CD Reviews on projects by Jazz artists
blues, indie Blues, jazz singer, making a Scene, melodic canvas, robin Mckelle
Robin McKelle Melodic Canvas Doxie Robin McKelle debuted as a big band jazz singer twelve years ago and has since tried blues, pop rock and smatterings of soul and gospel. Melodic Canvas marks her return to jazz, this time in a small ensemble. This is McKelle’s album – she wrote six of the ten tunes, […]
jazz, latin boogaloo, making a Scene, malo, warner brothers
Malo Latin Bugaloo: The Warner Brothers Singles Omnivore When most people think of Latin blues-based Bay Area bands, Santana is almost always the first one mentioned. That Santana is the surname for band leader Carlos Santana but his younger brother, band leader Jorge Santana, led an equally impressive group in the Bay Area, the horn-infused […]
blues, cd review, gretchen and the Pickpockets, indie Blues, making a Scene
Gretchen and the Pickpockets Falling Rising Self-released Yes, the name is a bit odd – but apparently it comes from a hometown road with a history of larceny. The Boston-based Gretchen and the Pickpockets have a horn-infused sound they describe as “Soul/Jazz/Rock.” The six-piece unit sounds somewhere between Lake Street Dive and a swinging horn […]
barrett martin, cd review, jazz, making a Scene
The Barrett Martin Group Transcendence Sunyata Don’t let the name fool you. The Seattle-based Barrett Martin Group is not a law firm or a real estate office. Of course, it’s not but the staid nature of the name unfortunately conjures up those boring references when the music is anything but. It’s demonstrative, thrilling, exotic, and […]
Bill Frisell, cd review, jazz, making a Scene
Bill Frisell Music IS Okeh/Sony The highly anticipated solo album from one of the world’s premier guitarists, Bill Frisell, is finally here. This is Frisell at his most distilled and, as you would expect, melodic, ethereal, and imaginative. Recorded in August 2017 at Tucker Martine’s studio in Portland, OR and produced by longtime collaborator Lee […]
bethlehem singles, blues, cd review, jazz, making a Scene, nina simone
Nina Simone Mood Indigo: The Complete Bethlehem Singles BMG/Bethlehem Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina in 1933. The sixth child born to a preacher she aspired to be a concert pianist. With the help of a few friends she enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. […]
alt jazz, cd review, gogo penguin, jazz, jim hynes, making a Scene
GoGo Penguin A Humdrum Star Blue Note GoGo Penguin is a trio based in Manchester, England with a penchant for atmospheric music that merges acoustic and electronic techniques, touching mostly on jazz while bringing in classical elements and more than a few nods to Brian Eno. While that description may give the notion that their […]
cd review, david k mathews, fantasy vocal sessions, indie Blues, jazz, making a Scene, santana
David K. Mathews The Fantasy Vocal Sessions – Vol. 1 Standards Effendi Records If you’re not from the San Francisco Bay Area or an ardent fan of Santana, you’re probably not familiar with keyboardist David K. Mathews. Yet, considering this, his first as a leader in fifteen years, could lead to five or six projects […]
jazz, lyn Stanley, making a Scene, Moonlight Sessions
Lyn Stanley The Moonlight Sessions, Volumes 1 and 2 A.T. Music Jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley has the kind of self-made story that makes us admire her even before we hear her sultry, refined, signature delivery. Six years ago, she was a retired marketing executive wondering if she had enough musical talent for her church choir. […]
jane ira bloom, jazz, making a Scene, quartet, roots music, roots rock
Jane Ira Bloom Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson Out-Line It seems only appropriate that the artist dubbed “the poet of the soprano saxophone” by acclaimed jazz critic Brian Priestly would honor one of America’s iconic poets. Jane Ira Bloom reimagines the poetry of 19th-century visionary Emily Dickinson in two different settings. Her double CD showcases […]
