Keyboardist Ricardo Fassi wrote and arranged all of the material on this very impressive outing that features a hard working septet. The band, featuring a front line of Alex Sipiagin/tp, Dave Binney/as, Gary Smulyan/bs and Andy Hunter/tb gives hint of…
Category: Reviews
Putamayo Presents Arabic Beat
There are essentially two kinds of Arabic music; one is the type you hear on soundtracks to movies like The Hurt Locker which remind you of hot and sweaty days in a dusty desert, and the other is funky electronic…
Eric Vaughn: Minor Relocation
I like this guy! Pianist Eric Vaughn has a spry and joyous touch to his ivories, with just enough dash of elliptical sounds to make you realize it’s part of his dna, and not a gimmick. He’s featured in mostly…
Jimmy Mulidore: Jazz For The Ages (cd), And His New York City Jazz Band (dvd)
Reedist Jimmy Mulidore shows on this disc that he can (almost) do it all. He’s a hard bopper on the clarinet with some mind blowing material like “Giant Steps” and “Countdown,” a funky flutist on “A Time For Love,” and…
John Proulx: The Best Thing For You
In baseball, a 5-tool player is one that can hit for average, hit with power, base run, throw and field. If there is such a category in jazz, John Proulx is definitely in that tier. He can sing, play the…
Leon Foster Thomas: Brand New Mischief, Josh Rosen/Stan Strickland: Instinct
One of the key questions any artist has to eventually ask himself has to be,”Who am I playing this music for?” More specifically, what kind of audience is going to pay to see the artist, or put down a few…
Arturo O’Farrill: The Noguchi Sessions
Arturo O’Farrill is best known for his larger band ensembles, particularly of the Latinized flavor. Here, he makes a few personnel changes and goes completely solo, giving an intimate performance of some originals and heartfelt covers. He touches on all…
IT SOUNDS SO EASY! Joe Alterman: Give Me The Simple Life, The Joe La Barbera Quintet: Silver Streams
It seems so simple to create it, yet so few artists are able to do it: namely, make an acoustic jazz disc, not too out there, having some good melodies with well constructed solos performed by artists who have their own…
Tora: Spilling Over
Here’s a singer that’s a bit of a throwback: Tora Fisher is a vulnerable soul who tells stories about her life on this release of pop/rock flavored material. She was the sole survivor of a plane crash, so she sees…
Erena Terakubo with Legends: New York Attitude, Ibrahim Maalouf: Diagnostic
Here are a pair of releases by newer artists; one with keeping and advancing the tradition, and the other bringing in a whole new reservoir of sounds and ideas into the idiom. Alto saxist Erena Terakubo is joined by the stellar…