Oh! So this is what a saxophone is supposed to sound like! UK-based Avid Jazz is putting both Mosaic Records and Sony Legacy to SHAME. They put out first rate reissues much more often than the former, and their pricing…
Category: Reviews
Pat Metheny: The Orchestron Project
If you’re a Pat Metheny fan, you are going to go CRAZY over this double dvd set that documents Pat Metheny’s fantastic sonic experimentation with his self made gigantic music machine, the Orchestron. If you’ve only experienced Metheny’s fantastic album…
Ricardo Fassi’s New York Pocket Orchestra: Sitting In A Song
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…
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…