Category: Ringer of the Week

Judging by this incredible album, it’s easy to see why alto saxist, composer and arranger Alex Hahn has won a bunch of Downbeat awards as well as getting press at the Next Generation Monterey Jazz Festival. He’s got a great…

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Pianist Lars Jansson’s trio including Thomas Fonnesbaek/b and Paul Svanberg/dr bring in the Paul Desmond-influenced alto sax of Sigurdur Flosason for a collection of rich pastels of song. Flosason’s alto sax has a tone of beautiful lightness, something rarely delivered…

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Brian McCarthy plays alto and soprano sax, and brings together three more saxes in Daniel Ian Smith/ts-ss, Stantawn Kendrick/ts and Andrew Gutauskas/bs along with a brass section of Bill Mobley/tp-fh and Cameron MacManus/tb and a rhythm team of Matt Aronoff/b,…

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Before Rock and Roll took over radio and record sales, Rhythm and Blues artists like Lloyd Price and Larry Williams were kings of both the pop and R&B charts. Mixing blues, rhythm, gospel and a New Orleans groove, these two…

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Back when I was growing up in the church, there was a popular song titled “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”. I later learned that with all things concerning Satan, he didn’t create what later became “rock…

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Sorry if I sound prejudiced, but any time a sax quartet emerges, I get excited. Blame it on my being weaned on Duke Ellington’s, Count Basie’s  and Woody Herman’s sax sections, but even when I hear The World Saxophone Quartet,…

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Davala consists of leader/vocalist Julia Ulehla with Aram Bajakian/g, Peggy Lee/cel, Tyson Naylor/p-key, Colin Cowan/b and Dylan van der Schyff/dr-perc. Together they perform music and ideas from the Czech Republic in a way that keeps with traditional sounds yet also…

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Records like this make you wonder if producer Zev Feldman was in a Raymond Chandler novel, as he’s one of the great detectives in finding rare and important vintage jazz recordings. This latest discovery complements last year’s 2 disc set…

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It could be easily argued that Jimmy Reed is rock and roll’s most influential artist. His patented style of blues boogie sound, which he created with soul-mate sideman guitarist Eddie Taylor, has been imitated by black and white artists in…

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Before going Back to the Future, the radio waves were filled with vocal doo wop bands, most of whom had names associated with birds, such as The Flamingos, The Orioles and The Crows. Best of all were The Penguins, whose…

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