Along with the accordion, the tuba has to be one of the least likely instruments in the jazz canon, but big brass man Jim Self has made it work. This time out, he even ups the ante, bringing in guitar…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****WHO WAS THIS GUY?!?Bobby Cole: A Point Of View
Are you like I am? I’ve NEVER heard of this guy Bobby Cole before, so I had to look him up after getting knocked out by this album of his, a reissue (and then some) of essentially his only album,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEKS****IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME…Hank Williams: I’m Gonna Sing-The Mother’s Best Gospel Radio Recordings
If you don’t know where the lyrics of “It’s good enough for me” come from, you either missed Sunday School a few times or don’t know Americana. There’s an old hymn “Give Me That Old Time Religion” that summarizes this…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****IF ONLY ALL MUSIC COULD BE THIS GOOD….Danilo Brito and Joao Luiz: Esquina de Sao Paulo
First, you have to love the joys of Brazilian music to get hooked on this album by mandolinist Danilo Brito and guitarist Joao Luiz. That’s an easy task, right? Next, you have to just sit down, SIT DOWN, and take…
THIS IS FUSION 101…Allan Holdsworth: Jarasum International Jazz Festival 2014
For the past few years there has been a cache of posthumously released concert albums from various tours of guitar legend Allan Holdsworth. This latest one, recorded at the Jarasum International Jazz Festival back in 2014, is by far the…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****John Stowell/Dave Glenn & The Hawcaptak Quartet: Violin Memory
Usually, if something is “new” or original, it actually means cacophonic. Here is an album that is creative, original and wonderfully melodic. John Stowell plays nylon string and fretless baritone guitars along with trombonist Dave Glenn. OK, a bit unorthodox,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Daggerboard: Daggerboard and the Skipper
One of jazz’s best kept secrets is the venerable bassist Henry “The Skipper” Franklin. He’s got history in his fingers, and everything he does is essential listening. This latest release has him teamed with a jazz/strings combo of Erik Jekabson/tp-fh,…
THIS IS BIG BAND SWING…Woody Herman & His Bands: Their Finest Albums
Back when I was first getting into jazz in the 1970s, I’d take in a band here and there, and inevitably, the leader would introduce the members. Sooner or later, someone in the band would be identified as “a member…
THE GREAT POLISH SONGBOOK…Kurt Rosenwinkel & Jean-Paul Brodbeck: The Chopin Project
Yeah, I know…”is this one of those ‘jazz meets classical projects’ where neither types of fans are satisfied?” “Au, Contrare!” If you didn’t know that the ten songs on this album were composed by the pianist Frederic Chopin, you ‘d…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Micah Graves: Pawns
Guys like keyboardist/composer Micah Graves drive me crazy. Here’s a great album, full of energy and excitement, yet there’s no web site in which to tell you where to get it, if they go on tour. Who’s this guy’s manager?…