Tenor saxist Ted Brown shows that he’s imbibed deeply from the Lester Young waters on this swinging recording from a 2006 gig at trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, NJ. Brown’s tone is breathy, soft and serenely behind the beat, cool…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Charnett Moffett: Music From Our Soul
Bassist Charnett Moffett has had a stellar career as a sideman for the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Jordan, but on this album that he headlines, he shows a vision far beyond anything he’s previously promised. He collects a…
THIS IS A BLUES GUITAR 101: The Pee Wee Crayton Collection 1947-62
Next to T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton (1914-1985) was the most influential blues guitarists and singers mixing a suave toned tenor voice with downright nasty and aggressive guitar pickings that swung like few others. This two disc set contains a…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Dayna Stephens: Gratitude
Frequently performing in LA, tenor and bari saxist Dayna Stephens puts together a release that puts his warm horn in it’s best light. He teams up with the best of the best as well: Julian Lage/g, Brad Mehldau/p, Larry Grenadier/b…
A FORGOTTEN MINGUS SIDEMAN…Gene Shaw: Quintet & Sextet
If you’re a Charles Mingus fan (and if you aren’t, please explain yourself), you know that trumpeter Gene Shaw (1926-73) is probably his most obscure sideman. He did essentially a one-off with him, but that one session was the classic…
THIS IS A TEXAS TENOR 101….Illinois Jacquet: The Illinois Jacquet Collection 1942-56
So, I’m trying to review this 2 disc set by the prototypical Texas tenor Illinois Jacquet, but I just can’t get past the third song, as I’ve played “Flying Home” and ”Rock-A-Bye Basie” over and over for the past hour…
OH YEAH! Little Richard: Here’s Little Richard
It really doesn’t get much better than this… Richard Penniman, aka “Little Richard,” through a heat seeking missile at the pop world with his introductory album, reissued here in 2 discs with a collection of outtakes and extra takes. At…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jimmy Greene: Flowers-Beautiful Life Volume 2
A few years ago, saxist Jimmy Greene released Beautiful Life, a heartfelt album dedicated to her 6 year old daughter who was murdered in the tragic Sandy Hook attack. Volume 2 picks up with Greene, a devout Christian, still coming…
WHAT A FIND! Thelonious Monk: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960
This never-before-released collection of music makes up 2 discs worth of some of the most fascinating sounds by Thelonious Monk you’ll ever come across. It was initially recorded in 1959 as part of the soundtrack for Roger Vadim’s iconic movie.…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Christian Sands: Reach
Mentored by Billy Taylor, pianist Christian Sands brings a classic approach to his music as he mixes and matches his originals with a team of Marcus Baylor/dr, Gilad Hekselman/g, Christian McBride/b, Yasushi Nakamura/b, Cristian Rivera/perc and Marcus Strickland/ts-bcl. In the…