This inviting and ambitious album has Dayramir Gonzalez singing and playing keyboards with a wonderful rotating team of rhythm, strings and horns. His compositions range from celebratory Caribbean to rich parlor pieces with piano and strings. A vocal chorus of…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****WoodWired: In the Loop
All you have here are two ladies, Cheyenne Cruz on bass clarinet and Hannah Leffler on flute. But what they produce with their talent capital is quite impressive. They share the writing skills while using voice and hand percussion to…
AN UNEARTHED GOLD MINE…John Coltrane: Both Directions at Once-The Lost Album
As Sonny Rollins states in the liner notes, “This is like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid.” This two disc set finds completely hidden tracks from a “lost” album that John Coltrane and his classic quartet of McCoy…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****MAKING JAZZ FUN AGAIN…David Garfield: Jazz Outside the Box
Probably one of the biggest complaints about jazz is that people say, “It’s too atonal and complex.” You want them to get into the joys of jazz, but not succumb to “smooth” jazz, yet steer them clear of atonal naval…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK***Danny Green Trio Plus Strings: One Day It Will
Pianists seem to always dream about doing a trio album with strings. Well, Danny Green makes a dream come true, as he wisely avoids the use of the string quartet for “support,” but makes the team of Kate Hatmaker/v, Igor …
THE MALTESE FALCON OF JAZZ: Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Fats Waller, etc: The Savory Collection 1935-1940
“What is this?” “What dreams are made of. Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon One of the aspects of jazz that attracted me to it the most was that it offered a way to time travel. Just by putting on a…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****HOLY COW!!! The Flying Horse Big Band: The Bat Swings!
Here is a great idea, and it’s done with the absolutely perfect attitude. Director Jeff Rupert takes on the role of Commissioner Gordon and brings together themes and motifs from the wonderfully kitschy and iconic 60s Batman TV show and…
PROOF OF INTELLIGENT DESIGN…Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows Volume 25, Duke Ellington: In Coventry 1966
I usually use two arguments to counter the belief that man came out of a primordial soup to eventually evolve into his present state. One is Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak (of which even anthropologist Stephen Gould admitted was…
****ALBUM OF THE YEAR?!?****WHO IS THIS CAT??! Dave McMurray: Music Is Life
Even if you’re really into sax players, like I am, you’ve probably never heard of this guy Dave McMurray. He’s been a sideman for a long list of artists like BB King, The Rolling Stones, Herbie Hancock and even Bootsy…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Dave Tull: Texting and Driving
OK, I’ll admit it; I’m a sucker for male singers that aren’t Buble’ clones are stuck in the standards. Dave Tull has a voice and style that is like a mix of Frank Sinatra and Dave Frishberg; swinging yet clever.…