****RINGERS OF THE WEEK**** ***OF THE YEAR?*** These latest two releases by Anzic records are going to really impress you. If this is the future of jazz, please sign me up. Imagine! New material by younger artists that isn’t cacophony!…
Category: Reviews
Moncef Genoud @ Vitello’s 07.12.12
Rain in July? A Swiss jazz musician? Which one is the rarer feature in Los Angeles? Well, they both came to town this evening at the cozy Vitello’s jazz club, as pianist Moncef Genoud and his bandmates Banz Oester/dr and…
Ravi Coltrane: Spirit Fiction
GARBO TALKS!! BLUE NOTE RELEASES JAZZ!! Yes! The label that has recently brought you Jeff Bridges doing country and Norah Jones going Janis Ian has finally put out a disc that USED to have written on its logo: “The finest…
The ABC & D of Boogie Woogie (with Watts, Waters, Green and Zwingenberger): Live in Paris
IT’S THE BOOGIE MAN!!! You want fun? You want what jazz, rock, rockabilly and everything else you ever loved really came from? Here it is, pure and unadulterated. I got hooked on this stuff back in the 70s, and it…
Denny Zeitlin: Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano
One of the most under-appreciated living pianists, the good doctor Denny Zeitlin puts the great American Songbook on the couch, eschews the group therapy of his regular trio and does solo analysis of nocturnal pieces such as “Las Night When…
Arild Anderson w/ The Scottish National Orchestra / Louis Sclavis-Atlas Trio / John Surman
ECM’S LATEST Arild Anderson w/ The Scottish National Orchestra: Celebration Here are 3 recent releases by the venerable and explorative ECM records, displaying visions that inspire, amuse and befuddle. Bassist Arild Anderson fronts an orchestra directed by Tommy Smith during…
Jim Snidero: Interface
Jim Snidero’s one of the few guys around nowadays that gets the sound of the alto sax right. Not too bright or whiney, he’s got a nice gutsy tone that never shrills. He’s earned his keep with the likes of…
Chris Taylor: Nocturnal
Guitarist Christ Taylor got my attention on this disc when I read in the liner notes that he dedicated the music, in part to Bela Lugosi. That sort of gives you the eclectic mindset of this guy. He teams up…
Arturo Sandoval: Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You)
Arturo Sandoval is on a career roll. For awhile, the trumpeter was in danger of becoming a parody of himself, with blistering chops and volume that was as impressive as it was overwhelming. A few years ago, he got the…
Tom Wetmore: Desired Effect
I like a disc when I listen to the music and can’t tell who the leader is. That was the case here with electric pianist Tom Wetmore on his debut release. All nine songs here are his compositions, and he…