In this musical era where you could throw a rock in any direction on the corner of Highland and Sunset and hit 5 aspiring jazz singers, Dee Dee Bridgewater has always remained one of the truly great vocalists. Never weighed…
Author: George W. Harris
GREGORY PORTER: LIVING WATER
Very rarely does an artist come “out of nowhere” to make an impressive debut. At age 39, when most singers are just finding their groove, Gregory Porter surprised everyone with a stunning debut Water. So many people were impressed that…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Brubeck Brothers Quartet: Lifetimes
Maybe there IS something to genetic engineering. Dan/dr and Chris/b-btb Brubeck, sons of the famed Dave, have been releasing some wonderfully original and exciting music lately. This latest one, with Mike DeMicco/g and Chuck Lamb/p along side the family, does some…
ESSENTIAL MUSIC FROM AVID JAZZ: Gene Krupa: Five Classic Albums Plus, Flip Phillips: Four Classic Albums Plus, Bud Shank: Four Classic Albums
Oh! So this is what a saxophone is supposed to sound like! UK-based Avid Jazz is putting both Mosaic Records and Sony Legacy to SHAME. They put out first rate reissues much more often than the former, and their pricing…
Pat Metheny: The Orchestron Project
If you’re a Pat Metheny fan, you are going to go CRAZY over this double dvd set that documents Pat Metheny’s fantastic sonic experimentation with his self made gigantic music machine, the Orchestron. If you’ve only experienced Metheny’s fantastic album…
Ricardo Fassi’s New York Pocket Orchestra: Sitting In A Song
Keyboardist Ricardo Fassi wrote and arranged all of the material on this very impressive outing that features a hard working septet. The band, featuring a front line of Alex Sipiagin/tp, Dave Binney/as, Gary Smulyan/bs and Andy Hunter/tb gives hint of…
Putamayo Presents Arabic Beat
There are essentially two kinds of Arabic music; one is the type you hear on soundtracks to movies like The Hurt Locker which remind you of hot and sweaty days in a dusty desert, and the other is funky electronic…
Eric Vaughn: Minor Relocation
I like this guy! Pianist Eric Vaughn has a spry and joyous touch to his ivories, with just enough dash of elliptical sounds to make you realize it’s part of his dna, and not a gimmick. He’s featured in mostly…
Jimmy Mulidore: Jazz For The Ages (cd), And His New York City Jazz Band (dvd)
Reedist Jimmy Mulidore shows on this disc that he can (almost) do it all. He’s a hard bopper on the clarinet with some mind blowing material like “Giant Steps” and “Countdown,” a funky flutist on “A Time For Love,” and…
John Proulx: The Best Thing For You
In baseball, a 5-tool player is one that can hit for average, hit with power, base run, throw and field. If there is such a category in jazz, John Proulx is definitely in that tier. He can sing, play the…