Gary Smulyan is one of of thetop bari players around, having developed a big fat sound via his work with large ensembles like the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Woody Herman’s Orchestra and the Mingus Big Band. He’s also carved out…
Author: George W. Harris
Al Di Meola: Morocco Fantasia: World Sinfonia Live with Special Guests
Guitarist Al Di Meola seems to finally have found a musical voice and home. He’s made a name for himself as an AK-47 styled electric guitar gunslinger, a devotee of New Tango music, and an amalgam of sounds on his…
Neil Welch: Boxwork
I know I sound like one of those people at a modern art museum, but the fact is, my daughters COULD have played this music on the saxophone. This collection of sounds (not “music”) is completely devoid of melody, rhythm…
Various Classic Jazz Artists: Putumayo Presents Jazz
I just love these kinds of discs: unassuming introductions to jazz for the uninitiated which feature alluring sounds that will get you hooked in no time. The emphasis here is on singers, but the few instrumentals are nothing to be…
Steve Smith and Vital Information: Live! One Great Night
If you’re a drum freak, you know about the in-the-pocket-chops of Steve Smith, who’s made a name for himself as THE go to drummer, playing with Jean Luc Ponty, Journey, Steps Ahead, Stanley Clarke and Ahmad Jamal, to name just…
Jochen Rueckert: Somewhere Meeting Nobody
Drummer Jochen Rueckert leads a quartet with some of the major movers of the new generation of jazzers, namely Mark Turner/ts, Brad Shepik/g and Matt Penman/b. The music while, sophisticated and intellectual, is a bit more cerebral than necessary, with…
Rufus Reid & Out Front: Hues Of A Different Blue
If you have a Jazz Play-Along book/cd, you’ve probably heard Rufus Reid’s bass, as he’s on a plethora of those essential educational tools. Here, along his Out Front Trio (Steve Allee/p and Duduka Da Fonseca/dr) he puts forth a textbook…
Mark Rapp’s Melting Pot: Good Eats
Mark Rapp leads a nice and down home band with Joe Kaplowitz/B3, Ahmad Mansour/g, Klemens Marktl/dr and Don Braden/ts-fl on this trigue of sorts to the soul jazz of the 60s. The material leans heavy on the Lou Donaldson songbook,…
JD McPherson: Signs & Signifiers
Here’s a throwback record that makes you realize what’s wrong with today’s music. As CS Lewis once said, “Just because you’re moving forward, it doesn’t mean you’re progressing. If you’ve missed your turnoff, to actually turn around and go backwards…
Kenny G & Rahul Sharma: Namaste
What can be said of Kenny G that hasn’t already be said. It’s like Marx Brothers movies, Barry Manilow, Heavy Metal or Lady Gaga; you are either a devout follower, or you’ll never be one. Even on the cover photo,…