaggs: The Essential
Here’s a singer/songwriter that is known in pop and rock circles, but has also put out a few well done jazz discs as well. This 2 cd set of 32 songs covers his solo career, starting with his 1969 “I’ll…
ACS: Allen, Carrington, Spalding@The Broad Stage 10.27.13
The trio of Geri Allen/p, Terri Lyne Carrington/dr and Esperanza Spalding/b first got together in the summer as a tribute to jazz icon Wayne Shorter. Their Hollywood Bowl concert was quite impressive, and here at the tail end of their…
Mark Knopfler@The Wiltern 10.26.13
This review of Mark Knopfler has to begin with a disclaimer. He first became popular at a time that I had abandoned rock music in order to cross the Jordan for the Milk and Honey of jazz. Eschewing any type…
ELLA’S DAWN! Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald Decca Sessions (1934-1941)
For a period of time, arguably the most influential drummer and singer in jazz got together for a few brief years and made some of the swingin’-est music ever. Chick Webb, who briefly inhabited this planet from 1909-1939, lead a…
ALBUMS WITH THEMES…Ryan Cohan: The River, Roberto Fonseca: Yo
Most albums consist of an artist leading a single group, or a single group focusing on performing a series of songs. Here, we’ve got artists that mix and match group sizes and sounds in order to convey messages about life…
A REASON TO VISIT DETROIT! Mack Avenue 2012 Superband Live! From The Detroit Jazz Festival
Do you REALLY want to spend the Labor Day weekend in Detroit? This collection of songs from last year’s Detroit Jazz Festival is a pretty good advertisement for throwing caution to the wind and heading out there. I’m not sure…
Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow: Trios
The team of Bley/p, Sheppard/sax and Swallow/b have been in a variety of combinations and permutations for decades, creating some of the most enjoyable music to the ears. Here, they revisit some familiar turf in a fresh milieu. The interplay…
AND THE ORIGINAL MELODY IS? Jessica Jones & Connie Crothers: Live at the Freight, Venissa Santi: Big Stuff-Afro Cuban Holiday
I love when artists create original and exploratory music. It shows that they are trying to do something new with their craft. What I don’t understand is when they take a song that we are all familiar with and create…
Jeri Brown: Echoes
Here’s a singer that’s got something to say! Caught in concert at Catalina’s Jazz Club right here in Hollywood, Jeri Brown and her team of Woody Woods/p, Trevor Ware/b and Clayton Cameron/b deliver an excitingly extroverted set of originals and…