Mixing guitar with effects, Olin Clark brings together a hard rocking jazz unit of Nathan Reising/ts, Dan Montgomery/b, Evan Hyde/dr and guests Lily Talmers/voc with Aidan Cafferty/key. Clark has a rich texture to his strings, reminiscent of the teaming of…
Author: George W. Harris
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Amina Figarova & Matsiko World Orphan Choir: Suite For Africa
Pianist and composer Amina Figarova brings together a jazz combo of Bart Platteau, Alex Pope Norris/tp-fh, Wayne Escoffery/ts, Yasushi Nakamura/b and Rudy Royston/dr to juxtapose with 23 members of the tender hearted and full voiced Matsiko World Orphan Choir to…
Monty Alexander: D-Day
I thought I knew everything there was to know about legendary pianist Monty Alexander; the Jamaican pianist surprised me on this session when he dedicated and named the album after his birth date, the legendary “D Day” of June 6,…
Win Pongsakorn: Time Has Changed
Playing trumpet and flugelhorn, Win Ponsakorn Ervantisutha goes into vintage hard bop territory with David Hazeltine/p-key, Paolo Benedettii/b, and Jason Brown/dr on this collection of mostly originals. He does a nice read of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” blending…
Bireli Lagrene: Solo Suites
One of the French guitarists to have moved on after initially being bitten by the Django Reinhardt bug, Bireli Lagrene delivers a tasteful solo album on both acoustic and electric guitar. Mostly comprised of originals, the album does included a…
John Ambrosini: Songs For You
Playing piano and singing, John Ambrosini goes old school “Singer/Songwriter” in his feel for mixing originals with 70s hits with a core team of Steve Finkelstein/perc, Matt Miller/der, David Phelps/g, Zachary Swanson/b and Christine Ambrosini-Amanda Bloom/voc. He brings in some…
Hermetic Fever: Glitter Stars Speak
The band Hermetic Fever consists of Joshua Gerowitz on guitar/effects teamed with Louis Lopez playing trumpet/effects. The album consists of three “songs”, respectively 3:40, 14:19 and 19:44 in length. “Glitter” is essential white noise in tension, with “Stars” ranging from…
Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers I
Playing tenor/soprano sax and alto flute, Jason Robinson leads a Mingusy team of Michael Dessen/tb, Joshua White/p, Drew Gress/b and CHes Smith/dr through a collection of adventurous originals. Robinson plays both flute and tenor alongside Dessen on the trailblazing “Roots…
Phil Haynes’ 4 Horns & What?: The Complete American Recordings
Left of center drummer Phil Haynes puts together an opus of three discs that bring together his band’s two studio albums from 1989 and 1991, as well as a previously unreleased 1995 gig from the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The…
Carl Clements: A Different Light
Hints of the exoticism and blues of Yusef Lateef are heard on this creative album by Carl Clements, playing tenor and soprano saxes as well as the traditional folk instrument bansuri flute. He’s joined by Chase Morrin/p, Bruno Raberg/b and…