Tenor saxist JD Allen has built a career creating a tone that is reminiscent of the lionesque roar of Ben Webster. This time around, he tightens it up a bit and taps into his inner Dexter Gordon, with more of…
Author: George W. Harris
IT’S TOP TEN TIME!
EACH YEAR, I GET THE HONOR OF GETTING THE “TOP TEN” LISTS OF SOME OF THE MOST ASTUTE JAZZ JOURNALISTS. THIS LIST WILL SAVE YOU TONS OF TIME AND MONEY IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO.…
TIMES ARE ON HIS SIDE…Dennis Winge: Digital Interfaith
When you think of a “solo” album, you think of a solitary musician sitting in front of a microphone and giving a series of arias. Dennis WInge makes this solo session a “group” effort, so to speak, in that he…
Dylan Jack Quartet: Eine Quartett Des Grauens
Drummer Dylan Jack teams up with Tony Leva/b, Eric Hofbauer/g-el and J erry Sabatine/tp-ct-euph for an EP of intuitive originals. Sabatini is languid on the laconic “To The Land Of Thieves And Phantoms” and mutes with the acostic strings of…
STEPHANE WREMBEL: THE HEART OF REINHARDT
ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN THE LIFE OF A MUSICIAN IS TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP ONE’S OWN SOUND AND STYLE. GUITARIST STEPHANE WREMBEL HAS TAKEN THAT CHALLENGE IN HIS EFFORT TO CONTINUE THE LEGACY OF GYPSY LEGEND DJANGO…
PETER BERNSTEIN: THE NATURAL TOUCH
GUITARIST PETER BERNSTEIN IS UNIQUE IN HIS FIELD. MOST ELECTRIC GUITARISTS THESE DAYS HAVE A SURFEIT OF PEDALS AND KNOBS IN WHICH TO TURN OR PRESS, CREATING DIFFERENT SOUNDS AND EFFECTS. IN CONTRAST, BERNSTEIN HAS ESCHEWED THESE DEVICES, CREATING A…
Marcel Bonfim: Farewell/Despedida
Brazilian born but Chicago rooted bassist Marcel Bonfim brilliantly mixes both worlds on this collection of originals and flavored covers. His team of Jonathan Wenzel/dr-perc, Casey Dahl/p-key and Gerald Martinez/ts-ss-as is sweet and fresh with Wenzel’s brushes waltzing under Martinez’s…
Rock Candy Funk Party@The Baked Potato 12.15.23
“You people in the front row think you’ve got the good seats. You’re about to get pummeled” Tis has been the season to be jolly about guitars! December has brought a surfeit of six stringers roasting solos by the open…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Steve Davis: Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1
For some reason, this 2088 meeting between trombonist and the legendary pianist Hank Jones (long with bassist Peter Washington) has been hidden in the shelves. This just might be Jones’ last recording, having left for his reward in 2010 and…
VINTAGE LADY SOUL…Aretha Franklin: A Portrait of the Queen 1970-1974
One of the true giants of pop music, and possibly the definition of “soul” vocals, Aretha Franklin (who just recently left us for her reward) is celebrated here with a collection of five of her most important albums of the…