If your idea of great music is something that quietly moves your soul, you’re going to find a friend in tenor saxist Oded Tzur. He leads a quartet with Shai Maestro/p, Petros Klampanis/b and Zv Ravitz/dr through a collection of…
Category: Ringer of the Week
100 YEARS OLD AND STILL GOING STRONG…Frank Sinatra: A Voice On Air
Here’s a Centennial celebration worth celebrating about. In honor of Old Blue Eyes’ 100 birthday, Columbia/Sony Legacy have put together a glorious 4 disc set that features Sinatra’s radio broadcasts from 1935-1955. Going back all the way to his debut…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mort Weiss: Mort Weiss Is a Jazz Reality Show
He doesn’t release a lot of material, but when he does, clarinetist Mort Weiss makes it count. Each of his albums has a uniquely personal touch and feel to it. This latest one opens with Weiss discussing his recent personal losses…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Romero Lubambo: Setembro
The subtitle “A Brazilian Under the Jazz Influence” could easily describe either this most recent album by guitarist Romero Lubambo or the guitarist himself. He’s best known for his partnership with vocalist Luciana Souza, but he’s making a name for…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****London-Meador-Pramuk & Ross: The Royal Bopsters Project
Just when you are about to give up on jazz vocals, along comes an album that re-invigorates your heart. The team of Amy London/sop, Darmon Meader/ten, Dylan Pramuk/b and Holli Ross/alto sing a song of bebop as they mix their…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Electric Squeezebox Orchestra: Cheap Rent
Here’s a band that avoids the pitfalls of most big band recordings. Modern stuff either sounds like a Gil Evans wanna-be or a musical version of a Jackson Pollock painting. Here, you’ve got a nice sized big band lead by…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Don Braden Organix Quartet: Luminosity
Once upon a time the jazz world was filled with “guns for hire” like tenor saxist and flutist Don Braden. Guys like David “Fathead” Newman, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis or Gene Ammons..big toned guys that knew how to swing and make…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Josh Shpak Band: Astatic
Here’s a walk off home run of a disc. I’ve never heard anything about this young guy who plays the trumpet and flugelhorn. Josh Shpak wrote almost all of the material here on this collection of six songs, and along…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Bobby Bryant: Chicago Years
I’m not sure how Fresh Sound Records keeps finding these obscure gems, but all I can say is, whoever you’re bribing to get them, keep slipping them the money. This single disc from trumpeter Bobby Bryant is a SMOKER! Bryant…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Tokyo Adagio
The late Charlie Haden is still able to speak to us through his recordings. This is the second posthumous release of a duet session. Last year’s album with Jim Hall was a quiet knockout, and this one with pianist Gonzalo…