Category: Ringer of the Week

After getting tired of the limitations and nihilism of rock, and the lack of progress in classical, I ventured out into the unknown world of jazz. It was the music like such played on this cd/2dvd performed by by Terry…

Read more →

You may not have heard of composer Ryuichi Sakamot, but odds are that you’ve heard his music. He’s known for eclectic music ranging from techno to symphonic, usually in the form of movie soundtracks such as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,…

Read more →

Remember those great CTI albums with strings and arrangements by Claus Oberman back in the 60s and 70s? Imagine if Henri Mancini wrote and arranged for Bollywood, and Oberman did the final touches, and you get a hint of how…

Read more →

I’ve looked at Joni from both sides now From pop and blues, and still somehow It’s Joni’s illusions I recall I really don’t know Joni…at all   I grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, and what was most fascinating about…

Read more →

Tenor saxist Joe Lovano has released a plethora of albums with a wide variety of themes, ranging from Sinatra to Caruso tributes with 52nd St. Bebop in between. This one, backed (in the broadest sense of the word) by the Brussels…

Read more →

Do you ever listen to an artist and ask yourself “Why haven’t I heard of this guy before?” That’s how I felt after just THE FIRST song on this 2 disc set that covers guitarist Bill Harris sessions with Mercury…

Read more →

Yeah, right. A sideman/bass player to be the ROTW? Believe it! Sam Jones is best known, if known at all, for his stint with Cannonball Adderley’s Quintet way back when. He played both bass and cello, and somehow he put…

Read more →

Digging into the songbook of famed composer Heitor Villa Lobos, Mario Adnet comes up with gold on this wondrous mix of voice, orchestra and intimate instruments. The warm and full bodied mix of strings and brass can be as impressionistically…

Read more →

What is it about Fred Hersch?!? It seems like every time the pianist puts something out, it’s a) different than what he’s done before and b) ends up on my RINGER OF THE WEEK list. The guy’s done it again!…

Read more →

Since changing labels to Mack Avenue, Kenny Garrett has been having a musical, and possibly spiritual, renaissance. Is it possible to separate the two anyway? Since being one of the “young lions” back in the 80s, he’s been on an…

Read more →