Composer and saxist Felipe Salles conducts a large ensemble with some all star guest soloists on this album of originals. The mix of five woodwinds, five trumpets, four trombones and five members of a rhythm section create sounds ranging from…
Author: George W. Harris
THE KID FROM RIVE ROUGE…Jacques Denjean: And His Jazz Orchestra 1959-1962
If Count Basie came from Red Bank, New Jersey, maybe band leader, pianist, conductor and arranger Jacques Denjean came from the Rive Rouge, as his band sure sounds a lot like it drank from the Basie waters. This collection of…
WHEN ROCK WAS ROLLIN…Eddie Cochran: Rockin’ It Country Style, Portrait Of A Legend
Back when rock and roll was, well, “rock and roll”, you had melding of styles like country, rockabilly and R&B trying to figure out how to amalgamate them all for Baby Booming music fans. Eddie Cochran, the pride of Albert…
TRIO TIME… Vicente Archer: Short Stories
Bassist Vicente Archer forms a trio with all stars Gerald Clayton/p and Bill Stewart/dr for a mix of originals and covers, with the focus on subtle interplay. The leader shows his lyricism on a reich solo of ‘Lighthouse” and does…
Dara Starr Tucker: Dara Starr Tucker
Vocalist Dara Starr Tucker has a warm and husky tone to her delivery, mixing originals with some serene covers on this album. The team of Mike King-Aaron Parks/p, Vincent Archer-Greg Bryantt/b, Marcus Finnie/dr and guests Giveton Gellin/tp, John Ellis/ts, Stacy…
The Baseball Project: Grand Slam Time!
An album dedicated to baseball is simply a brilliant idea, with Peter Buck/g, Scott McCaughey/g-key, Mike Mills/b, Linda Pitman/dr, and Steve Wynn/g-voc rocking through the various aspects of The National Pastime. The band has a mix of Tom Petty and…
Brooke Alford: Heaven On Earth
Violinist Brooke Alford creates soulful and smooth atmospheres with a mix of strings, keyboards and a mix and match rhythm section. She soars around the synth pulses of the title tune, with some R&Bish keyboards by George Foreman making “New…
Flamenco Passion: A Tribute to Paco De Lucia
Exciting Andalusian sounds are brought to the fore by Poul Jacek Knudsen/g-claps, Mikkel Nordso/g, Bjarke Falgren/vi, Mathias Heise/harm, Nicolai Land/b, Anders Pederson/perc-caj and Juan Murube/jalco/clap on this m usical salute to guitar legend Paco De Lucia. The intoxicating claps ,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anthony E. Nelson Jr: Swinging Sunset
Tenor sax man Anthony E. Nelson Jr puts out an album that takes you back to the beefy horn/B3 meetings between Stanley Turrentine or Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with Shirley Scott. Nelson smokes like a Cohibo throughout, with Koehler humming on…
Matt Carter Octet: Between The Lines
Jazz bands from the other side of the pond always pleasantly surprise me, and this one by pianist Matt Carter is a perfect example. First of all, he leads the unorthodox octet, consisting of Luke Tomlinson/dr, Joe Lee/b, George Jefford/tp,…