If you have a finger on any part of the LA jazz scene’s pulse, you know that John Clayton is one of the major musical movers and shakers. Talent scout, producer, co-leader of a big band and small group (right…
Author: George W. Harris
David Gilmore: Numerology-Live at Jazz Standard
Guitarist David Gilmore leads an all start team of Miguel Zenon/as, Luis P erdomo/p, Christian McBride/b, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Mino Cinelu/perc and Claudia Acuna/voc on this exciting and explansive collection of originals performed at the NYC club back in 2010.…
Lalo Schifrin: My Life In Music
If you grew up during the Baby Boomer years, this 4 disc set which chronicles the music of composer/musician Lalo Schifrin is essentially the soundtrack to your life. Celebrating the 80th birthday of the famed artist, Aleph Records has compiled…
Caroline Davis Quartet: Live Work & Play
Chicago based alto saxist Caroline Davis has a deep and earthy sounding horn, not unlike Lee Konitz, and her improvisatory skills veer toward the same direction as well: free flowing and tangential. Here, she leads a light on the bottom…
THREE FEMALE VOICES-Cecile Hortensia: Pappilons, Valarie Pettiford: Velvet Sky, Joan Watson-Jones with Frank Wilkins/piano: Quiet Conversations, a Duet
Here is a trio of vocalists you’ve probably never been introduced to. Each have a style and delivery completely different from the other. Choose your partner! Cecile Hortensia mixes a gaul-like Chasson style with a dash of country and western on…
Deborah Shulman & Larry Zalkind: Lost in the Stars
Subtitled “The Music of Bernstein, Weill & Sondheim,” this disc features vocalist Deborah Shulman and trombonist Larry Zalkind delivering mature and intelligent readings of some jazz standards as well as a few Broadway pieces in a variety of well crafted…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jazzcraft Studio Recordings 1977-78 featuring Hugh Lawson & Richard Wyands
Here is a fantastic 2 cd set of a pair of blue collar pianists who worked day in and day out as reliable sidemen, just doing their job of accompanying some leader and providing reliably creative music. Never in the…
OVERLOOKED JAZZ GIANTS: James Spaulding: Plays the Legacy of Duke Ellington, John Stubblefield: Prelude
Back in the 1970s, when fusion was the king of the jazz universe, there were still a handful of guys that hung in there and stayed faithful to the traditional legacy of acoustic improvisation. Here, we’ve got two guys who…
MODERN HARD BOP- Joe Gilman: Relativity, Felipe Salles: Departure
Always loved it, always will: hard bop, small group style. Best with the combo of piano, bass, drums and a front line of tenor and trumpet, but I can slum it and have variations and even an extra instrument. The…
Joel Behrman: Steppin’ Back
Here’s a trumpet player with a heart of gold. Joel Behrman fronts a quartet here with Matt Clark/p, Marchus shelb/b and Howard Wiley/dr and an occasional added front line of Dayna Stephens/ts and Danny Armstrong/tb. On his own, he has…