CD Reviews Jazz

John Bailey Time Bandits Freedom Road Versatile and in-demand trumpeter and composer John Bailey has played alongside Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Latin jazz giants Ray Barretto and Arturo O’Farrill as well as with major jazz musicians in NYC. The backing ensemble he has recruited for Time Bandits, his third album as a leader, […]

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Richie Goods & Chien Chien Lu Connected Vol. 1 Richman Music Renowned bassist Richie Goods and respected vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu are documenting what looks to be the first in a series of collaborations. You may have already heard some of their work as “We Three Kings” was released in the Fall of 2020 and “Rain,” which […]

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Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets Pan Africa Impact Jazz Trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Derrick Gardner has been regarded prominently ever since his 2005 debut with Slim Goodie. He has also received international acclaim for his 18-piece ensemble Derrick Gardner & The Big dig! Band, highlighted by their critically acclaimed 2020 recording debut Still I Rise, which we covered […]

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Nadje Noordhuis Full Circle Newvelle The Australian-born trumpeter Nadje Noordhuis leads a first-rate quartet on Full Circle, the fourth album in NewVelle Records’ Renewal Series.  Flanked by pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Rudy Royston, Noordhuis, who composed all eight compositions, gives each of her bandmates plenty of solo opportunities.  This is a […]

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Rodney Whitaker Oasis – The Music of Gregg Hill Origin Detroit native, Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State University, and esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker is back with his third album dedicated to music of his East Lansing neighbor, composer Gregg Hill, with Oasis. If this, the first one this writer has heard, is any […]

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Steve Tintweiss Spacelight Band Live at NYU:1980 INKY DoT Media Why bring something so ‘old’ to these pages?  Admittedly, it’s due to Steve Tintweiss, the bassist and composer, who appeared on several avant-garde or free jazz recordings of the ‘70s and ‘80s, including the most intriguing album this writer has heard this year – Albert […]

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Roberta Donnay BLOSSOM-ing Village Jazz Café BLOSSOM-ing, a tribute to the music of Blossom Dearie, is the tenth album for the award-winning vocalist Roberta Donnay.  We’ll get to Donnay shortly but just in case you need a little background on Blossom Dearie, we’ll start with the famed vocalist who made her mark mostly in the […]

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Whit Dickey Quartet Root Perspectives TAO Forms Drummer and composer Whit Dickey is one of the foremost stalwarts of New York’s improvised music scene. His own label, TAO Forms, has spawned James Brandon Lewis’ poll winning Jesup Wagon, and Dickey’s own Expanding Light and Astral Long Form: Staircase in Space.  His latest, Root Perspectives, is, […]

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Franco Ambrosetti Nora Enja Maybe it’s these unsettled times that call for calming sounds. Or perhaps it’s this writer’s enduring love for Charlie Parker with Strings together with Swiss trumpeter/flugelhornist Franco Ambrosetti’s touch on ballad material. Ambrosetti may have as a unique as resume as any jazz musician. For almost six decades he has been […]

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Jim Witzel Trio & Quartet Feelin’ It Joplin & Sweeney Jim Witzel’s Trio and Quartet’s Feelin’ It is yet another entry in 2022’s, “the year of the organ-oriented bands.” Witzel is the guitarist in the classic jazz Hammond B3 organ-guitar-drums trio, Witzel hails from northern California and has been away from the recording scene for […]

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Noah Garabedian Consider the Stars Beneath Us Outside in Music Bassist and composer Noah Garabedian assembles a top-level quarter for Consider the Stars Beneath Us, and album dedicated to the recent passing of his father in the mode of a celebration of life. While the bassist leads an acoustic quartet, he taps longtime friend and […]

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Out to Dinner Food Is Medicine Posi – Tone Food Is Medicine is the fourth release in Posi-Tone’s “Out to Dinner” series, inspired initially by Eric Dolphy’s iconic 1964 Blue Note Out to Lunch. Just as that album represented a touch of avant-garde to the mostly mainstream Blue Note releases of the time, Posi-Tone’s “Out […]

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Yosef Gutman Levitt Upside Down Mountain Self-released South African-born, Jerusalem-based Yosef Gutman Levitt is by primary calling an upright bassist, yet he chooses the acoustic bass guitar for his first trio outing, Upside Down Mountain. It proves to be a wise decision as the instrument imparts a warmth, a melodic flow, and high register tones […]

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Claudia Acuña DUO Ropeadope Claudia Acuña is a Chilean-born American jazz vocalist with a dynamic range and an emotionally incisive delivery. Following her dynamic debut on the NY scene in the 1990’s she recorded five albums as a leader, and then stepped away for a decade to raise her son and restore her power. Returning […]

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Roxana Amed Unanime Sony Latin Unanime (“Unanimous”) is a different kind of Latin jazz album. While that sub-genre is most often associated with Caribbean Basin countries, vocalist Roxana Amed has tapped guests from South America as she celebrates the works of both contemporary and historic Latin American composers. Her previous release, 2021’s debut U.S. recording, […]

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Steve Turre Generations Smoke Sessions Trombonist and composer Steve Turre gathers rising stars and jazz masters in tribute to influential elders on Generations. Turre, as you may know, has been blessed to have played with some of the greatest artists in the music including Art Blakey, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Woody Shaw, and Ray Charles, to […]

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