ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE VOICES IN JAZZ BELONGS TO DOUYE’, BORN IN NIGERIA, AND CURRENTLY LIVING IN LOS ANGELES. HER JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF JAZZ IS A UNIQUE ONE. GROWING UP WITH A DESIRE TO BE AN R&B…
Author: George W. Harris
ROBERTA GAMBARINI: EASY TO LOVE
A FEW WEEKS AGO, I GOT IN THE MAIL A VINYL REISSUE OF ROBERTA GAMBARINI’S AMERICAN 2006 DEBUT, EASY TO LOVE. IT WAS SO IMPRESSIVE AT THE TIME, AND IT STILL IS, BECAUSE IT CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF CLASSIC JAZZ VOCALS…
***RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anthony Hervey: Words From My Horn
Just when you think there’s no one left who “gets it” on trumpet… Anthony Hervey plays trumpet and sings a bit with a swinging yet modern conviction on this release. I’ve never heard anything from him before, but this album wih Sarah Hanahan/as,…
Terry Gibbs Legacy Band: The Terry Gibbs Songbook
One of the last living beboppers, at 99 Terry Gibbs is still active musically, playing a bit of piano and even singing on this album of his tunes with a swinging team of Scott Hamilton-Harry Allen/ts, Tom Ranier/p-ts, Mike Gurrola/b…
CLASSIC R&B AND BOPPING TRUMPET FROM AVID…,The Coasters: Four Classic Albums Plus, Art Farmer: Four Classic Albums
Popular R&B vocals and possibly the purest horn in the 1950s are brought out by Avid Records. One of the most popular and absolutely humorous vocal groups were the Coasters. They had numerous incarnations, and their first hit “Smokey J…
Johnathan Blake: Passage
One of the best drummers of the day, Johnathan Blake shows his writing skills here with his band Pentad on this recent recording. He brings together Dezron Douglas/b David Virelles/p, Joel Ross/vib, Immanuel Wilkins/as for a mix of his own…
Blue Cranes: My Only Secret fa
The team of Reed Wallsmith/as-keys-perc, Joe Cunningham/ts-keys-perc, Rebecca Sanborn/keys, Jon Shaw/b and JI Tanzer/dr create thick textures that sound like a mix of fusion bands Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. The reeds are thick, with extra wood from Nicole…
Mick Kolassa: Wooden Music
If for no other reason, you gotta get this latest album by back porch blueser Mick Kolassa simply to memorize the lyrics to “Gas Station Sushi”, with classic kiss off lyrics such as the word images of “You remind me…
James McGowan Ensemble: Reaching In
Pianist James McGowan puts together a musical program focusing on a personal pilgrimage from despair to hope on this 16 song album. Through the spoken readings of Jamaal Amir Akbari, the reflective tale mixes classical tones from the string section…
The Peggy Lee Band: A Giving Way
Cellist Peggy Lee puts together a team that veers between free and loose improvs and thoughtful constructions. With Brad Turner/tp-ct-fh, Jon Bentley/ts, Jeremy B erkman/tb, Ron Samworth/g, Tony Wilson/g, Andre Lachance/b and Dylan Van Der Schyff/dr, the team blends rich…