Possessor of a distinctly earthy tone, tenor saxist Charlie Rouse is best known for his long term association with Thelonious Monk. This four disc collection focuses on his life outside of that classic quartet, and it’s worth exploring. His first…
Author: George W. Harris
KING OF SWING AND SOUL SISTERS FROM AVID…Benny Goodman: The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert Plus, Various Artists: The Girls With Soul
Swing and soul from Avid… You could easily argue that Benny Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall concert was the coronation of the Swing Era. Featuring not only Goodman’s famous orchestra that included Gene Krupa, Jess Stacy, Harry James and Ziggy Elman,…
An Evening With Charles Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop@The Lobero Theatre 08.23.24
“We hope you’re having a good time tonight, because we’re having a GREAT time playing!” So boasted guitarist Elvin Bishop, bringing together over 160 years of musical experience to the century old Lobero Theatre with harmonica-meister Charles Musselwhite as they…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Tord Gustavsen Trio: Seeing
Christian pilgrim Tord Gustavsen brings his trio of Steinar Raknes/b and Jarle Vespestad/dr into the world of church themes and hymns on this liturgical meditation. The pianist plays each song like a prayer, soft and reverent on “Jesus Gjor Meg…
Andy Milne and Unison: Time Will Tell
Pianist Andy Milne forms a trio with John Hebert/b and Clarence Penn/dr withguests Ingrid Laubrock/ts and Yoko Reikano Kimura/koto for a rich mix of originals. The threesome show pretty lyricism on the melodic “Papounet” with the leader leaning towards Bill…
The Bruce Lofgren Group: Earthly and Cosmic Tales
LA legendary guitarist Bruce Lofgren brings together a pastorally swinging team of Hope Easton/cel, Billy Hulting/perc, Randy Landas/b, Geoff Nudell/cl and Craig Fundiga/vib for some swinging chamber sounds. The moods range from a bluesy stop start on Steve Wonder’s “Creepin’”…
Glenn Marais & The Mojo Train: Red, Hot and Blue
Rocking blues are delivered by the blue plate special of Glenn Marais/g-voc, Manny DeGrandis/b-voc, Jesse Karwat/key-voc and Jeff Saulnier/dr. Marais’ guitar gets some nice sliding done on “It All Went DownN” and provides tasty licks for the title tune. Some…
MINT JULEPS FROM THE CRESCENT CITY…Kirk Nelson & Jambalaya West: Savor the Moment, Etienne Charles: Creole Orchestra
The rich gumbo of sounds from New Orleans is still alive and well on these recent releases. Playing piano, Hammond, guitar and banjo, Kirk Nelson teams up with drummer Mitch Montrose as well with a rotating system of bassists and…
Ryan Truesdell: Presents Synthesis-The String Quartet Sessions
Here’s an ambitious three disc set produced by Grammy winning producer Ryan Truesdall, bringing together a series of string quartets performed by the likes of violinists Sara Caswel- Joyce Hammann- Lady Jess, violists Lois Martin-Orlando Wells, and Cellists Jody Redhage-Ferber-Hoah…
Philip Weberndoerfer: Tides
So, for the sake of my fingers, the first thing I need to do is to praise guitarist Philip Weberndoerfer’s latest album without having to write his name too many times. Forming a quartet with Richard Mikel/b, Peter Traunmueller/dr and…