Who would have predicted in the early 70s, right after Deep Purple’s Machine Head came out, that the composer of “Smoke on the Water” would eventually live a quiet and domestic life and become part of a Renaissance/Minstrel band? I…
Author: George W. Harris
Emy Tseng: Sonho
Here’s a wonderfully understated disc by a lady I’ve never heard before. Emy Tseng takes on material from Brazil to Freddie Hubbard on this highly satisfying session. Her voice is Gilberto styled in its soft tones, and it fits perfectly…
Marc Myers: Why Jazz Happened
Most of the jazz books that you read focus on either specific artists like Coltrane, Armstrong or Duke, or into specific genres like Bebop or Free Jazz. Marc Myers takes the evolution of jazz from an entirely different and quite…
Gustavo Santaolalla: On The Road Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
At one time, it was de rigeur for a college student to read Jack Kerouac’s hip to be hep beatnik classic On The Road. Here, we’ve got the soundtrack to the movie, and it’s an excellent mix of vintage bebop…
Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra @ The Canyon Club 02.15.13
Like so many artists, it would be temptingly easy for guitarist Ottmar Liebert to simply cash in on the popularity that he developed 20 years ago and simply coast into town and play the songs that are expected of him.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Patsy Cline: On The Air-Her Best TV Performances
What Billie Holiday was to jazz, Patsy Cline was to country music. She didn’t have the largest range in the world, but her nuanced delivery told more than any improvisation or high C could ever deliver. Like Holiday, she held…
THE MUSIC THAT SAVED JAZZ-Joao Gilberto: The Warm World of Joao Gilberto
Try to imagine what today’s jazz would be like if Stan Getz (or Bud Shank, if you want to get technical) didn’t go down to Brazil in the 50s and discover the sounds and songs of Tom Jobim and the…
Scott Healy-Glenn Alexander Quartet: Northern Light
Here’s a subtle and delicate delight: Scott Healy/p-synth and Glenn Alexander/g co-lead a quartet with Kermit Driscoll/b and Jeff Hirshfield/dr on an extremely well conceived, composed and delivered collection of originals. All of the 6 tuens are recorded live to…
Coleman Hawkins Quintet: The Hawk Swings
I’ve been listening to jazz for most of my life, and the best criteria for judging an artist is what my dearly departed dad told me way back when. He termed it the “3 Day Rule.” Simply put, can you…
Paul McCartney: Live Kisses
This charming documentary dvd only confirms my suspicion that Sir Paul McCartney would’ve been completely content to live his life as an obscure cabaret singer/songwriter and play for sparse crowds into the wee hours on a weekly basis, except for…