If you want some fun and adventure in your jazz, here’s an iconoclastic guy that will appeal to your sense of swing and humor. Bassist/composer/singer Georg Brenschmid has put out another variety show of a disc (and bonus) here with…
Author: George W. Harris
South American Sounds: Sabrina Lastman: The Candombe Jazz Sessions, Oscar Castro-Neves with special guests: Live At The Blue Note Tokyo
Here are a couple of artists that take you on musical journeys all over South America, from the urban café’s of Brazil to the villages of Uruguay. Vocalist Sabrina Lastman brings together a working trio of Emilio Solia/p, Pablo…
Dan Wilensky: Back in the Mix
Ah! How nice to hear a tenor saxist not under the shadow of John Coltrane. Dan Wilensky has a nice rich and thick sound, and uses it well on this modern hard bop disc with Mark Soskin/p, Dean Johnson/b, Tony…
The Michael Treni Big Band: Boy’s Night Out
If you like your big band charts clean, fresh and tasty, here’s a band after your own heart. Michael Treni does the conducting, arranging, ‘bone playing and some of the composing on this cooking disc with an 18 piece big…
Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: Family Ties
I knew that I was in trouble with this disc when the first song, the title track, opened with Perelman soloing with simply the mouthpiece of his saxophone. Oh, boy. After that the material with Morris/b and Cleaver/dr has the…
Kathy Kosins: The Ladies Of Cool
Subtitled “A love letter to O’Connor, O’Day, Christy, London” this charming disc has vocalist Kathy Kosins delivers a tribute to the “vo-cool” babes of the 50s and 60s by doing keeping the attitude, but necessarily the signature songs alive. She…
Alfredo Rodriguez: Sounds of Space
This Cuban-born pianist is the latest discovery of Quincy Jones, and he’s bursting all over with great ideas and performance. I caught him last year with his trio, and left the show anxious for something tangible from him. Here it…
Marshall Gilkes: Sound Stories
Trombonist Marshall Gilkes delivers an impressively strong post-bop session here with like minded mates Donny McCaslin/ts, Adam Birnbaum/p, Yasushi Nakamura/b and Eric Doob/dr. The compositions, all penned by the leader, are well crafted, with almost half of them containing two…
The Gipsy Kings@Nokia Theatre 08.18.12
No attitude. No on stage charisma. No light shows. No bimbo dancers. They don’t even sing in English!!! Yet, year after year, the Gipsy Kings ( just like on this 2 hour show at the comfortably air conditioned Nokia Center)…
Sara Gazarek@Vitello’s 08.19.12
It’s easy to see why singer Sara Gazarek chose the title of her latest release to be Blossom and Bee. Yes, it’s also the name of a famous song, and the disc is a tribute to vocalist Blossom Dearie. But,…