This is the kind of disc that just makes you glad that there is a God and that He created music. 88 year old Carline Ray, who just recently left this earth for her heavenly reward, had a career that…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Oana Catalina Chitu: Divine
Wanna try something adventurous that will still appeal to your jazz sensibilities? How about ROMANIAN CABARET MUSIC?!? Did I get your attention yet? GOOD! Singer Oana Catalina Chitu delves into a songbook that I can guarantee NO ONE in the…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Thad Jones & Eclipse: The Danish Radio Big Band
Besides being the co-leader of the Famed Jones-Lewis Orchestra, the director of The Count Basie Orchestra and the producer of countless cooking small group sessions, trumpeter/composer/arranger Thad Jones had a career in Denmark as the head of The Danish Radio…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****YEAR?***Frank Wess: Magic 101
Here’s a guy that over 3 score years has been involved in some of the most fantastic music in jazz. As this disc proves, the truly great ones get better and better like a fine wine. About 6 years ago,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK***George Shearing: At Home
Hidden away for almost thirty years, this home recorded session by Shearing with his long time friend/bassist Don Thompson has the two playing music in an intimate and relaxed manner that displays everything that’s right about modern jazz, and like…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jesper Lundgaard Trio: Walk Tall
Storyville Records is better known for releasing vintage jazz material ranging from Louis Armstrong to Ben Webster, but they are still able to put out some new material by Danish jazz artists (that’s not an oxymoron is it?). This one…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Bob Wilber-Glenn Zottola: The Bechet Legacy
One of my guilty pleasures in music is listening to Bob Wilber on either soprano sax or clarinet. Taught by Sidney Bechet, Wilber’s sound and even his look have an old soul on an appeal. His music is always swinging,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Joshua Kwassman: Songs of the Brother Spirit
Here’s some music from a guy that sounds like he’s going places. Joshua Kwassman plays woodwinds and leads a rotating format of a band that includes wordless voice (Arielle Feinman), guitar (Jeff Miles/Gilad Hekselman), piano (Angelo Di Loreto/Adam Kromelow), bass…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Cecile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild
Here’s a real find! She just won the Theolonious Monk Jazz Competition with judges no less impressive than Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling. Interested yet? The liner notes have Wynton Marsalis lauding her for her “poise, elegance,…
****ROTW****WHERE’D THIS GUY COME FROM?!? Richard Lanham: Thou Swell
Here’s a fifteen year old recording that’s been hidden in the netherworld for awhile, but like the pearl of great price in the Bible, it was finally found and it’s definitely worth the wait. Richard Lanham has been in the…