If your only exposure to Greek music is the background music to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then this pair of music from the cradle of Western Civilization will open your ears to some wondrous sounds and moods. Give me…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Joanie Sommers: Positively The Most!
If you’ve ever even HEARD of vocalist Joanie Sommers, it’s because of that stupid pop song from the 60s she did, and I even hate to prejudice you by telling you what it was…”Johnny Get Angry” !! Please hear me…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Bernt Rosengren Big Band with Horace Parlan and Doug Raney
If you’re a big band fan, you’re going to want to have this baby in your collection. What you’ve got here is a 1980 session from Stockholm of Bernt Rosengren, who was a big fish in the small pond of…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Shamie Royston: Portraits
So, sue me. Sue me. What can you do me? I confess! Mea culpa! I took one look at this cover of Shamie Royston, contemplatively looking through a curtain and thought “another singer of the Great American Songbook and best,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Sigurdur Flosason & Kjeld Lauritsen: Night Fall
A long time in a galaxy far, far away… There was a jazz label called Blue Note that truly put out “The Finest in Jazz Since 1939.” Every release was a 40 minute treat of some of the most heavenly…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Mario Adnet: Amazonia
I’ve mentioned before that what Blue Note Records used to be to jazz, Adventure Music Records is to present day Brazilian music. This label consistently puts out exciting and fresh sounds that are as varied as they are melodious. This…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Nelson Matta: Black Orpheus
As many of you may know, the 1959 movie Black Orpheus was one of the major means of introducing Brazilian music and samba to American ears. Many of the tunes from the film (which is simply a Brazilian version of…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Charles Lloyd/Jason Moran: Hagar’s Song
If you’ve been waiting for, oh, say half a century, for a logical follow-up to John Coltrane’s classic Ballads album, you’ve finally got your prayers answered. This collection of duos between Charles Lloyd and pianist Jason Moran is one of…
OH YEAH!! The Chicago Blues Box
Do you want to hear the blues? I mean DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THE BLUES? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR THE BLUES?!?!? Just making sure, because… Storyville Records just put out this 8 cd set of material that…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet: Wislawa
If you’re a fan of vintage Miles Davis, which means anything from about ’58 to before he plugged in during the late 60s, trumpeter Tomasz Stanko should be the guy on your must-hear list. He’s put out a number of…