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 …
Category: Ringer of the Week
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.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Susan Krebs Chamber Band: Spring Light Out of Darkness
Creative interpretations of standards are produced by vocalist Susan Krebs, as she surrounds herself in a pastoral garden with Rich Eames/p, Rob Lockart/wwinds, Scott Breadman/perc and Luis Mascaro/violin. Her voice has a cheerful, parloresque wisp to it, and she makes…
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels featuring Lucinda Williams: Vanished Gardens
The casual and relaxed VFW feel that Charles Lloyd and Reuben Rogers/b, Bill Frisell/g, Greg Leisz/stg and Eric Harland/dr created on their first album got just a tad deeper with Lucinda Williams contributing earthy vocals on a handful of the…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anat Cohen & Fred Hersch: Live in Healdsburg
Two artists at the top of their fields, clarinetist Anat Cohen and pianist Fred Hersch, somehow create a concert that is stronger than their individual parts, which is saying something. Recorded at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival on June 11, 2016,…
THIS IS A JAZZ TRUMPET 101…Eddie Henderson: Be Cool
While being on some of the most important albums by the likes of Herbie Hancock and Billy Harper, trumpeter Eddie Henderson has lived below the radar of name recognition, which is a pity as this most recent album has the…