Most of us on this side of The Pond have probably never heard of Chris Barber, and more’s the pity. The venerable trombonist and bass player is one of the big names in British Trad Jazz (is that an oxymoron,…
Category: Reviews
Judi Silvano: Indigo Moods
I first heard Judi Silvano’s flexible voice on her highly successful contributions to husband Joe Lovano’s seminal Rush Hour album eons ago. Her solo material veers left of center, even in the most traditional of song selections, as here. The…
Dan Cray: Meridies, Devin Gray: Dirigo Rataplan
Here are a couple of completely different approaches to using a jazz quartet. One being a “classic” mainstream format, and one being a “classic” free setup. Pianist Dan Cray leads his team of Noah Preminger/ts, Clark Sommers/b and Mark…
Anthony Wilson featuring Steve Cardenas, Chico Pinheiro & Julian Lage: Seasons
If you’re a guitar fan, then you’ll only need to read this while listening to this six stringer’s delight. If you’re one of those uninitiated with “Good Ol’ Mr. Wilson” (did I just date myself?!?), just realize that Anthony Wilson…
Melissa Stylianou: Silent Movie, Ellynne Plotnick: I Will
Here are a couple vocalists that are trying some different deliveries in the bullpen Brooklyn-based vocalist Melissa Stylianou has a folksy lilt to her delivery here on a collection of standards, originals and ringers. She fronts a sensitive and delicate…
Paco De Lucia: En Vivo- Conciertos Live In Spain 2010
If you want “la verdad” when it comes to Spanish guitar playing and atmospheric music, look no further than Paco De Lucia, who is hitting his prime with this exciting and passionate collection of concert sessions from his homeland on…
Marky Quayle: Comfort My People
Here’s a creation that is well overdue in conception. Vocalist Marky Quayle takes some classic church hymns as well as songs from the Greatest Songbook of them all (the Bible), and gives a modern jazz translation in a way that…
Leni Stern: Sabani
Guitarist/composer/vocalist Leni Stern releases an intriguing disc, mixing accessible African motifs with American folk jazz sensibilities. The entire disc is performed by the core of Stern along with Haruma Samake, a Malian who playes a mean little West African blues…
Rick Drumm: Return From The Unknown
Here’s a listener friendly jazz set by drummer appropriately named Rick Drumm, who leads the team of Fred Hamilton-Corey Christiansen/g, John Ben Itez/b, Axel Tosca Laugart/p, Frank Catalano/sax, Mike Brumbaugh/tb and Pete Grimaldi/tp through an agreeable collection of interesting originals.…
Brazilian Trio: Constelacao
The lithe Brazilian Trio consists of Helio Alves/p, Nilson Matta/b and Duduka Da Fonseca/dr, and this release has them adroitly going through an enjoyable hour of originals and covers. A fair share of Jobim is brought to the table (what’d…