These two releases are separated by a half century, but they both have that timeless quality that would have made a fan of either disc, at either session, a fan of the other. Read on… Greg Abate plays alto, soprano,…
Author: George W. Harris
Jesse Cook: The Blue Guitar Sessions
If you want to hear some beautiful guitar playing, look for this one. Jesse cook puts together 14 tracks with a rotating supporting team that includes Chendy Leon/dr, Maninho Costa/perc, Chris Church/violins, Amy Laing/cello, Pat Collins/b, Tom Szczesniak/p and Emma-Lee/voc…
Jason Robinson: Tiresian Symmetry
This disc is inspired by the Greek soothsayer Tiresias, who was featured in plays and writings of Homer, Sophocles and Euripides (“Euripedes? Eu MEND edes!” a little Greek humor for you there). The music, a tad left of center features…
The Julian Bliss Septet: A Tribute To Benny Goodman
It’s hard to appreciate the fact nowadays, but at one time, this nerdy looking bespeckled Jewish kid changed the whole musical world by introducing this wildly exciting and progressive sounding music called “swing” to a generation of people growing up…
Harry Allen & Scott Hamilton: ‘Round Midnight
Two tenor battles have been around since the swing era: from Lester Young & Hershel Evans to the bop days of Wardell Grey & Dexter Gordon to Coltrane & Rollins to Zoot Sims & Al Cohn to Sonny Stitt and…
Accidental Tourists: The L.A. Sessions
It’s quite refreshing to hear a pianist that has a voice on the ivories that sounds unique without descending into cacophony. I’ve never heard a session by Markus Burger before, but this album along with LA studs Joe LaBarbera/dr and…
Kurt Elling: 1619 Broadway
One thing you can definitely say about vocalist Kurt Elling; he keeps trying something new, which keeps his audience base both guessing and loyal for his devotion to the art form. Last year’s release The Gate raised a few eyebrows…
Lee Ritenour: Rhythm Sessions
Ya know, Metheny gets all the accolades, Benson reels in the bucks and Frisell seems to be the critics’ darling, but for my money, Lee Ritenour is consistently the most satisfying guy around the frets. His Six String Theory last year…
Jeff Holmes Quartet: Of One’s Own
Pianist Jeff Holmes leads an erudite team here on a mix of originals and standards with Adam Kolker/ss-ts-bcl, James Cammack/b, and Steve Johns/dr. The thing that hits you about this session is that the sound seems bigger than the sum…
Tori Amos: Gold Dust
I guess Tori Amos is proving that you CAN go back home again, as this disc has her revisiting her most famous release, the 20 year old Little Earthquakes. This time around, she performs the whole thing during a concert…