Pianist Nikolaj Hess adroitly walks the balance of jazz piano and modern strings on this rich and satisfying album of juxtapositions of jazz and classical. He combines his trio of Anders Ac Christensen/b and Mikkel Hess/dr with a string quartet…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****IS THERE A CORRESPONDING RESTAURANT? Greekorea: Greeting the Moon
When you think of musical fusions, one of the last combinations would be Greece and Korea, but that’s what you get with the creative Gugak Jazz Society. The band consists of instrumentation, melodies and harmonies from both countries. On the…
IS THERE EVER ENOUGH? Bill Evans: Behind The Dikes-The 1969 Netherland Recordings
Like so few people, producer and musical gold miner Zev Feldman understands that one can never have enough previously unreleased material by the likes of Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins or Nat Cole. He keeps looking through nooks and…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Aaron Germain: Bell Projections
Here’s a gorgeous and sublime album by Aaron Bell, who plays a copious variety of guitars, including soprano, 6 string classical bass and guiro. He brings in one to two guests for most of the tunes, including Nestor Torres/fl, Paul…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Min Xiao-Fen: White Lotus (featuring Rez Abbasi)
East meets Mid-East on this fascinating collection of strings between Min Xiao-Fen and Rez Ababasi. While Abassi sticks to acoustic and electric guitar, Xiao-Fen not only switches between traditional instruments on the four stringed Chinese pipa, lute-like ruan, banjo/sanxian and…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Rahsaan Barber: MOSAIC
Just when you think the future of music has gone to the Philistines, along comes a guy like Rahsaan Barber, who plays alto, baritone and tenor sax as well as alto and tenor simultaneously a la Roland Kirk. He’s supported…
****RINGER OF WEEK****ALBUM OF THE YEAR?****TIMELESS SONATAS…Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller: In Harmony
I never missed an opportunity to see either trumpeter Roy Hargrove or pianist Mulgrew Miller when they came to town. I took in Miller with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, with Ron Carter and countless other trios, quartets and duos. Every gig…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK*****John Daversa Jazz Orchestra featuring Justin Morrell: All Without Words
Trumpeter John Daversa brings his orchestra to interpret compositions by Justin Morrell, pieces that are built around various vocalizations created by Morrell’s nonverbal son, Loren. This intriguing and brilliant idea plays out fascinatingly well, with wondrous themes, elegant orchestrations and…
A FORGOTTEN BOPPING TENOR…Harold Land: Westward Bound!
If you haven’t heard of Harold Land, you need to first of all be reminded that he was part of Clifford Brown’s classic 50s quintet. Now, if you haven’t heard of Clifford Brown, then we need to talk. Harold Land…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mark Lewis Quartet: Naked Animals
Recorded 30 years ago on a “live” half track gig, Mark Lewis’ then team of Willem Kuhne/p, James Long/b and Frans van Grinsven/dr remind us of what a real gig sounded like, with a fresh set of originals in a…