One of my guilty pleasures in music is listening to Bob Wilber on either soprano sax or clarinet. Taught by Sidney Bechet, Wilber’s sound and even his look have an old soul on an appeal. His music is always swinging,…
Author: George W. Harris
Marc Cary: For the Love of Abbey
Pianist Marc Cary has earned his credentials gigging with the likes of Betty Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Shirley Horn. Here, he delivers a tribute to another one of his employers, the marvelous Abbey Lincoln, on this solo excursion…
Michael Dease: Coming Home
Trombonist Michael Dease releases a solid mainstream/hard bop disc with a team of Steve Wilson/as, Renee Rosnes/p, Christian McBride/b and Ulysses Owens Jr/dr on this collection of jazz standards and originals. His cappuccino warm tone is a joy to behold,…
Catherine Legardh/Brian Kellock: Love Still Wears a Smile
Here’s a gentle and penetrating collection of duets between vocalist Catherine Leghard and sublime pianist Brian Kellock. The songs are familiar to most of us, but the delivery is quite penetrating and personal. A wordless coo on “First Song” sets…
Thomas Lukassek: A Day in Full Dress
Traditional instruments like Greek bouzoukis and Armenian duduks have a tough time getting into the contemporary music/jazz scene as the question comes to whether modern times should adapt to them, or vice versa. Babpiper Thomas Lukassek does an impressive job…
Femi Kuti: No Place For My Dream
Here’s a guy that I wish we had an American counterpart to. Femi Anikulapo Kuti, a mix of vocalist, composer, band leader, organist and fighter for truth in politics, has released another exciting album of protest against the corruption in…
The Michael Treni Big Band: Pop-Culture Blues
If your idea of heaven is the Atomic Basie band, this latest release by Michael Treni is going to be right up your alley. The trombone/bandleader has a 16 piece team that swings like their out at the Daisy Chain…
Deborah Latz: Fig Tree
Here’s a vocalist with a lot of great ideas, taking songs we all know and goosing them up a bit, as well as writing a few clever pieces of her own. Deborah Katz uses her behind the beat vocals with…
Michael Bates/Samuel Blaser Quintet: One From None
Co-leaders Michael Blake and Samuel Blaser write the compositions and make up the front line of their quintet on sax and trombone respectively with the team of Russ Lossing/key, Michael bates/b and Jeff Davis/dr. The tricky themes and brooding themes…
Op Der Schmelz: Live
Alto and soprano saxist Roby Glod leads a quartet with Roberta piket/p, Mark Todar/b and Klaus Kugel/dr that got together for a concert in Luxembourg back in 2010. The music is considered “improvised” which means “lots of long solos” if…