Category: Ringer of the Week

Tired of staying holed up in the studio or producing those lame “streaming” concerts, alto saxist Jim Snidero finally burst out and boldly decided to do an actual concert. Yes, there was social distancing, but the crowd and musicians were…

Read more →

This reunion of venerable buddies Mark Winkler and David Benoit is what long time kindred spirits are supposed to feel like-putting on an old pair of slippers; warm and comfortable. The West Coast Cool vocalist and smooth jazz pianist do…

Read more →

Pianist Joe Castro had one of those jazz lives that unfortunately got overlooked but fortunately got re-discovered by Sunnyside Records. In the 1950s, he was a fledging bebopper, playing with the likes of Teddy Edwards and Billy Higgins in the…

Read more →

Here’s a pianist I guarantee you’ve never heard before, as he only did (to my knowledge) only this one session as a leader and then dropped off into even deeper obscurity. Pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali was discovered by drummer Max…

Read more →

Back in the 70s and 80s, for five bucks  you could go into one of half a dozen jazz clubs any night of the week and catch a first class set or two. LA was filled with studio cats looking…

Read more →

This mix of gypsy guitar by Zvonimir teamed up with the sring team of Carmen Kassinger/vi, Lisa Fako/vi, Cheryl Wilson/va, paula Kosower/cel and Rob Kassinger/b feels like the logical step of Django Reinhardt if he were alive today. The mix…

Read more →

Lyrical folk sounds from the Old World abound with Vasko Atnasovski playing alto sax, soprano sax and flute with Simone Zanchini/acc, Michel Godard/tuba, Bodek Janke/dr-tab and Ariel Vei Atanasovski/cel on nine bohemian beauties. You feel like folk dancing in a…

Read more →

I caught legendary guitarist Alan Holdsworth just after this 2003 tour with this band of Elton Dean/saxello-as-p-rhodes, Hugh Hopper/b and John Marshall, here recorded in Osaka on August 11. It’s humbling to realize that 3/4ths of the band has gone…

Read more →

It’s almost impossible to think up a stronger trio than the one Grammy winning pianist composer Bill Cunliffe has put together for this album. Always lyrical and melodic with a perfect sense of swing, he brings together two of the…

Read more →

Pianist Nicki Adams creates rich duets with brother and trumpeter Patrick on this rich and communicative collection of modern jazz readings. Their taste in song selection is as good as their delivery, with Nicki going full stride on an energetic…

Read more →