BJU Records is a small outfit that puts out some excellent material. These two latest releases show their ability to have ears for the adventurous as well as the tried and true. Pianist Jeremy Siskind has put together an…
Category: Reviews
Michael Sahl & Eric Salzman: Civilization and its Discontents
This modern “opera” consists of two “movements” of sounds, genres and attitudes that come across like a bad day at the local Renaissance Faire. If your idea of a good time is scatological rhymes, 70s cliché’s (“If it feels good…
Marc Rossi Group: Mantra Revealed
Here’s a great mix of musical genres provided by composer/keyboardist/leader Marc Rossi. Mixing sounds and rhythms from Central Asia with American jazz, Rossi leads a core team of Lance Van Lenten/sax, Bill Urmson/b and Mauricio Zottarelli/dr though a collection…
Brad Mehldau Trio: Where Do You Start?
This is Brad Meldau’s second release this year with his trio with Larry Grenadier/b and Jeff Ballard/dr. His previous one, Ode, emphasized the group’s interplay on original compositions, while this bookend is comprised of covers of music that truly covers…
Mark Winkler: Sweet Spot**
**When we changed formats, this disc inadvertantly got ignored. So, in view of the fact that Winkler is putting out a new release soon, we’ve put this one up so you can appreciate the trajectory of this guy’s talents. If there’s a snazzier singer/songwriter…
Denise Donatelli@Vitello’s 10.13.12
When I lived in Italy, I was always fascinated by the fact that all of the pasta dishes that I ate consisted of relatively simple fare: a basic tomato sauce, some basil, a dash of pepper and salt, and that…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jazz Soul Seven: Impressions of Curtis Mayfield
Here’s a great concept for an album, and even better yet, they didn’t blow it. Jazz Soul Seven is made up of (mostly LA) jazz stars Terri Lyne Carrington, Russ Ferrante, Master Henry Gibson, Bob Hurst, Wallace Roney, Phil Upchurch…
THE BEST ALBUM GETZ NEVER RECORDED: Spike Robinson: Very Live in Boulder, Colorado
After listening to this disc, I was going to create a new trophy, and call it the “Melchizadek Award.” For those of you who didn’t go to Sunday School, Melchizadek was this guy who came out of absolutely nowhere, meets…
Steep Canyon Rangers: Nobody Knows You
Back when I was a kid, bluegrass meant Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Roy Acuff and a lot of pickin’ and grinnin’ with gap toothed harmonies. Now, there’s this style called “New Bluegrass” or “Deja Bluegrass,” which is typified by groups…
Allan Harris & Takana Miyamoto: Convergence
It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to do a tribute to an icon pair of sessions, but that’s what vocalist Allan Harris and pianist Takana Miyamoto have done in saluting the famed summit meeting between Tony Bennett and Bill…