Pianist Harold Mabern has made a career out of being a reliable sideman for guys ranging from James Moody, George Coleman and as of late Eric Anderson. Here, he finally gets his due, as he forms a trio with John…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****The Warren Vache’ Quintet: Remembers Benny Carter
Golden toned trumpeter Warren Vache’ gives a well conceived tribute to Benny Carter by revisiting some of his tasty compositions here with the likes of Houston Person/ts, Nicki Parrott/b-voc, Todo Hammer/p and Leroy Williams/dr. Mainstream heaven is in force here,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jeremy Siskind: Housewarming
Pianist Jeremy Siskind puts together an intriguing album here, mixing various vocalists with a chamber-like duet with Lucas Pino. Nancy Harms the featured vocalist and she has a flickering candle of a voice. Other times, Kendra Shank, Peter Eldridge and…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Anat Cohen: Luminosa
This is the Anat Cohen record I have been waiting for. She mixes some fragrant originals with Brazilian compositions by the likes of Milton Nasciment, Severino Arajo and Romero Lubambo and creates a mix of Latin, Middle East and folksy…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Kevin Eubanks & Stanley Jordan: Duets
This seems to be the Year of the Guitar Duet Album! Here, we’ve got the summit meeting of Kevin Eubanks and Stanley Jordan, which bodes and delivers quite well. Because their styles are so different, you can easily delineate between…
****ROTW****INDONESIA’S ANSWER TO METHENY? Dewa Budjana: Hasta Karma
Am I being hyperbolic by comparing guitarist Dewa Budjana to Pat Metheny? Hey, I’m not the one who hired Ben Williams/b and Antonio Sanchez/dr to the session! This guy is known in Bali for his rock band GIGVI, but here…
AH! Wes Montgomery…In The Beginning-Early Recordings From 1949-1958
I don’t know where executive producer George Klabin finds these hidden treasures, but whatever his contacts are, all I can say is “keep him on retainer!” Stuff by Coltrane, Lloyd, Hubbard, Evans and Montgomery have been just some of the…
****ROTW****A FIND AMONGST THE REEDS…Balkan Clarinet Summit: Many Languages-One Soul
The closest thing this ingenious idea of 6 clarinets getting together sans rhythm (and NOT a capella as the liner notes state. “A capella” means “no instruments” or literally “like church”…your lesson for the day) was back in the 80s…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Alex Conde: Descarga For Monk
You know an album is not only creative, but brilliantly so when your first thought is “Why hadn’t anyone come up with this idea before?” Well, pianist Alex Conde did; he took the songbook of Thelonious Monk, and gave it…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Eddie Henderson: Collective Portrait****
Trumpeter Eddie Henderson has been around for decades, first making a name for himself with Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi band before putting out some hip albums of his own. Here, he makes a good case for proving the point that he’s…