Vocalist Jackie Ryan is just one of the ladies that you just know is fun to be around. I’ve seen her perform, interviewed her, and have all of her material-you want her at your party! She has an infectious joy…
Category: Ringer of the Week
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Dan Block: Duality
Maybe it’s because I got into jazz listening to Eddie Lang duets, but I’m just a sucker for when two artists get together and converse together with their instruments. Here, you’ve got Dan Block on saxes and clarinets, and he…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Patsy Cline: On The Air-Her Best TV Performances
What Billie Holiday was to jazz, Patsy Cline was to country music. She didn’t have the largest range in the world, but her nuanced delivery told more than any improvisation or high C could ever deliver. Like Holiday, she held…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Bob Arthurs & Steve Lamattina: Jazz For Svetlana
Here is the most unassuming of sessions, and yet it works amazingly well. Trumpeter Bob Arthurs is a teacher at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, having played with guys like Coryell, Farlow, Marsh and Konitz. Mattina is a fellow faculty…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Randy Klein’s Two Duos: What’s Next?
I’ve always been a sucker for jazz duets. Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Jim Hall & Pat Metheny…the list could go on forever. There’s nowhere to hide, and if you’re posing, it’s going to come…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Jazzcraft Studio Recordings 1977-78 featuring Hugh Lawson & Richard Wyands
Here is a fantastic 2 cd set of a pair of blue collar pianists who worked day in and day out as reliable sidemen, just doing their job of accompanying some leader and providing reliably creative music. Never in the…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Kurt Rosenwinkel: Star of Jupiter
Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel should be on the top tier list of important guitarists around, but possibly because of his getting dumped by Verve, or maybe something else, he seemed to get side tracked from the career that seemed so promising back…
****RINGERS OF THE WEEK****REAL HORNS! The Greg Abate Quintet Featuring Phil Woods, Arnett Cobb: Party Time, More Party Time, Movin’ Right Along
These two releases are separated by a half century, but they both have that timeless quality that would have made a fan of either disc, at either session, a fan of the other. Read on… Greg Abate plays alto, soprano,…
LET’S START THE YEAR WITH MORE THAN ONE!***ROTW***HIGH NOTE PIANO PLAYING-George Cables: My Muse, Harold Mabern: Mr. Lucky: A Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr.
Ya know, I really don’t ask for much in life. If you’ve got peace with God, a good family, a handful of faithful friends, a roof over your head and food on the table, you’re ahead of the game in…
START THE YEAR RIGHT****ROTW****Louisiana Red (1932-2012): When My Mama Was Living
If you want the blues, and I mean the REAL blues, like sittin’ on the porch and sounding like Howlin’ Wolf or Johnny Shines, then this little obscurity is going to make your day. Louisiana Red, who just recently left…