If someone is a newcomer to jazz, where would you direct him to begin? Miles? Ellington? Armstrong? Mehldau? For my money, forget about artists, and start with years. 1959. Any album, whether it was by Miles Davis or Sammy Davis…
Author: George W. Harris
MARY WILSON: SUPREME SINGER
How many of us look back nostalgically to certain periods of our lives, when imagine that we were a) more popular b) better looking c) more athletic or c) richer? Some of us look back at the past and see…
CELEBRATING FATHERS
Let’s face it, if it weren’t for fathers, most of us wouldn’t be around. We’ve all had them, some of us are them, and some of us fathers have been called a “Mother.” Having said all that, the sign of…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Shamie Royston: Portraits
So, sue me. Sue me. What can you do me? I confess! Mea culpa! I took one look at this cover of Shamie Royston, contemplatively looking through a curtain and thought “another singer of the Great American Songbook and best,…
ONE LAST PRECIOUS RELEASE! Cesaria Evora: Mae Carinhosa
If you’re a fan of the famed Cape Verdian singer Cesaria Evora (and WHO ISN’T), you know that there’s no one else out there to take her place, which makes you cherish her catalogue even more. Well, there’s cause for…
Leo Brouwer: Beatlerianas
Composer/arranger Leo Brouwer brings together a delicious melding of strings her with the Havana String Quartet and guitarists Carlos Barbosa-Lima & Larry Del Casale. Combining everyone’s talents, he does a lovely arrangement of some Beatles tunes with the quartet and…
Sweet Honey in the Rock: A Tribute
Here’s something that is a great idea, and it’s done fascinatingly well. Grammy award winning female a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock came to the Lincoln Center in 2011 to fill the room with some history and history…
Dizzy Gillespie Quintet: Legends Live
Jazz Haus Records continues to mine its vaults of broadcasts from the 40s-70s, filling in gigantic historical and musical gaps with these sumptuous concert recordings. This one, except for an alternate take, is from Liederhalle Stuttgart from a thrilling show…
Giovanni Moltoni: Tomorrow’s Past
Italian guitarist Giovanni Moltoni has put out an impressive session that has a feel similar to the classic Chet Baker sessions of the late 50s. The light and buoyant lyricism of pieces like “Just a Thought” and “Green Line” lifted…
CLARINET LAMENTS-Emilio Teubal: Musica Para Un Dragon Dormido, Matt Holman’s Diversion Ensemble: When Flooded, Eili Yamin & Evan Christopher: Louie’s Dream
Maybe because it’s so rarely used these days, but the clarinet always gets my attention when it’s featured on a disc. These three releases feature the licorice stick in marvelous and creative ways, looking forward, back and left to right.…