Ah! Gotta love the classic B3 trio! And, being lead by a drummer, no less, makes for intriguing sounds. Drummer Matt Kane brings together Dave Stryker/g and Kyle Koehler/B3 for a particularly enjoyable mix of originals and covers. A couple…
Author: George W. Harris
Jurassic Park: Original Soundtrack
In case you didn’t notice, movie soundtracks have become to the present time what Symphonies meant to the 19th Century and Jazz Concerts meant to the 20th. And who else besides John Williams has his own distinct sound and style,…
Alanis Morissette: Live At Montreux 2012
Canadian singer/songwriter Alanis Morissitte was one of the definitive sounds of the 90s, selling something like 50-60 million albums. Here, she looks back and a bit forward on this concert cd/dvd from the 2012 Montreux Jazz Festival. Material from Havoc…
BEFORE RAP, THERE WAS…Tony Adamo: Miles of Blu
You think rap (did I ever tell you the perfect radio station for it? K-RAP?) was the first music to offer the street scene? Forget it! Guys like Tony Adamo, and before him, Gil Scott-Heron tell BETTER stories, with a…
WHERE’S THIS BEEN HIDING?!?…Perry Robinson 4: Funk Dumpling
Looking for modern clarinet players is about as easy as finding bacon in a mosque, so what a surprise was this ringer by Perry Robinson, who took the unforgiving clarinet and tried to bring it into the avant garde without…
QUIET SOUNDS FROM ECM…Julia Hulsmann Quartet: In Full View, Susanne Abbuehl: The Gift, Gary Peacock/Marlyn Crispell/Azure, Ketil Bjornstad: La Notte
Here we have four new releases by ECM. Each one has a different instrumental configuration and number of artists, yet there is a familiar feel to the quartet of albums; an overall feel of spaciousness, warmth and freedom within the…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Cecile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild
Here’s a real find! She just won the Theolonious Monk Jazz Competition with judges no less impressive than Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling. Interested yet? The liner notes have Wynton Marsalis lauding her for her “poise, elegance,…
BIG BANDS! Swingadelic: Toussaintville, The Bill Horvitz Expanded Band: The Long Walk
Nothing like the power of a horn section to blow away the blues. Here are two recent releases that are worth adding to your shelf or ipod. Legendary pianist/composer Allan Toussaint is given a fitting tribute on this collection of…
STANDARDS DONE THREE WAYS-The Verve Jazz Ensemble: It’s About Time, Jeff Berlin: Low Standards, Mark Egan-Karl Latham-John Hart: Unit 1
Jazz Standards! The lifeblood of our music. How should they be approached? Straightahead? A few tweaks here and there? Complete deconstruction? Here are a couple takes: The Verve Jazz Ensemble is a classic quintet made up of Tatum Greenblatt/tp-fh, Jon…
CLASSIC COLTRANE QUARTET’S LAST HURRAH-John Coltrane: Sun Ship; The Complete Sessions
There are certain bands that you simply need to eventually get everything they released. Some groups were so important that you must hear the entire evolution of the paradigm-shifting team. A few such entities are Armstrong’s first groups, the first…