Post bop trumpeter Josh Lawrence teams up with Diego Rivera/ts, Art Hirahara/p, Luques Curtis/b and Rudy Royston/dr for a collection of originals. The Leader is warm and bright, muted in a cool atmosphere for “Prelude to a Farewell (For Barry…
Author: George W. Harris
Ethan Iverson@Sam First Bar 04.05.24
Believe it or not, Ethan Iverson’s Friday night’s set with Peter Erskine/dr and Darek Oles/b was the first time the pianist has played in Los Angeles as a leader. He’s been here many instances with The Bad Plus and served…
Kandace Springs @ The Sun Rose 04.04.24
In this day of singers weaned on Auto-Tune, it’s rare to find a vocalist who not only sounds real, but sounds both relevant and invigorating. Kandace Springs, playing piano and keyboards while delivering music mostly from her most recent album…
John Basile: Heatin’ Up
Better known for rocking the blues, guitarist John Basile pulls back a bit on this album with David Finck/b, Carmen Intorre Jr and Kevin WInard/perc, giving sensitive reads to (mostly)standards. There’s a classy nimbleness to “Girl Talk” and a calm…
Daniel Bennett Group: Mr. Bennett’s Mind
This is the fourth album I’ve heard by Daniel Bennett, who’s always carrying around with him at least three woodwinds to his gigs and albums. This one not only has him playing alto sax (mostly), flute and clarinet, but he’s…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Brian Bromberg: LaFaro
Well, he’s done a tribute to Jaco Pastorius and Jimi Hendrix, so why shouldn’t add to his impressive catalogue with a salute to the legendary bassist Scot LaFaro. Bromberg focuses on the Bill Evans trio time of LaFaro’s short career,…
Elio Villafranca: Standing By The Crossroads
Pianist Elio Villafranca first got my attention about 10 years ago with an exciting album of Afro Cuban duets. This time around he brings on a brimming to the top band of Vincent Herring/as-fl-cl, Freddie Hendrix/tp, Dayna Stephens/ts-bcl, Jonathan Kreisberg/g,…
CELLAR LIVE LIVES…Charles Chen: Charles, P lay!Ulysses Owens Jr. And Generation Y: A New Beat
The two latest from Cellar Live demonstrate that labels can still be associated with certain sounds and musical worldviews.. Pianist Charles Chen brings in the strong tenor of Ralph Moore along with the classy team of Peter Washington/b and Kenny…
Julie Kelly: Freedom Jazz Dance
Thoughtful vocalist Julie Kelly brings in some of LA’s finest in Josh Nelson/p-ley, Larry Koonse/g, Luca Alemanno/b, Dan Schnelle/dr, Aaron Serfaty/perc, Andrew Synowiec/g and Danny Janklow/s-fl for some classy interpretations. The material ranges from some -countryish folk on the guitar…
FUNKY CHICKEN TIME…Stix Bones & Bob Beamon: Olympik Soul, Cliff Beach:You Showed Me The Way
You might start looking for Don Cornelius after listening to these two Soul Train inspired sessions Vintage soul sounds are delivered by a core of Densen Curwen/p-synth, Anthony Stevenson/b, Bob Beamoan/perc, Franklin Brown/dr and some guest horns and vocals. Khadejia…