Here’s the type of music that we’re all missing-swinging and yet relaxed jazz played in a local joint with guys with nothing to prove except a history of classic sounds. Bassist Henry Franklin and drummer Carl Burnett have played with…
Category: Reviews
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ralph Peterson and the Messenger Legacy: Onward and Upward
There is a lot worse a drummer can do than continue the inspirational legacy of Art Blakey. Ralph Peterson brings back alumni from Blakey’s band like it’s a reunion of sorts along with material penned by the graduates to create…
LADY BIRDS…Sue Anne Gershenzon: You Must Believe In Spring, Carol Welsman: Dance With Me
Sue Anne Gershonzen tackles the standards with a voce that ranges from a sweet “I Thought About You” to a cozy “Straighten Up and Fly Right”. She’s able to take a lyric and be true to the mood, melancholy with…
Collage Project: Off Brand
Electric guitar by Dan Bruce, teamed with nylon strings by Daniel Lippel, Aiden Plank’s bass and Nathan Douds’ drums create bluesy and pastoral sounds not unlike vintage Pentangle days. They put together a gentle and impressionistic “Quartet For Bela” with…
STRANGER IN THE NIGHT…Al Basile: Last Hand
Vocalist Al Basile teams with Bruce Bears/p-org, Brad Hallen/b and Mark Teixeira to tell a twelve song story of a “May-December romance that ends too soon”. Hallen’s thick electric bass is out front in the mix, with Basile giving street…
Chris Stamey & The Fellow Travelers: A Brand-New Shade Of Blue
Guitarist Chris Stamey creates indie sounds with a team of Charles Cleaver/p-org, Dan Davis/dr, Jason Foureman/b, a team of singers in Brett Harris, Ramune Martin and Django Haskins along with a horns section for added textures. The material ranges from…
LEO ROARS…Pago Libre: Mountain Songlines, Pago Libre Sextet: platzDADA!!, Leonardi-Colonna-Bertoni-Blumer-Geisser: Aura, Baldo Martinez-Juan Saiz-Lucia Martinez: Fragil Gigante, Amaroli-Schiaffini-Sjostrom: Duos & Trios
The team of Arkady Shilkloper on various horns and voice, Florian Mayer on violin and voice, John Wolf Brennan on various pianos and voice, Tom Gotze on bass and voice and yodeller Sonja Mogenegg put together 12 studio tracks and…
SOLO DRUM…Dave Schoepke: Tessellated Resonance
If you want to see the various sounds and directions a drum can do on its own, check out this solo album by Dave Schoepke. You get eleven pieces ranging from a collection of paradiddles on “Beyond The Slanting Surfaces”…
Max Bessesen: Trouble
Alto saxist Max Bessesen displays a post modern tone as he leads team of Ron Miles on cornet and piccolo trumpet, drummer Nathan Friedman, pianist Eric Krouse and bassist Ethan Philon on these ten originals. He displays his tone on…
Days Between Stations: Giants
With the cover of the album reminiscent of an early Genesis lp, the band Days Between Stations (consisting of keyboardists Oscar Fuentes Bills and guitarist Sepand Samzadeh and guests Billy Sherwood/voc-g-dr, and vocalists Colin Moulding, Duga McBroom and Inid Abiza)…