There used to be a time, when I was in the early years of my jazz fascination, that every album I came across had something new and interesting for me to hear. Everything I heard seemed important and essential. Are…
Category: Reviews
Joe Blessett: Changing Everything
I make it a point to review everything that comes my way. Here is a release by saxist Joe Blessett (the notes don’t mention any other supporting artists) who runs through 19 disjointed pieces that mix electrical and synthesized noodles…
Marvin Gaye: Trouble Man-40th Anniversary Edition
Marvin Gaye’s followup to his iconic What’s Goin’ On was a head scratcher for a lot of people. Instead of cashing in on the popularity and going in the same direction, Gaye did a soundtrack for a Blaxploitation film; he…
Pete Christlieb@Vibratos 12.08.12
Over the past 30+ years I’ve seen tenor saxist Pete Christlieb as a sideman for artists ranging from Tom Waits to Benny Goodman to Johnny Mandel and beyond. At the upscale Bel Air club Vibratos, Christlieb was in the forefront…
***RINGER OF THE WEEK***James Morrison: Snappy Too
Do you want to talk about chops?!? I saw this guy with Lalo Schifrin’s quartet a number of years ago, and he played an entire song, chorus and mind blowing solo, on his trumpet, and he NEVER TOUCHED A VALVE!!…
Beka Gochiashvili: Beka Gochiashvili
Drummer Lenny White has been making a name for himself as a talent scout, Georgia-born (not deep south, but near east) in 1996, pianist Beka Gochiashvili is his latest find, and he’s a good one. White went through his Rolodex…
Michel Sajrawy: Arabop
One of the few cultures that has tried to mix with jazz, yet hasn’t released the “perfect” concept album has got to be Middle Eastern music. It’s a logical comingling, with both styles having a sense of swing (ever hear…
Brandi Disterheft: Gratitude
Brandi Disterheft plays bass and sings through this collection of originals and standards with jazz cognoscenti Sean Jones/tp, Vincent Herring/as, Anne Drummond/fl, Renee Rosnes/p and Gregory Hutchinson/dr. While the cast would seem to point to some promising and exciting jazz,…
Quadro Nuevo: Grand Voyage
Here’s a band that’s just going to win your heart over. QN is comprised of Mulo Francel/reeds-guitars, Robert Wolf/guitar-bouzouki, DD Lowka/b-perc, Andreas Hinterseher/acc-bandoneon, and bonus player Evelyn Huber/harp, and they go on a trip through various countries, delivering a giant…
Jose’ Rizo’s Mongorama: Mongorama
LA’s own Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance man. Or, as they might say in East LA, “Jose’ Rizo is a real renaissance, man!” He leads the hot band Jazz on the Latin Side, which plays all over town, plays…