Mixing Mediterranean sounds with a chamber-like jazz feel, Dimitris Mahils brings his oud and guitar together with Anastasios Panos’s percussion and Dan Lutz’s bass to create some Aegean jewels of sounds. The originals like “The Feeling of New” and “Dimi’s…
Category: Reviews
Grant Geissman: Bop! Bang! Boom!
GUITAR NERDS UNITE! This is the disc you’ve been waiting for! 6 stringed session maestro Grant Geissman, alumnus of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, has released his third cooking little homage to the wonderful axe. Any guy that lists the…
Queen: Greatest Video Hits
Here, you’ve essentially got a summary of 70s-80s rock, and the cause for punk and indie rock to flourish. Queen, the ultimate glam rock group, essentially defined the flashy hard rock genre, and these 2 dvds of their hit tunes…
SONGWRITERS: Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On: Live At the Royal Albert Hall, Abiah: Life As A Ballad
Ahhh. ..singer/songwriters. So rare these days. Here’s a classic comparison of old and new school. Neil Sedaka has been around since Moby Dick was an anchovy, penning hits from the 50s up until the days of disco. He’s captured…
Jurgen Friedrich: Monosuite-For String Orchestra and Improvisers
You have to believe me when I tell you that I’ve really tried. I’VE TRIED AND TRIED! THERE’S NO MORE EFFORT I CAN MAKE. I’ve listened to scores of avant-garde jazz, used hours of my time attending concerts that have…
Randy Crawford & Joe Sample: Live, Project Grand Slam: Spring Dance, Kevin Toney 3: New American Suite
Is it Smooth Jazz? Is it pop? Is it contemporary R&B? A little bit of all of the above, which used to be called way back when “adult album oriented music.” Polished, accessible, but made for grown up ears. …
Charlie Haden-Hank Jones: Come Sunday
Though he passed away to meet his Savior in 2010, pianist Hank Jones, as the Bible says, still serves as an example from the grave, with his wonderful catalogue of material, as well as this last recording session with bassist…
Post Bop Tenors-Michael Campagna: Moments, Nicolas Masson: Departures
Here are a couple of tenor saxists that take post bop jazz into two different directions. When I first got into this music, I read a definition of jazz in the World Book Encyclopedia that basically said that jazz was…
Jimmy Owens: The Monk Project
Most tribute albums leave me cold, as they tend to detract, rather than add, to the honored artist. This one, organized by trumpeter Jimmy Owens, is done right, for a number of reasons. First, he was smart in that although…
Mili Bermejo: Love Songs Of The Americas
I’ve never heard anything by vocalislt/compser Mili Bermejo before, but this is her 12th recording, so she’s no fly by nighter. She’s got a rich, warm and earthy voice, and on this release she surrounds herself with a very tasty…