One of today’s leading chimers of the vibes, Warren Wolf gives a tip to both contemporaries and history makers of his called instrument. The band of Tim Gren/as-ss, Alex Brown/p-key, Vicent Archer/b and Carrol Dashiell III/dr keep things of the…
Category: Reviews
Michael Eaton: Individuation/The Phenomenal
Playing tenor and soprano sax, Michael Eaton brings together Brad Whitely /p-synth, Daniel Ori/b, Shareef Taher/dr, Tim Hagins-Dave Scott/tp and Judi Silvano/voc for a wide range of moods. Silvano keeps things dreamy with Eaton’s soprano sax on “Altarpiece No. 1”…
Bill Warfield and the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra: Chesapeake
Leader and arranger Bill Warfield plays piano and trumpet with an exuberant big band along with guests Gary Bartz/as-ss, Conrad Herwig/tb, Lou Marini/ts, Paul Shaffer/org, Eugene Albulescu/p and Jasia Ries/voc. Bartz is a great pick for this session, with his…
Matyas Gayer Trio: Westbourne Park
Pianist Matyas Gayer digs in with bassist Dave Green and drummer Steve Brown for some clever takes of standards and beyond. Green and Brown rumble and rustle for “On Green Dolphin Street” with Green producing a rollicking intro to “That’s…
Welf Dorr/Elias Meister/Dmitry Ishenko/Kenny Wollesen: So Far So Good
Armed with a bright and pungent alto, Welf Dorr joins with Elias Meister/g, Dmitry Ishenko/b and Kenny Wollesen/dr through some kinetic and elliptical tunes. There’s a Monkish quirkiness to pieces such as the bopping “Impatience” and ricocheting “Crazy S”s, while…
Immanuel Wilkins: Blues Blood
One of the leading sounds of the younger alto saxists, Immanuel Wilkins puts together a thoughtful and thought-provoking reflection akin to a concept album for his third Blue Note release. It includes Micah Thomas/p, Rick Rosato/b, Kweku Sumbry/dr and vocalists…
Stan Harrison: Some Poor Soul Has A Fire
Eclectic saxist and composer Stan Harrison puts together an ambitious album that has more ideas than a Mensa seminar. Harrison himself plays tenor sax, flutes, bass clarinet, guitars and vocals, and is joined by the flexible Kim Cass/b, Steven Crammer/dr,…
Randy Hoexter: Tomorrowsville
Pianist and composer Randy Hoexter brings in a upper echelon group including bassist Jimmy Haslip and guest guitarist Mike Sten with a collection of John David/dr, Emrah Kotan/perc, Sam Skelton/wwinds, Eric Alexander/tb, Gordon Vernick-Justin Powell/tp-fh and Roberta Setzu/voc on this…
VINYL REVIVAL ON SAX…Art Pepper: Getting’ Together, Ben Webster: At The Renaissance
Two sax greats with immediately identifiable sounds have classic albums reissued recently, thanks to Craft Recordings. Alto saxist Art Pepper follows up his successful Meets The Rhythm Section of Wynton Kelly/p, Paul Chambers/b and Jimmie Cobb/dr with the addition of…
Jeff Lederer: Guilty!!
In this election year, Jeff Lederer becomes an MSNBC news reporter, speaking and singing while playing the saxes and piccolo with Kirk Knuffke/ct-tp-voc-key, Bob Stewart/tub-voc, Matt Wilson/dr-voc, Curtis Hasselbring/el-tb and Mary Larose/voc. The “songs”, if you call them that, are…