You can make fun of the “Awesome” 80s (as well as the “Have a Great Day” late 70s) all you want, but the fact is that they produced a couple of genres that surprisingly stand up pretty darned well against…
Author: George W. Harris
Wayne Shorter 80th Birthday Celebration@The Hollywood Bowl 08.28.13
So, what keeps 4 score’d Wayne Shorter looking and sounding so young? ATTITUDE, BABY! Two bands gave tribute to his forward thinking style of music, and yet for his own set, he showed that even the younger “kids” still sounded…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Oana Catalina Chitu: Divine
Wanna try something adventurous that will still appeal to your jazz sensibilities? How about ROMANIAN CABARET MUSIC?!? Did I get your attention yet? GOOD! Singer Oana Catalina Chitu delves into a songbook that I can guarantee NO ONE in the…
88 KEYS OF WONDER…Juan Maria Solare: Tango Monologues, Esa Helasvuo: Stella Nova
If you’re looking for something fresh from the ivories, give a listen to these 2 releases. Both are alluringly fresh and creative. And…not a single overplayed standard in sight! Juan Maria Solare delivers almost 80 minutes of some of the…
NEW SMALL GROUPS…Jack Mouse Group; Range of Motion, Rich Thompson; Less is More
Washington-based Origin Records has released a pair of quintet releases, both lead by drummers, and differed most obviously by the chord instrument. This presence of guitar or piano seems to make all of the difference between the depth of that…
“FREE” OR CONFINED? Wadada Leo Smith & Tumo: Occupy The World, Hush Point: Hush Point
When does “Free” or “Avant Garde” start sounding restricted, and when does it actually “advance”? These two recent releases serve as examples for asking these questions. Trumpeter/composer is one of my all time favorite performers. His last couple releases have…
Cynthia Sayer: Joyride
How happy do you want your music? Well, 4 string banjoist Cynthia Sayer is going to wipe that frown off your face. She strums, picks and glides and sings with a working team of Charlie Girodano/acc, Mauro Battisti/b and Larry…
The Looking: Songs for a Traveler
Todd Carter sings, plays guitar, arranges and composes much of the material on this mix of rock, folk and indie music. He’s got a husky macho and gravelly voice and he uses it well hear on edgy material like the…
RJ & The Assignment: The Stroke of Midnight
Keyboardist/Composer “RJ” does a yeoman’s attempt to bridge the modern urban sounds and voices of hip hop with mainstream job on this most recent release. Modern R&B beats and rhythms permeat tuens like “Midterm,” Tears of Anthony Diamond” and a…
Deborah Shulman & The Ted Howe Trio: Get Your Kicks-The Music of Bobby Troup
I know it’s a sin to envy, but it takes a lot of will power not to be jealous of the life of Bobby Troup. He wrote a bunch of hit songs that earned him a ton of cash, married…