Category: Ringer of the Week

Exciting mixes of tropical jazz and rock are stirred together by Canadian guitarist and composer Alvaro Rojas and his energetic team of Meredith Bates/vi, Peggy Lee/cel, Chris Gestrin/p-key, James Meger/b, Sam cartwright/dr, Liam MacDonald/perc, Elis Thorn/harp, Sam Davidson/cl-bcl and guest…

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There have been a wide variety of ways that jazz artists have adapted to the COVID lockdown. Some have done solo albums, others have streamed performances. Chris Potter, best known for his work on the tenor sax, soprano sax and…

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Charles Mingus was not only the most important bassist in jazz, but he led some of the greatest bands, due to his ability to be a master talent scout. This four disc set captures in concert Charles Mingus at two…

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After just the first few notes of hearing Sonny Rollins’ tenor on his intro to the opening song of this 2 disc set, “Blue Moon”, I felt like I was reunited with a friend that understood me after spending years…

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This is about the third album I’ve heard by trumpeter Derrick Gardner, and like the others, it just makes me want to see him bring a tour to LA. I doubt he’ll be able to afford a trip out here…

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Drummer Joe Farnsworth has been the pulse for bands lead by Harold Mabern, Eric Alexander, Pharoah Sanders and Benny Golson, so he knows how to drive the big engines. Here, he leads a trio for half the time with classy…

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Charles Mingus alumnus Charles McPherson successfully combines swinging bop with movements for ballet on this fascinating release with a flexible team of Terell Stafford/tp, Jeb Patton-Randy Porter/p, Billy Drummond/b, David Wong/b, Yotam Silberstein/g and Lorraine Castellanos/voc. McPherson’s daughter is a…

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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…

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The thing that I really like about guitarist Rez Abassi is that he keeps one foot in the jazz tradition, but is not locked into it, always looking for new colors to add to the palate. This time around, he…

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The best of music is to bring people and ideas together. Mehmet Ali Sanlikol brings  his voice and middle eastern instruments of the ney, zurna and ud to team up with guest soprano saxist Dave Liebmen and the 18 member…

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