Once upon a time, the tenor sound was supposed to sound mellifluous. Warm, airy and yet still melodically swinging, this sound and style was a change in direction from the gruff and arpeggio’d style originated by Selmer’s progenitor Coleman Hawkins.…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Camille Bertault: En Vie
I gotta tell you, of all the types of albums that get me worried, none do it better than female jazz vocalists. What? Another one?!? PLEASE!!! What a relief to find a vocalist who sounds fresh, lyrical and having something…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Ibrahim Maalouf: Kalthoum
Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf put out an impressive album back in 2013 titled Wind, but nothing could portend the power of this latest release. He delivers a tribute to famed Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum by taking an hour-long song of…
GROWTH OF A JAZZ ICON…Ella Fitzgerald: Jazz at the Philharmonic-The Ella Fitzgerald Set
When we think of America’s greatest jazz vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald, we usually look back on her most famous albums, such as her Songbook series or “Live” albums where she defined how to improvise on “Mack the Knife.” You forget that…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THIS IS A JAZZ PIANO 101… Bill Evans: Some Other Time
So, here’s my major worry and concern about Resonance Records. This year alone they’ve released exemplary sessions by Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Larry Young and Sarah Vaughan. AND IT’S NOT EVEN SUMMER!! Last year we had those wonderful Wes Montgomery…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Roxy Coss: Restless Idealism
Am I a sexist, or is it just that I have two daughters about Roxy Coss’ age? I first look at the cover of this album and I think, “Any lady that wears a suit like that is either appealing…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Roswell Rudd & Heather Masse: August Love Song
This disc caught me completely by surprise. Vocalist Heather Masse comes across like a classic swing era canary, mixing clarity and style like a Helen Forrest or Francis Wayne. Roswell Rudd comes from the left side of things, mixing growls,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Michael Spiro/Wayne Wallace & La Orquesta Sinfonietta: Canto America
When you think of the mix of Afro Cuban with jazz, you usually get reflections of woodwinds, brass and dance rhythms. Trombonist Wayne Wallace and percussionist Michael Spiro throw us for a loop here as they mix the tradition of…
THIS IS JAZZ 101…Al Cohn-Dexter Gordon: True Blue/Silver Blue, Dolo Coker: California Hard, Ronnie Cuber: Cuber Libre, Kenny Drew: Home Is Where The Soul Is, Charles McPherson: Beautiful!
Back when my daughter Angela was in college, she told me how she was in someone’s house and they had on some music. “What were you listening to?” I asked. “They said it was jazz,” she replied, “but I told…
A CENTURY OF SWINGING!!! Svend Asumssen: The Incomparable Fiddler
Yes, the legendary violinist Svend Asmussen is still alive! This 5 cd/dvd set shows what has kept him going this 5 score years; an infectious sense of swing emitted from his violin which kept Scandinavians warm though 100 years of…