Dustin Laurenzi’s Natural Language A Time and a Place Woolgathering Tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi’s A Time and A Place, follows-up his 2016 self-titled album with his quartet of Chicago-based musicians, Natural Language, intact. Their sound embodies unbridled invention and cohesiveness that creates moods and textures in favor of aggressive soloing although there is some of that too, mostly […]
The Allman Brothers Band The Final Note – Painters Mill Music Fair 10-17-71 Warner Theater, Erie, Pa 7-19-05 (2 CDs) Allman Brothers Band Recordings/Peach Records These two live recordings of the Allman Brothers Band, as the dates suggest, represent two incarnations of the lineup, neither ever heard on record until now. The Final Note is […]
Ben Levin Carryout or Delivery Vizztone This young college student (yes, he’s still in college three albums later) sounds so good playing the rollicking piano and singing like a veteran that it would be impossible for the uninformed listener to guess that Ben Levin has just reached legal drinking age. Having received two Blues Blast […]
Budos Band Long in the Tooth Daptone The Budos Band’s sixth studio album Long In The Tooth, on their longstanding label, Daptone Records, marks the 15th anniversary of the band’s eponymous 2005 full-length debut. The album was recorded in just five days at Diamond Mine Studios in Queens, NY. After one listen, you might expect a full orchestra behind […]
Edward Simon 25 Years Ridgeway Celebrating a quarter century of inventive music, Venezuelan-born pianist, composer and bandleader Edward Simon, who now resides in the Bay Area, releases the two-disc career retrospective 25 Years on Ridgeway Records, affirming his status as a key figure in the wave of Latin American musicians who’ve transformed jazz in recent decades. Featuring tracks […]
Chuck Bergeron & South Florida Jazz Orchestra Cheap Thrills The Music of Rick Margitza Summit Bassist/bandleader Chuck Bergeron celebrates the 15th anniversary of his South Florida Jazz Orchestra (SFJO) with the music of saxophone great Rick Margitza. The SFJO is one of the best unheralded big bands, very versatile and comprised of some of the […]
Brianna Thomas Band Everybody Knows Self-released Maybe it’s a fitting coincidence that rising jazz vocalist Brianna Thomas is releasing her second album, Everybody Knows, on the same day that Ella Fitzgerald’s Lost Berlin Concert is out. All female jazz vocalists point to Ella as a major influence but not many are in the same conversation […]
Benn Clatworthy & System 6 Bennie’s Lament Skipper Productions London-bred and Los Angeles-based saxophonist Benn Clatworthy has been a fixture on the Los Angeles jazz scene since 1980. Clatworthy was originally heavily influenced by late-’50s John Coltrane, but would soften his tone and sometimes sound a little like Warne Marsh with touches of Sonny Rollins. He debuted in 1990 with Thanks Horace (which […]
Drive-by Truckers The New OK ATO One of America’s most important rock bands, Drive-by Truckers (DBTs), delivered an inspired, ferocious, and angry at times performance in Philadelphia the day after the 2016 Election. Their performance was as one would have expected. Yet, the collective vibe both onstage in the audience was collective release from the shocking numbness still […]
Nicholas Brust Frozen In Time Fresh Sound Frozen in Time is saxophonist, composer, and educator Nicholas Brust’s debut full-length album, with nine originals in a quintet setting. Brust did release an EP of original music in 2015 but has mostly stayed busy playing in NYC and serving as a educator at three institutions. Brust has […]
Fiona Boyes Blues in My Heart (20th Anniversary Edition) Reference Recordings This writer fondly remembers the Australian finger-picking blues singer-songwriter from about a dozen years ago when she performed live on my then radio show. One couldn’t help but be struck by her undeniable talent, both playing the guitar and singing, yet the overriding takeaway […]
Bart Ryan Starlight and Tall Tales Blackbird Initially what is striking about LA-born/Nashville-based session guitarist and award-winning singer- songwriter Bart Ryan’s Starlight and Tall Tales is his soulful bluesy guitar and lap steel playing, but the album offers a good dose of roots variety as it unfolds, including some very soulful tunes. Twangy and bluesy […]
Doug Webb Apples and Oranges Posi-Tone Posi-Tone, the highly selective label that only issues about a dozen recordings annually, a label that we began covering on these pages this year, now releases Doug Webb’s Apples & Oranges, the latest from the veteran saxophonist and composer, one of the label’s longest tenured artists. Some of the […]
Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite 100 Years of Blues Alligator As this writer has said before of other artists, the eventual pairing was inevitable. Not only are Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist Elvin Bishop and Grammy-winning harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite fellow blues travelers and Blues Hall Of Famers with over 100 years of […]
Band of Heathens Stranger BOH The Band of Heathens (BOH) have made a pandemic record, loosely alluded to by its title, Stranger, the sixth studio album for the Austin-based unit, and their first of original material since 2017’s Deuende. Actually, the title for this one, wasn’t directly drawn from the pandemic but rather influenced by […]
Eric Revis Slipknots Through the Looking Glass Pyroclastic GRAMMY award-winning bassist and composer Eric Revis, if nothing else, is consistently explorative and experimental. Slipknots Through a Looking Glass, his debut for Pyroclastic Records is definitely “out there.” Like his label mates he lives on the cutting edge. Revis is not embarrassed to admit that his music is […]
José Rizo’s Mongorama Mariposas Cantan Saungu Jose Rizo’s Mongorama, founded in 2011, is a nonet consisting of four percussionists and other musicians performing high spirited Latin jazz. As the band name implies, their music is inspired by conquero Mongo Santamaria’s early 1960s band, one that paved the way for popularity of Latin jazz worldwide. This […]
Pete Kronowitt Do Something Now Self-released San Francisco-based, New Jersey born, Florida raised singer/songwriter and activist Pete Kronowitt is out with his latest set of rallying cry songs, Do Something Now. Kronowitt is the founder of the Face the Music Collective, a grassroots organization driving social and political change. However, what may be more notable […]
Orlando Le Fleming Romantic Funk: The Unfamiliar Whirlwind Renowned bassist Orlando le Fleming makes his debut with Whirlwind Recordings with Romantic Funk: The Unfamiliar, paying tribute to the high-intensity fusion of the 1980’s with an impressive team of elite players including Philip Dizack on trumpet and fellow Londoner and OWL trio mate, alto saxophonist Will Vinson , Sean Wayland on keys, and […]
Miki Yamanaka Human Dust Suite Outside In Music You could say the centerpiece for this album by New York-based musician and composer Miki Yamanaka is based on a rather strange and alarming subject but then again, you’ve probably had your own experience of wandering through an art museum, only to be totally stunned by a particular […]
Igor Kogan In a Big City Self-released In a Big City is the debut studio album as a bandleader for bassist /composer Igor Kogan for this quintet setting, He features 9-time Grammy Award nominee vocalist Tierney Sutton on “Vocalise.” The members of his fiery, versatile, contemporary sounding quintet are Jeremy Lappitt (tenor saxophone), Joshua Aguiar […]
Matt DeMerritt Fool’s Journey Self-released Woodwind master Matt DeMerritt (MD) has appeared on 75 albums in his 25 years as a sideman. Now he finally steps forward with his own, Fool’s Journey. Yes, it’s primarily a jazz album but he taps into a few other genres that he’s played in during his wide spanning career. […]
Joan Osborne Trouble and Strife Womanly Hips Music Trouble and Strife, self-produced on her own label, is her tenth solo studio album and the first album of Joan Osborne’s original material in six years, since 2014’s Love and Hate. It’s Osborne, one of the best and certainly most versatile singers of our time, responding to […]
Hazar Reincarnated (featuring Al DiMeola) IAN Productions Any time there’s a chance to a great guitarist play Luiz Bonfa’s iconic “Black Orpheus,” that’s reason enough to investigate an album from a new artist, at least to this writer. Hazar is a superb acoustic guitarist who teams with luminary guitarist Al DiMeola, percussionist Mehmet Katay, pianist […]
Jim Waller Big Band Bucket List Self-released Have you ever noticed that the word ‘debut” appears often on these pages for upstart and veteran jazz artists alike? Yes, we now bring you yet another from veteran multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and educator Jim Waller. As the title indirectly suggests, this is Waller’s fulfillment of a dream […]
Various Artists Put Down That Weapon (Make Music Not War) Y & T Music By Jim Hynes The social unrest we are experiencing now inevitably brings comparisons to the sixties and its wealth of protest songs. For example, “For What It’s Worth” has this line “What a field day for the heat, a thousand people […]
John Daversa Quintet Cuarentena: With Family at Home Tiger Turn John Daversa has been amazingly impressive in his career by especially in the past couple of years. His 2018 American dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom earned him three Grammys, Including Best Large Jazz Ensemble, Best Improvised Solo and Best Instrumental Arrangement of A […]
San Gabriel 7 Red Dress – Featuring Vocalist Songwriter Femi Knight JRL-SGS This is yet another new discovery not only for this writer but likely for most folks outside of California. Even though San Gabriel 7 was formed 14 years ago and have issued nine albums prior to this, Red Dress, they have carried on […]
David Sills Natural Lines Gut String Here’s another rather unique jazz configuration as prolific reedist David Sills forms his David Sills Double Guitar Quintet for the generous 70 plus minutes Natural Lines. At times, you’d think this was primarily a guitar album as Sills gives plenty of solo room to guitarists Mike Scott and Larry […]
The Flying Horse Big Band Florida Rays – featuring songs of Ray Charles Flying Horse Orlando’s own Flying Horse Big Band, on their seventh release, pay] tribute to perhaps the city’s biggest musical icon, Ray Charles on this expansive outing directed by Jeff Rupert, a tenor saxophonist who doesn’t play on the album, but conducts […]
John Beasley and MONK’estra Plays John Beasley Mack Avenue This year seems to especially have many jazz artists turning to the music of Thelonious Monk but this is nothing new for John Beasley and his MONK ‘estra who have plied their first two volumes of Monk material into two GRAMMY nominations. Over the course of […]
R.B. Morris Going Back to the Sky Singular Recordings and songwriter, solo and band leader, and a sometimes playwright and actor Admittedly, the initial draw here is that RB Morris’ album is produced by Bo Ramsey. Yet, a small bit of research combined with listening to just the first full song, “Red Sky,” proves that […]
Ron Thompson From the Patio, Live at Poor House Bistro, Vol 1 Little Village Foundation From the Patio – Live at Poor House Bistro, Vol 1 dates to two sessions in the summer of 2014 at the famed venue in San Jose, CA where the recently passed Bay Area Blues legend Ron Thompson often gigged. […]
Allman-Betts Band Bless Your Heart BMG Last year’s debut from the Allman-Betts Band, Down to the River, marked the first time the seven-piece ensemble played together, let alone record together. But even that is not entirely accurate as keyboardist John Ginty joined the band for the tour, after the recording was done. So, if that […]
Various Artists Back to Paradise – A Tribute to Okie Music Horton Think Tulsa and inevitably the names of J.J. Cale, Leon Russell, The Gap Band, Jesse Ed Davis, and others come to mind. Today, it’ likely John Fullbright, John Moreland, Paul Benjamin, Jesse Aycock, and others. Fullbright, Benjamin, Aycock and six more pay tribute […]
Champian Fulton Birdsong Self-released New York-based pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton celebrates Charlie Parker’s centennial with her latest, Birdsong., featuring her friend and saxophone luminary Scott Hamilton (who of course plays tenor, not alto liker Parker did). Hamilton appears along with Fulton’s long-standing quartet made up of bassist Hide Tanaka, drummer Fukushi Tainaka and her […]
Matt Wilson Hug Palmetto A few weeks ago, fellow drummer Jeff Cosgrove brought us a trio album, History Gets Ahead of Itself, from one of his main inspirers, Matt Wilson. Saxophonist Jeff Lederer, a mainstay of Wilson’s quartet appeared on that album as he does here, along with Wilson’s other long-running bandmates, cornetist Kirk Knuffle […]
Crooked Eye Tommy Hot Coffee and Pain Blue Heart (Nola Blue) Crooked Eye Tommy is the brother guitar duo of Tommy and Paddy Marsh, hailing from Ventura County in California. The duo has placed as semi-finalists in the IBC in 2014 and 2019, reaching the finals earlier this year. They leverage that respect with this […]
Eli Winter Unbecoming American Dreams Chicago-based guitarist Eli Winter, who is still in college, delivers Unbecoming, is first album as a leader and second overall. and one that explores many aspects of instrumental guitar from acoustic to electric and even baritone electric. On two of the three tracks (yes, these are lengthy ones) Winter plays […]
Mehmet Ali Sanlikol The Rise Up: Stories of Strife, Struggle and Inspiration Dunya Prolific composer and multi-instrumentalist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol delivers his ambitious project: THE RISE UP: Stories of Strife, Struggle and Inspiration with his dynamic jazz orchestra Whatsnext, written for and featuring NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman as soloist, The Rise Up is an epic three-part artistic masterpiece that combines traditional Middle […]
Raphael Pannier Quartet Faune French Paradox/L’Autre In May we brought you the masterful work of alto saxophonist/composer and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenon’s Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera. Zenon is the lead voice and musical director of the quartet on this brilliant debut from French drummer Raphael Pannier. Zenon is a mentor of Pannier’s and […]
Adam Miller Unify Emtechnik Australian guitarist Adam Miller has released his latest album, Unify. Recorded in Los Angeles, Miller’s trio features prominent LA musicians – bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Justin Glasco. All Miller originals, these songs are born from settling not only into a new city, but a new country, all the conflicting emotions associated with such. The album is equally […]
Kenny Washington What’s the Hurry A-Train Entertainment Although What’s the Hurry is the debut studio album for Bay Area jazz and blues vocalist Kenny Washington, you may have heard him before. This writer became acquainted with his warm, professional, perfectly intoned, and well-articulated vocals on the two vocal albums from pianist David K. Mathews – […]
Radam Schwartz Organ Big Band Message From Groove And GW Arabesque This is a year of some inventive organ releases and now one of the pacesetters for the jazz organ, Radam Schwartz, teams with drummer David F. Gibson and the Abel Mireles Jazz Exchange Big Band for a swinging trip through music inspired by Richard […]
Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky Please Leave Your Light On GawdAggie/Cooking Vinyl Australia’s greatest and most enduring songwriter, the exceptionally versatile Paul Kelly collaborates with perhaps the country’s best jazz pianist, and strong composer in his own right, Paul Grabowky – not “Me and Paul” but Paul and Paul. Yes, these are songs for just […]
Jeff Fetterman Southern Son Self-released Hailing from western Pennsylvania, not exactly a blues hotbed, comes vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Jeff Fetterman, a self-taught bluesman, with his fourth album and one that may break his name out there beyond the regional success he’s had. Fetterman has placed highly in IBC in both 2017 and 2018 and won Rock Erie […]
Quinsin Nachoff Pivotal Arc Whirlwind Recordings Say the words “classical music” and it scares off plenty of would-be listeners, even the most fervent jazz listeners. Yet, we have so many examples of classical music in jazz from Miles to Mingus to Corea to Wayne Shorter and to the more contemporary Ambrose Akinmusire, to name a […]
Dave Pietro Hypersphere ArtistShare Saxophonist, composer and music educator Dave Pietro convenes a septet for Hypersphere. Pietro explores themes of love, interconnectedness, truth and prayer on its eight tracks. Alongside Pietro are top shelf musicians including Alex Sipiagin on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ryan Keberle on trombone, Gary Versace on piano and organ, Johannes Weidenmueller on bass, Johnathan Blake on drums and Rogerio Boccato on percussion. Note that Pietro, Keberle, Versace, […]
Market Junction Burning Bridges Self-released Houston, Texas-based Market Junction grabs the listener right from the outset with lyrics to the opening “When Your Heart Begins to Break.” Try this line – “Love is not an anchor that steadies you at sea. It’s more like a shipwreck on a godforsaken beach.” As the album unfolds, it’s […]
Susan Tobocman Touch & Go Soliterra Records Touch & Go could be the breakout album for vocalist/composer/arranger Susan Tobocman. This is her fourth album as a leader but here she steps forward with five originals of the dozen tunes, two of which are instrumentals, rare for one known mostly as a vocalist. Of course, Tobocman […]
