Bill Frisell’s latest release claims to be “produced (and nurtured) by John Zorn.” Hmmm. What you’ve got here audibly is a collection of eleven themes ranging from 2-9 minutes. What it sounds like is experimentation with finger pickings, electronic tapes…
Author: George W. Harris
FEMALE VOICES Miki Purnell: Swingin’ to the Sea, Diane Marino: Loads of Love
Here are a couple more female singers that bring divergent ways of delivering music. Miki Purnell’s light and flexible voice fronts a band with Tamir Hendelman/Dave MacKay/p, Bob Magnusson/b, Kevin Koch/dr, Lori Bell/fl, Joey Carano/g and Tomy Aros/perc on a…
Noah Preminger: Haymaker
Post bop tenorist Noah Preminger brings his latest release with the group of Ben Monder/g, Matt Pavolka/b and Colin Strnahan/dr for a collection of originals. His tenor sound has a bit of a dryness to it, which works well on…
POWER OF THE SONG Elsten Torres: Waiting For Clouds, John Batdorf & James Lee Stanley: All Wood and Stones II
You’ve got to start with a good composition. After that it’s up to the musicians and arrangers. Here are two cases in point. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Elsten Torres fronts a stripped down band with Brendan Buckley/perk/vibes/key/g and Joe Ayoub/b along with a…
Matt Kane Trio: Suit Up!
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…
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…