Vocalist Adriana Samargia teams u with pianist and arranger Robert Prester for a mix of originals and standards. She’s got a bright, horn like sound to her voice, dramatic n “You Go To My Head”, earnest on “Stolen Moments”, peppy…
Author: George W. Harris
Negative Press Project: The Victorious Sessions
The Negative Press Project emphasizes pastoral horns with a front line of Chris Sullivan/as, Tony Peebles/ts, Rafa Postel/tp and guests Ivan Arteaga/as and Lyle Link/ss-ts teamed with Isaac Schwartz/dr, Andrew Lion/b, Ruthie Dineen/p and Luis Salcedo/g. Mia Pixley loans her…
Day Dream: Duke & Strays Live
Drummer Phil Haynes forms a trio with pianist Steve Rudolph and bassist Drew Gress to perform a concert of material from the pens of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. The pieces are not re-created as much as re-interpreted, with the…
Stanley Jordan@Catalina’s 01.21.24
Sure, it’s been almost a decade since Stanley Jordan has released an album, but who cares? He can still pack the house at Catalina’s, and he doesn’t even need a backing band other than his ten digits and electronic ideas.…
Darren Pickering: Small Worlds Volume Two
It’s tricky in these days of so many musical genres to come create a music that is both original and alluring. Playing piano, modular and iPad, composer Darren Pickering successfully breeds together soundscapes with improvisation and jazz pulses on this…
MODERN TRIOS FROM NEUMA…Galan Trio: Kinesis, Vol. 2, Ewart-Asplund-Ricks Trio: Emphatic Now, Hurwitz-Stokes-Pesca: The Night Shall Break
Like the best of independent labels, Neuma Records has created a catalogue with a definable sound, that of 21st Century ideas of sophistication and experimentation, blurring the lines between modern jazz and classical. Here are three releases displaying how today’s…
Kristen R. Bromley: Muagsician
Clean and clear-toned guitarist Kristen R. Bromley delivers a double disc of solo work, comprised of jazz standards, hymns and originals. Her style is like an economized version of Joe Pass; still skilled and sophisticated, but not with as much…
YESTERDAY AND TODAY… The Beatles: 1962-1966/1967-1970
This four disc collection of “classic” Beatle songs (and by now, which of their songs isn’t) is noted for the inclusion of the mystical reunion of The Beatles. John Lennon’s dreamy ballad “Now and Then” was originally recorded in 1977…
VINYL REVIVAL… Wes Montgomery: The Complete Full House Recordings
In case you hadn’t noticed, it is a golden age for being a jazz fan, as scores of either undiscovered gems, or reissuing of classic albums is becoming a weekly event. Craft Recordings has been digging up some fantastic material…
STUDIO STUD…Phil Upchurch: Plays Big Hit Dances
One of the stalwarts of the LA studio scene, guitarist Phil Upchurch (b 1941) still plays once in awhile at the local clubs like The Baked Potato, making his n ame on countless sessions for artists like Stan Getz, Dizzy…