CD Reviews on projects by Jazz artists
Michael Blake Combobulate Newvelle Combobulate is the second release in Newvelle Records Renewal Series is a celebratory and unique exploration of saxophonist and composer Michael Blake’s compositions and arrangements featuring a star-studded brass section including TWO legendary tuba players Bob Stewart and Marcus Rojas, Steven Bernstein on trumpet, Clark Gayton on trombone and Allan Mednard […]
Eddie Palmieri Sonido Solar Truth Revolution Recording Collective NEA Jazz Master, 85-year-old Eddie Palmieri, dubbed “The Sun of Latin Music” has figuratively passed the torch to many but is doing so directly on this recording, Sonido Solar. While Palmieri’s spirit and guiding light brightens the whole album, he plays just on two tracks while handing […]
Hilario Duran and David Virelles Front Street Duets Alma Hilario Duran and David Virelles are two acclaimed Cuban pianists and composers who have known each other for over two decades. They come together here on Front Street Duets with their most extensive project to date. There seems to be a proclivity for Cuban pianists to […]
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 […]
Joel Quarrington The Music of Don Thompson Modica Music Joel Quarrington is one of the most renowned classical bassists in the world. He was the former principal bassist for the London Symphony Orchestra. Yet, here on The Music of Don Thompson we hear Quarrington playing jazz. Fellow Canadian Don Thompson (George Shearing, Jim Hall, Paul […]
Matt Carmichael Marram Edition When we think of Scotland, we invariably think of the ocean coastline, folk songs, ancient structures, mythology, literature, and for some, maybe golf. A jazz saxophone record is not one of likely things that first comes to mind. Enter tenor saxophonist Matt Carmichael who arguably embodies all of the above in […]
Simon Belelty Pee Wee Jojo Guitarist Simon Belelty is the founder and owner of Jojo Records, the label named after his father. Through thirty years as a professional arranger, sideman and producer Belelty has rarely assumed the spotlight until now with Pee Wee, where he carries on the spirt of his father in an emotionally rich, harmonically […]
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 […]
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, […]
Maria Mendes Saudade, Colour of Love Live in Amsterdam with Metropole Orkest conducted by John Beasley Challenge Portuguese born and raised, Netherlands based Maria Mendes is a Grammy and Latin Grammy nominated composer and vocalist. Saudade, Colour of Love is the follow-up to her highly acclaimed 2019 Close to Me (Justin Time) and it meshes […]
Dierk Peters Spring Sunnyside Eric Dolphy firmly established the harmonic splendor of the vibraphone, alto sax, trumpet, bass, and drums on his iconic 1964 Blue Note release, Out to Lunch. It’s a sound that we continue to hear today. The Posi-Tone label alone has issued four in their “Out to Dinner” series, patterned on the […]
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 […]
John Escreet Seismic Shift Whirlwind John Escreet‘s Seismic Shift may well be one of the boldest, adventurous piano outings since Cecil Taylor and Don Pullen burst on the scene in sixties. And yet, for most ears, Escreet’s approach is clearly more accessible. Rarely has a album been better titled. Yes, he brings the kind of […]
Bobby Broom Keyed Up Steele It may seem a bit unusual to see a master guitarist honor piano greats, but many will recall the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner’s honoring guitarists with his album, Great Guitars. Guitarist Bobby Broom, who for the last three decades, has worked exclusively with a trio, brings aboard an acoustic piano […]
Dave Douglas Quintet Songs of Ascent Book 1 – Degrees Greenleaf Music We introduced you to contemporary jazz composer, trumpeter, bandleader, and owner of Greenleaf Music Dave Douglas on the pages earlier this year with his work, Secular Psalms. Douglas lives far from the mainstream, out on its edges, the primary reason he founded his […]
Rufus Reid Trio with the Sirius Quartet Celebration Sunnyside Rufus Reid is acknowledged as one the most distinctive and revered bassists in jazz, having been a mainstay for such giants as Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and countless others. This recording, Celebration, more than anything else though is […]
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 […]
Andrés Vial When Is Ancient Chromatic Audio When Is Ancient is the Juno-nominated Jazz Album of Year. trio recording from Montreal-based pianist and composer Andrés Vial. Surely, this begs the question of how it could be nominated for an award when it is just being released. It was originally released in a streaming only version […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Ron Kraemer Trio w/Reggie Murray Sarasota Swing Poquois Publishing At the outset of this year, 2022, this writer in another outlet penned 2022 as “the year of the organ-oriented bands.” While the Ron Kraemer Trio is centered around the leader’s guitar, the addition of Reggie Murray on Hammond B-3 and tenor saxophone puts Sarasota […]
Grant Geissman Blooz Futurism/Mesa/Bluemoon This is not one that we expected given guitarist Grant Geissman’s mostly mainstream, film, and television work, including sixteen albums of his own. Geissman first came to prominence with his guitar solo on Chuck Mangione’s 1978 hit “Feels So Good” and went on to work with the likes of Quincy Jones, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Will Vinson Tripwire Whirlwind One of the most outstanding trio albums we covered on these pages was the 2020 release of TRIO GRANDE with alto saxophonist Will Vinson, drummer Antonio Sanchez and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. Now Vinson returns with another mostly trio recording, Tripwire, going chord-less, a configuration favored by legends such as Sonny Rollins, […]
Rafael Zaldivar Rumba Effendi We bring you a Cuban pianist and composer, Rafael Zaldivar, by way of Montreal. Zaldivar calls the ensemble gathering for Rumba some of the best Cuban Canadian-American jazz voices from around the world. The term RUMBA refers to social gatherings of the black community from Havana, Cuba. By the beginning of […]
Samara Joy Linger Awhile Verve Vocalist Samara Joy has risen quickly, making it to major label status by signing with Verve Records, for her debut, Linger Awhile. Prior to this Joy had just one eponymous release on the Whirlwind label. Verve, though is the same label that was home for the iconic female vocalists Billie […]
Julian Lage View with a Room Blue Note Visionary guitarist Julian Lage follows up his acclaimed 2021 Blue Note debut Squint with ten more originals on View With a Room, inviting legendary guitarist Bill Frisell to join his returning trio of Bad Plus drummer Dave King and bassist Jorge Roeder. The overriding idea is to […]
Abel Mireles Animo Sunnyside This is the debut as a leader for saxophonist and composer Abel Mireles, born and raised on the Southern border in the infamous Juarez -Tijuana region. For once, his story brings some ‘brightness” to this locale that we otherwise rather automatically label with crime, drugs, gangs, cartels, and the like. Mireles […]
Joe McCarthy’s New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band The Pan American Nutcracker Suite By Jim Hynes We associate Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker, with the Holiday season so this may seem a bit early. Yet the score is timeless. Drummer/leader Joe McCarthy’s 18-piece New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band (NYABA) is not the first large […]
Richard Baratta Music in Film: The Sequel Savant What does the collaborative team of drummer Richard Baratta and pianist/arranger Bill O’Connell do for an encore, having won a Grammy nomination for their 2020 studio debut, Music in Film: The Reel Deal? They try again for the bigger prize wit a follow-up that contains as much […]
Mike Clark, Leon Lee Dorsey, and Mike LeDonne Blues on Top Jazz Avenue 1 The title, Blues on Top, could just as easily read “Blues on Tap.” This trio tackles true classics – Oliver Nelson’s “Stolen Moments,” Ann Ronell’s “Willow Weep for Me,” Ellington’s “C Jam Blues,” and Dizzy’s “Birk’s Works,” among others. This is […]
The Baylor Project The Evening: Live at APPARATUS Be a Light/Motown Gospel Fresh off a stunning performance, clearly one of the highlights of the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival, we finally have a live recording from the 4-time Grammy-nominated The Baylor Project that gives listeners a sense of how easily the group builds instant rapport with […]
Ana Nelson Bridges Self-released Bridges is the first full-length debut, following 2017’s EP Wanderlust, for talented alto saxophonist and clarinetist Ana Nelson from Indiana who points to such formidable mentors as Walter Smith III, Greg Ward, and Gary Bartz, among several others. Originally trained in classical music, the album title is Nelson’s way of expressing […]
The Jon Cowherd Trio Pride and Joy TRIO Vol. 2 Le Coq As you’ve likely noticed by now, Le Coq Records, only in its second full year, is attracting some of the most prestigious names in jazz, like this top shelf trio of Jon Cowherd, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade. TRIO Vol. 2: Pride and […]
Ethan Philion Meditations on Mingus Sunnyside The music of Charles Mingus has been prominent in this centennial year and it’s refreshing to hear the many interpretations including this one, Meditations on Mingus, from Chicago bassist Ethan Philion who assembled a tentet for his arrangements of Mingus composition, many of them iconic. Mingus music is not […]
Al Foster Reflections Smoke Sessions The recently turned octogenarian drummer Al Foster does not have many who can claim to have played with as many icons as he has. Only Ron Carter, Roy Haynes, and Jack DeJohnette come to mind. There are likely others but consider that at various points in his career, Foster was […]
Marc Mommaas The Impressionist Sunnyside Okay, saxophonist/composer Marc Mommaas is a new name to these pages so here is a brief introduction. Mommaas was born in Tegelen, Netherlands in 1969 but has made NYC his home since 1997. His father, Henk Mommaas, was a well-known painter/artist in the Netherlands and developed his career in Amsterdam. […]
Neil Swainson Fire in the West Cellar Music Group Chances are that you will recognize some of the members of this quintet more so than the leader, the British Columbian bassist and composer Neil Swainson, who is releasing only his second album, 35 years after his acclaimed debut, 49th Parallel, released in 1987. Like that […]
Quentin Baxter Quintet Art Moves Jazz Charlton Singleton Crossroads BME Baxter Music Enterprises Art Moves Jazz and Crossroads are tandem releases on the same label by two friends, bandmates, and fellow members of South Carolina’s Gullah cultural community. They are two-fifths of the Grammy-winning (Good Time, 2017 Best Regional Roots Album) Gullah community ensemble Ranky […]
Enrico Pieranunzi Quintet The Extra Something Live at the Village Vanguard Camjazz Is it possible to record over eight albums and still remain under the radar? If you are unaware of pianist and composer Enrico Pieranunzi, that’s perfectly forgivable as the Italian piano master has developed most of his career in Europe. The Extra Something […]
Geoffrey Keezer & Friends Playdate Markeez This is the 23rd album as a leader for acclaimed pianist, composer, and arranger Geoffrey Keezer, who lighthearted calls this session, Playdate. While the term connotes arranging a date for a group of kids to congregate and play, Keezer and his bandmates do anything but approach this far-ranging recording […]
Andy Adamson Quintet A Coincidence of Cats Andros The whimsical title threw this writer at first. Maybe pianist and composer Andy Adamson was referencing “cats” as in musicians. Probably not, but it doesn’t matter as the music is rhythmically complex, harmonic, precise, engaging, and just about anything but whimsical. Adamson and his quintet hail from […]
Brian Lynch and Sphere of Influence Songbook Vol. 2 Dance The Way U Want To Hollistic MusicWorks Multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch returns with the second volume of his acclaimed Songbook Series: Brian Lynch And Spheres Of Influence – Songbook Vol. 2: Dance The Way U Want To. Lynch’s concept in the Series is to reclaim original compositions that he […]
Hanka G Universal Ancestry Culture Bridge As stated here previously, discovering a new artist often takes different forms whether by recommendation of friends, a glimpse at a video, or by viewing the accompanying musicians supporting the leader. The latter is the case for New York-based Slovak vocalist Hanka G (Gregusova), who with Universal Ancestry is […]
Barry Coates, Jimmy Haslip, & Jerry Kalaf New Dreams Outside in Music New Dreams is a trio of kindred spirits exploring the cerebral, the explorative, and the ethereal as they highlight the collaborative compositions of Coates and Haslip, and in some cases, all three members. The most familiar name to most would be bassist Jimmy Haslip, […]
Art Hirahara Verdant Valley Posi-Tone Pianist/composer/ and bandleader Art Hirahara delivers his eighth album as leader on the Posi-tone label, this time with a tight quartet rendering mostly originals with a Wayne Shorter cover and a tune each composed by bandmates, the core Posi-Tone rhythm tandem of bassist Boris Kozlov and in-demand drummer Rudy Royston. […]
Chucho Valdes & Paquito D’Rivera Reunion Sextet I Missed You Too! Sunnyside This is a reunion over 40 years in the making, uniting two of the most iconic Cuban jazz musicians of our times. Saxophonist/clarinetist Paquito D-Rivera has established a decorated legacy of his own since moving to New York in 1980. Among so many […]