There’s a lot of reasons to love this album by Kandace Springs, who essentially hasn’t released anything since before the draconian pandemic lockdown. First, Ms. Springs writes most of the material here, so you’re not going to get another rehash…
Author: George W. Harris
INTERSTELLAR OVERDRIVE…Sun Ra: At The Showcase-Live In Chicago 1976-1977
One of the most exciting, swinging and idiosyncratic jazz artists has to be Sun Ra, who played music as if literally coming from another planet. While born and weaned in the Swing Era, Ra created his own musical worldview, cementing…
PERSONAL VOCALS…
No, this is not a list of “The Best Of” jazz vocals albums. It’s more of which ones feel like the artist is drawing you into his or her own life. There is a difference. Is the heart on the…
BEYOND CATEGORY…Yusef Lateef: Atlantis Lullaby
Few artists have stayed true to their own unique calling as had Yusef Lateef. He was one of the first musicians to create what is now termed “world music”, simply bringing in rhythms, harmonies and instruments from disparate part of…
KANDACE SPRINGS: RUNNING HER RACE
CAN I BE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH YOU? AS A JAZZ JOURNALIST, I GET SCORES OF ALBUMS TO REVIEW EACH WEEK. INVARIABLY A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THEM ARE BY FEMALE VOCALISTS. AFTER AWHILE, A CERTAIN SAMENESS PERVADES THESE RELEASES, SO SOMETHING…
VERONICA SWIFT: KILLER QUEEN
HOW DOES AN ARTIST CARVE OUT A CAREER? BY FOLLOWIN THE TRIED AND TRUE, OR GOING OUT INTO UNCHARTED WATERS? VERONICA SWIFT HAS ALL THE CREDENTIALS FOR BEING A STRAIGHT-AHEAD JAZZ VOCALIST IN THE LINE OF AN ANITA O’DAY. SHE…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THIS IS SWING PIANO…Art Tatum: Jewels in The Treasure Box-The 1953 Chicago Blue Note Jazz Club Recordings
Sometimes, you forget what true artistry sounds like. This three disc set from Resonance Records has three hours of piano majesty delivered by Art Tatum, who essentially defined swing piano. At times sounding like two and even three players at…
MODERN AMBIENCE…Matt Piper & John von Seggern: A Thousand Miles From Nowhere
Back when Brian Eno created arguably the first “ambient” albums, there tended to be a sameness of sounds, with synthetic mixes of electronics and acoustics formed a kind of wallpaper for “chilling out”. Forty years later, there’s been an evolution…
Daggerboard: Escapement
The team of jazz vets Mike Clark/dr, Henry “The Skipper” Franklin/b, Erik Jekabson/tp-fh and Babatunde Lea/cong bring together a wide range of guests on this mix of post bop sounds and ideas on this recent “small big band” release. The…
WHEN NEIL WAS STILL A DIAMOND…Neil Diamond: Thank You Australia-Live 1976
By 1976, Neil Diamond was a few years removed from his classic concert album Hot August Night”, but was still releasing strong material such as Beautiful Noise. This dvd finds him in excellent form Down Under, supported by a stellar…