Trio, Quartet, Quintet…three of the main ways that jazz is displayed these days. Here are a few bands that are a bit under the radar, but have some nice sounds coming your way. With all of these, it’s fun to…
Category: Reviews
Hiroe Sekine: After The Rainfall
Keyboardist/vocalist Hiroe Sekine caught a lot of people by surprise back in 2010 with her impressive debut disc A-me, including yours truly. This time around, she’s enlisted some of LA’s best guys, Bob Sheppard/winds, Larry Koonse/g, Darek Oles-Jimmy Johnson/b, and…
Hailey Niswanger: The Keeper
OK! I’ll admit it. I’m sexist! I have two daughters, a great wife, and a staff of 6 women, so I think I know a little about the fairer sex. When I see a jazz release with a woman on…
Ravi Coltrane’s Quartet@Catalina’s 08.02.12
It takes a lot of moxie to not only take on the same career as a famous father (talk to Tim Berra, for example), but the exact same instruments of the iconic jazz master. Are the people in the audience…
The Neville Brothers, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Roddie Romero & The Hub City All-Stars@The Hollywood Bowl 08.01.12
All that was missing was oysters on the half shell (well, actually, the Bowl IS a half shell, so there you go!) during the nearly 3 hour musical celebration of sounds from The Crescent City. Interestingly, the only style that…
***ROTW***Peter Green Splinter Group: Blues Don’t Change
You’re going to have to trust me on this one, but long ago, on a planet far, far away, a group by the name of Fleetwood Mac was actually an obscure blues band. That was before the Dark Side took…
The Tom Warrington Trio: Nelson
You can say anything you like about how the jazz scene in NYC is better than LA, but for my money, you just can’t find a better trio of guys than Valley Boys Tom Warrington/b and his trio mates here…
Rodriguez: Searching For Sugar Man
Most of us have never heard of the South African singer/songwriter Rodriguez, who made a bit of a name for himself during the 70s with some gritty and open nerved songs. Sort of like a south of the Equator Bob…
A Pair of Good Grooves! Towner Galaher :Uptown!, Bobby Broom: Upper West Side Story
Meat and potatoes, baby. Meat and potatoes. These two releases, nothing fancy, nothing ground breaking, are the comfort food of jazz. Good grooves, good solos and a get down to business attitude that makes you want to go to a…
Luis Perdomo: Universal Mind
Venezuelan-born pianist Luis Perdomo has only put out a handful of sessions under his own name, but this trio session just might get him the recognition he deserves. He’s got a Corea-Jarrett feel to his style, which make a…