RARE THESE DAYS IS A ‘MUSICAL FAMILY” IN WHICH, LIKE JS BACH, A GROUP OF SIBLINGS CAN FORM THEIR OWN BAND. LAST YEAR, LA BARBERA BROTHERS JOE AND PAT JOINED FORCES WITH TONY AND PETER LEVIN TO TOUR AROUND AS…
Author: George W. Harris
JOE LA BARBERA: OF BROTHERS, BIG BANDS AND BILL
IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT IF YOU DON’T KNOW JOE LA BARBERA, YOU DON’T KNOW JAZZ DRUMMERS. ONE OF TODAY’S L IVING LEGENDS, HE IS BEST KNOWN AS BEING A MEMBER OF BILL EVANS’ LAST TRIO, WHICH IS ARGUAGLY THE…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****BACK IN THE DAY…Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step Band-Live At Smalls 1996
It’s amazing how each member of this 1996 band of leader/guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel with Mark Turner/ts, Jeff Ballard/dr and Ben Street/b is now a major name on his respective instrument. To put things in perspective, Rosenwinkel is still a few…
Anne Burnell & Mark Burnell: This Could Be The Start Of Something Big
This is the second album I’ve heard from the husband and wife team of singers Anne and Mark Burnell (who also plays piano), and like the previous one, it is a hearty endorsement to the swinging bliss of marriage. They…
Matt Booth: Sun Prints
Playing both electric and acoustic bass, Matt Booth modernizes vintage hard bop with Steve Lands/tp, Sam Taylor/ts, Oscar Rossignoli/p-key and Peter Varnado/dr on this album of originals. Booth makes the bopping hot for the horns on “In Tongues” and leads…
John Alvey: Loft Glow
Drummer John Alvey hits hard with his hard bop team of Joel Frahm/ts, Jovan Quallo/as, Matt Endahl/p, Jaco Jezioro/b and Roland Barbert/tb on this collection of covers and originals. Barber’s trombone plunges deeper than the Roto-Rooter man with Endahl on…
Colin James: Chasing The Sun
Folksy blues with a rock steady beat are delivered by singer/guitarist Colin James with a swampy band of Colin Linden/p, Darryl Jones/b, Charley Drayton/dr and various guests. Charlie Musselwhite blows a mean harmonica for a Chicago wind on “Devilment” and…
SUBTLE STRINGS…Terrence McManus: Music For Chamber Two, Karacell
Here are a couple releases by guitarist Terrence McManus. Both are trio sessions with different members, but the feel is similar. Music For Chamber has McManus joined by saxist Ellery Eskelin and drummer Gerry Hemingway for seven separate “parts”. The…
Warren Wolf: History of the Vibraphone
One of today’s leading chimers of the vibes, Warren Wolf gives a tip to both contemporaries and history makers of his called instrument. The band of Tim Gren/as-ss, Alex Brown/p-key, Vicent Archer/b and Carrol Dashiell III/dr keep things of the…
Michael Eaton: Individuation/The Phenomenal
Playing tenor and soprano sax, Michael Eaton brings together Brad Whitely /p-synth, Daniel Ori/b, Shareef Taher/dr, Tim Hagins-Dave Scott/tp and Judi Silvano/voc for a wide range of moods. Silvano keeps things dreamy with Eaton’s soprano sax on “Altarpiece No. 1”…