Electric guitarist forms a post bop quartet with Matt Woroshyl/ts, Perrin Grace/b and Joe Peri/dr for a collection of sophisticated originals. A number of the pieces, such as “A Room With No Doors” and “The Attempt” feature intricate melodies and…
Author: George W. Harris
THIS IS BLUES SHOUTING 101…Jimmy Witherspoon: Aint Nobody’s Business-The Singles Collection 1945-53
Yes, you’ve heard blues singers, but you can easily argue that Jimmy “The Spoon” Witherspoon (1920-97) was the last of the blues “shouters”, and there is a difference. From the line of Jimmy Rushing and Big Joe Turner, Witherspoon belted…
Cobus du Toit: From The Rooftop
Lyrical mastery of the flute is displayed by Cobus du Toit, creating wondrous duets with pianists Amanda Harberg or Doreen Lee on this collection of modern classical pieces. Except for the recitation of voices that serve as a poetic teaming…
BLUES PIANO AND EARLY FRANK ON AVID: Blues Piano: Four Classic Albums Frank Sinatra: Four Classic Albums
The foundation for blues piano and jazz vocals area presented on the latest releases by Avid: Four albums by blues pianists are served well on this laid back collection from various masters of the 88s. Leroy Carr is captured in…
The Barrelhouse Wailers@The Grape Ventura 07.13.24
So, when was the last time you saw couples dancing at a jazz gig? Yeah, that’s the point! One of the best features at The Grape Ventura is the once a month appearance of The Barrelhouse Wailers, and they pack…
Bob Reynolds@The Baked Potato 07.11.24
The thing that I always enjoy when going to see tenor saxist Bob Reynolds in concert is that I know that somewhere during the show he’s going to surprise me with something. Unlike many jazz musicians, Reynolds told me before…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Wayne Escoffery: Alone
It’s important to remember that the word “record” album is just that-an actual record of where the artist is at that specific moment of time, be it musically, socially or spiritually. Tenor saxist Wayne Escoffrey, one of the most important…
Renfroe/Sellick: Aberdeen Blues
The joys in an album as intimate as this one by bassist Luke Sellick and guitarist Andrew Renfore not only lays in the playing, but in the song selection. And in this case, the pickings were excellent. There’s a nice…
THIS IS SOUL JAZZ 101…Richard “Groove” Holmes: The Classic Albums Collection
Richard “Groove” Holmes was a master of the soul jazz genre, with his oozing Hammond B3 amply displayed on these eight simmering albums. His 1961 debut includes the formidable team of tenor saxist Ben Webster and pianist Les McCann and…
Stuart Mack: Vibrations
Playing trumpet and flugelhorn, Stuart Mack leads a post bopping team of Alejandro Aviles/as-ts-fl, Manuel Valera/p, Adi Meyerson/b and Dan Pugach/dr through a collection of modern ideas. His tone is soft and fluffy, very Kenny Dorhamish, elliptical on the intro…