I don’t expect every jazz fan to ONLY have music by guys like Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges and Sonny Stitt; still, a hefty collection of gents like these guys will at least give you a sound by which all other…
Author: George W. Harris
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension: Now Here This
Not as maniacal or frenetically focused as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, or as acoustic as Shakti, guitar guru John McLaughlin finds a middle ground with the team of Gary Husband/p-synth-dr, Ranjit Barot/dr, Etienne M’Bappe/b, performing material that is still macho, but relying…
Nicolas Masson: Third Reel
Tenor saxist and clarinetist Nicolas Masson joins together with the unorthodox combination of guitar (Roberto Pianca) and drums (Emanuele Maniscalco) for a highly intriguing collection of sounds and sonic directions. The material ranges from aggressive sax and electric guitar on…
Giovanni Guidi Trio: City of Broken Dreams
Italian pianist Giovanni Guidi teams up with Thomas Morgan/b and Joao Lobo/dr for a collection of gentle originals. The soft and delicate interplay is similar to the Scandinavian pianists like Bobo Stenson and Tord Gustavson; lots of space between the…
Harry Connick Jr: Every Man Should Know
Boy, doesn’t this guy sound just like Michael Buble’? Remember when they compared Connick to Sinatra? Well, times sure have changed; a few decades have passed and Harry himself is the standard to which other vocalists are compared (or imitated!).…
BEFORE MTV, THERE WAS…FRANK ZAPPA: A TOKEN OF HIS EXTREME
You don’t think modern rock has lost its innovation? Watch this time capsule of a TV Special from 1974 that features Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention (George Duke/key, Napoleon Murphy Brock/sax-voc, Ruth Underwood/perc, Tom Fowler/b and Chester Thompson/dr).…
****ROTW****WHERE’D THIS GUY COME FROM?!? Richard Lanham: Thou Swell
Here’s a fifteen year old recording that’s been hidden in the netherworld for awhile, but like the pearl of great price in the Bible, it was finally found and it’s definitely worth the wait. Richard Lanham has been in the…
BING’S BEST! Bing Crosby: Bing on Broadway, Bing & Rosie
If you want to hear what REAL singing is supposed to sound like, these two releases by Bing Crosby Enterprises are possibly the best template in which to compare everyone else from Frank to Buble’. They may be different, and…
ALL THINGS BING! Bing Crosby: So Rare, Return to Paradise Islands, A Southern Memoir
Did Bing Crosby ever have an artistic nadir? These three latest releases that are part of a retrospective of Der Bingster would indicate NO! NO! NO! The double disc So Rare is the most intriguing, as it is almost literally…
CRUISE NIGHT! Redtenbacher’s Funkestra: The Cooker
Once upon a time, people actually went to night clubs to dance. I don’t mean jump up and down like you’re trying to assist your peristalsis, but to get down and BOOGIE to music like The Average White Band, EWF…