Solo piano records are a risky deal. On the best of them, you can’t help but feel you know the artist a bit more deeply, and on the worst you hope never to meet them in a dark alley. Mike…
Author: George W. Harris
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN…Ross Hammond Quartet: Cathedrals, David Binney: Lifted Land, Dorothy Hindman: Tapping the Furnace
How outside do you like your “Outside” jazz? Here are three beds to see if it’s too hard, soft or just right… Ross Hammond brings his electric 6 and acoustic 12 stringed guitars to team up with Vinny Golia/ts-ss-fl, Steuart…
Chris Berry: King of Me
It would be easy to consider this collection of material by Chris Berry as a gimmick because he specializes in an instrument that is on the cutting edge of obscurity, the African Mbira, which is sort of like a glamorized…
Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel: San Francisco
Representing the Bay Area’s delivery of Latin Jazz, drummer Brian Andres and his semi-big band provide a solid punch of exciting material of both vocals and instrumentals. Percussion is a major part of the discussion on room filling tunes like…
AAHHH! John Coltrane: Afro Blue Impressions
Here’s how a reissue is supposed to be done. Formed back in 1973 as a vehicle for purely improvised “mainstream” music, Pablo records had a good run of it. This would be the 50th anniversary of the label that brought…
A FORGOTTEN GREAT HORN…Bunny Berigan: Swingin’ & Jumpin’ Broadcasts 1937-39
When Swing was the thing, and before Harry James married the lady with the legs, the most popular (white) trumpet player that got everyone hot under the collar was Bunny Berigan. His interpretation on “I Can’t Get Started” is still…
THE LAST HURRAH…Elvis Presley: Elvis At Stax- Deluxe Edition
OK, first, a disclaimer: if you’re expecting Elvis Presley to be fronting a band lead by Booker T Jones and Steve Cropper, it ain’t happening. You get a couple tunes with Donald Dunn/b and Al Jackson/dr, but that’s about it.…
Autumn In Augusta: Songs My Mama Would Like
Here’s a homey little ep of 5 tunes by vocalist Lucy Smith along with a team of Michael Caskey/dr, Marcin Fahymy/p-key and Junius Paul/b. She uses her lemonade sweet and fresh voice to bring forth old time spirituals, with clever…
JAZZ VOCAL COMFORT FOOD…Freddy Cole: This and That, Giacomo Gates: Miles Tones
I don’t need vocal gymnastics, nor attitude, nor posing. Just gimme a guy that can take a tune and use his God given gift of sound and rhythm to make the material speak to me. Here are two gents that…
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN…Go: Organic Orchestra: Sonic Mandala, Leo Genovese: Seeds
Creative, free flying, with lots of ideas popping around. Not background music, to say the least! The name of the ensemble is Go: Organic Orchestra, and it includes over two score musicians that play anything from various flutes, strings, reeds,…