Every week our staff of CD Reviewers bring you the best in Independent CD releases. Making a Scene is considered the number 1 resource for the independent musician and the fans that love them.
Hakon Skogstad 8 CONCEPTS OF TANGO Ora Fonegram Hakon Skogstad, piano/composer; Andreas Rokseth & Asbjerg Ryeng, bandoneon; Ole Scheyen Sjölin, double bass; Sveinung Lillebjerka & Anders Larsen, violin; Bergmund Waal Skaslien, viola; Marit Aspaas, cello. Hakon Skogstad describes his recent recording release saying: “In 8 Concepts of Tango, I have taken inspiration from Astor Piazzolla’s […]
Zaccai Curtis Cubop Lives! Truth Revolution Pianist and composer Zaccai Curtis, like others with Afro-Cuban heritage, plays in so many different contexts that it’s sometimes easy to overlook the foundation of his style. In the past year, Curtis has been the pianist for rising saxophone star Lakecia Benjamin. In Newport 2019 he was in the […]
Matt “Guitar” Murpny True Blues Brother: The Legacy of Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy Nola Blue Records Matt Murphy was born in Sunflower, Mississippi in December of 1929. He was raised in Memphis and moved to Chicago when he was nineteen. Murphy’s blues career was launched by the early 1950’s and includes working with Howlin’ Wolf, Little […]
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats The Hits Keep Coming Alligator Records For over thirty years Rick Estrin was the frontman for Little Charlie And The Nightcats. During the time with them he won two Blues Music Awards; Song of The Year and Best Instrumentalist-Harmonica. When Charlie Baty retired from touring in 2008 Estrin re-formed the […]
PSA PSA PSA Records Pritesh Waila, guitar; Sharik Hasan, organ/keyboards/synthesizers; Avery Logan, drums. The title of this album “PSA” is the group name, derived from the first names of each musician. Using the first initial of each member’s name, Pritesh, Sharik, and Avery equals PSA. This is an organ trio that swings hard and was […]
John Minnock A Different Riff: Minnock Sings Shire Dot Time Admittedly, it took time to get to this one, still shaken by vocalist John Minnock’s passing in late February. Yes, A Different Riff: Minnock Sings Shire is unfortunately a posthumous release, his fourth album and his third for Dot Time, having covered the earlier two […]
THE NEW WONDERS STEPPIN’ OUT Turtle Bay Records Mike Davis, cornet/vocals/arranger/bandleader; Ricky Alexander, alto saxophone/clarinet/vocals; Josh Holcomb, trombone; Jared Engel, banjo; Andy Schumm, piano/cornet; Jay Rattman, Bass Saxophone/vocals; Colin Hancock, drums/cornet/vocals. Mike Davis had a dream of putting together a band that celebrated the 1920 jazz scene. He loved the music of Eubie Blake, Louie […]
Dana Cooper The Ghost of Tucumcari Self-released Dana Cooper is treating The Ghost of Tucumcari as a celebration of 50 years in the music business and these luminaries – Lyle Lovett, Shake Russell, Hayes Carll, Susan Gibson, Libby Koch, Mando Saena, Darden Smith, David Starr, and Gillian Tuite all participate. Another key aspect of this […]
TIERNEY SUTTON & SAN GABRIEL 7 GOOD PEOPLE JRL-SGS Records Chad Edwards, piano/keyboards; Chris Gordon, piano; Steve Gregory & Serge Merlaud, guitar; Jonathan Pintoff & Trey Henry, acoustic bass; Randy M. Drake, drums; Scott Breadman, percussion; Kye Palmer, trumpet/flugelhorn; Glen Berger, alto, tenor & Soprano saxophone; Dan Boissy, alto saxophone/flute; Jay Mason, baritone & tenor […]
Paul Bryan Western Electric Self-released Paul Bryan is a Grammy-winner, producer, composer, arranger, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. He’s made records with Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello but is more often associated with genre- blurring artists such as Jeff Parker Josh Johnson, or Jeremy Cunningham. He’s toured with headlining acts, but as he did on his solo […]
DAVE SCHUMACHER & CUBEYE SMOKE IN THE SKY Cellar Music Dave Schumacher, baritone saxophone/arranger/composer; Manuel Valera, piano/arranger; Alex “Apolo” Ayala, bass; Mauricio Herrera, congas/lyá/itótele/Okónkolo/Chekeré; Joel Mateo, drums/bells; Jesus Ricardo & Josh Evans, trumpet; Peter Brainin, tenor & soprano saxophones. Virtuoso baritone saxophone player, Dave Schumacher, blends soul jazz with Latin overtones in a beautiful way. […]
Stephanie Sammons Time and Evolution Self-released Time and Evolution is the full-length debut for Texas-based singer-songwriter Stephanie Sammons, produced by provocative singer-songwriter Mary Bragg with an assist on certain songs from Guy Clark sidekick, Verlon Thompson. Those two lend some cred but these folk-based songs are all from Sammons’ pen, a set of honest, thought-provoking […]
Specky Cults A Different Kind Of Difficult Independent A band who tells a story, a story about themselves, their journey and about life in general That’s Specky Cult: Andy McGrevy, Rob Glover and Carol Stephen. Coming from the north east of England. Local heroes Specky Cult are serving up a dose of laughter with their new […]
Celso Salim & Darryl Carriere About Time Tower High/Wide Tracks Music This new album by Celso Salim & Darryl Carriere presents a soulful blend of Salim’s guitar and Carriere’s harmonica. Salim relocated from Brazil, where he established a solid solo career, to Los Angeles in 2014 becoming one of the busiest and most respected guitarists […]
Foreign Affair Trio SOUS LE VENT Zoho Records Hector Martignon, piano/composer; Eduardo Dudu Penz, electric bass; Raphael Nick, drums; SPECIAL GUESTS: Luis Bonilla, trombone; Jean-Lou Treboux, vibraphone; Xavier Paternot, flute. Hector Martignon recorded and mixed this project at Riverside Studio in Torino, Italy. The pianist, composer has, for many years, been spending an equal amount […]
Behn Gillece Stick Together Posi-Tone This is vibraphonist Behn Gillece’s seventh album for Posi-Tone, many of which we have covered on these pages. Sometimes Gillece is in a leading role and in others as a sideman. You may want to reference his Between the Bars (2023), Art Hirahara’s Open Sky, the Wayne Shorter tributes, Citizen […]
Johnny Burgin Ramblin from Coast to Coast Straight Shooter Records Johnny Burgin attended The University of Chicago to study writing but soon fell into the Chicago Blues scene. His first professional gig was backing the vocalist Taildragger. Burgin later toured with both Pinetop Perkins and Sam Lay. He also worked with many others including Eddie […]
Anders Osborne Picasso’s Villa 5th Ward/Missing Piece Records New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Anders Osborne returns with Picasso’s Villa after a five-year hiatus. Remarkably, it marks his seventeenth album. The singer-songwriter-guitarist has achieved almost living legend status in the Crescent City but somehow has never reached the widespread appeal that his talent deserves in a career that […]
Luke Stewart Silt Trio Unknown Rivers Pi Recordings Unknown Rivers is bassist and composer Luke Stewart’s debut for Pi Recordings and for this magazine. Stewart is a force in the creative music scene as co-leader of such bands as Irreversible Entanglements, Exposure Quintet, Blacks’ Myths, Heart of the Ghost, and Heroes are Gang Leaders. If […]
Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few The Almighty Division 81 Be transported to the late ‘60s with Chicago/Brooklyn-based saxophonist Isaiah Collier’s The Almighty. We rarely hear this kind of aggressive, passionate spiritual jazz these days, especially since Shabaka has disbanded his saxophone focused groups. Sure, there are examples – Kenny Garrett, Lakecia Benjamin, Nduduzo Makhathini, […]
Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star BEATIN’ THE ODDS Strange Woman Records Leigh Pilzer, baritone & bass saxophone/bass clarinet/composer/arranger; Amy Shook, bass/composer; Frank Russo & Sherrie Maricle, drums; Amy K. Bormet & Allyn Johnson, piano; Greg Holloway, percussion; Jen Krupa & Joe Jackson, trombone; Tim Green & Mercedes Beckman, alto saxophone; Ally Hany Albrecht & Kenny […]
Andy Milne and Unison Time Will Tell Sunnyside Pianist and composer, Andy Milne follows up his 2021 Juno Award winning Jazz Album of the year for Group, The ReMission (2020), (covered on these pages) with Time Will Tell, rendered by his same Unison trio of bassist John Hébert and drummer Clarence Penn. While the previous album was themed on his cancer […]
Jacqui Naylor Treasures of the Heart Ruby Star Innovative jazz vocalist Jacqui Naylor returns with her twelfth album, Treasures of the Heart. We covered her The Long Game (2021) on these pages. Her accompanists are her husband, pianist Art Khu arranging all fourteen tracks, ten of which are originals, on which he is the co-writer. […]
Frankie Boy and the Blues Express Young Man Blues Independent Frankie Maneiro also known as Frankie Boy opens “Young Man’s Blues” with a narrative and tribute to Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson. The band was winner of the 2019 and 2022 Granite State Blues Society Blues Challenge. They also represented New Hampshire at the International Blues […]
GABRIELA MARTINA STATES Independent Label Gabriela Martina, voice/composer/arranger; Maxim Lubarsky, piano/keyboards; Vancil Cooper, drums/percussion; Kyle Miles, acoustic & electric bass; Jussi Reijonen, electric & acoustic guitar; Ben Rosenblum, accordion; GUEST MUSICIANS: Jason Palmer, trumpet/ flugelhorn; Khrys Williams, spoken word; Naseem Alatrash, cello. The bass and drums open this album with Gabriela Martina’s soprano voice singing […]
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY BURNIN’ IN BORDEAUX: LIVE IN FRANCE 1969 Elemental Records Julian Cannonball Adderley, alto saxophone; Nat Adderley, cornet; Joe Zawinul, piano/electric piano; Victor Gaskin, bass; Roy McCurdy, drums. Ever since I first heard the soothing and sexy horn of Cannonball Adderley on Nancy Wilson’s debut album project with Cannonball’s group, I’ve been a fan! […]
SAM WILSON WINTERTIDES Canada Council for the Arts Sam Wilson, guitar/composer; Jen Yakamovich, drums; Geordie Hart, upright bass. It is said by some that conventional wisdom grows from hardship, and that produces great art. Certainly, this female guitarist has struggled against crisis, while working at producing her new album titled “Wintertides.” She was trying to […]
Alyssa Allgood From Here NEXT Chicago-based jazz vocalist Alyssa Allgood delivers her fourth album, From Here, with ten of the dozen as originals, a step up from previous efforts, and surrounds herself with top tier accompaniment. GRAMMY winners, bassist John Patitucci and pianist Geoffrey Keezer, drummer Kendrick Scott, saxophonist Greg Ward, and producer, jazz vocalist Jeff Baker. Keezer, Scott, and Ward are […]
Owen Broder Hodges: Front and Center Vol. 2 Outside in Music Somehow, despite this writer’s affection for that sweet sound of Johnny Hodge’s alto saxophone that graced so many of Duke Ellington’s major records, we missed the first installment from two years ago in Owen Broder’s tribute to the altoist, dubbed “Rabbit.” Though the origins […]
ANDY EZRIN I WAS HERE Ez it Iz Music Andy Ezrin, piano/composer/arranger; John Patitucci, bass; Marcus Gilmore & Art Hoenig, drums; Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone; Randy Brecker, trumpet. Composer, arranger and pianist, Andy Ezrin sets the mood with his staccato introduction, like fingers bouncing with anticipation and pulling back the curtain to invite his dynamic […]
Aleksi Glick WORLD TRAVELER Pinch Records Aleksi Glick, guitar/composer; Jeff Koch, bass; Nathan Ellman-Bell, drums. SPECIAL GUESTS: Laureana, vocals; Eric Trudel, saxophone; Adam Ahuja, keyboards. Guitarist Aleksi Glick’s new trio album blends smooth jazz, pop, and soul music into a beautiful ball of impressive original compositions and arrangements. The first tune rolls out, featuring the […]
TROY ROBERTS GREEN LIGHTS Toy Robot Music Troy Roberts, tenor saxophone; Paul Bollenback, guitar; John Patitucci, acoustic bass; Jimmy MacBride, drums. When jazz musicians get together musically as peers and friends, the result is usually warm and exciting. That’s how I would describe this 16th record release from Troy Roberts, an Australian immigrant who has […]
Mercer Hassy Orchestra DUKE’S PLACE Mercer Hassy Records Mercer Hassy, conductor/arranger; RHYTHM SECTION: Atsuko Takahashi, piano; Ayane Imai, keyboard/vibraphone; Hiroto Shirai, wood/fretless 5-string bass; Masahide Hashimoto, guitar; Daisuke Mima & Tacto Kojima, drums/percussion; Hirochi Ueno & Ray Iwasa, vocals/chorus; SAXOPHONES: Tomoya Akagawa & Ion Sato, alto saxophones; Ray Iwasa & Kanako Yamada, tenor saxophones; Kenta […]
Brandon Ross Phantom Station Off the End Sunnyside Admittedly, it was difficult to grasp this one on first listen. This challenging music demands concentration. Yet, having caught a part of Brandon Ross’s Phantom Station at Big Ears last month, the concept became more intriguing. Watching the group blend their instruments with electronics with a clear […]
Heather Little By Now Need To Know Heather Little was a new name to this writer and to most of you. She’s only released one album, 2013’s Wings Like These. Yet, when viewing the musicians and vocalists in the liners, the likes of Audley Freed, Duke Levine, Jared Tyler, Paul Griffith, Eamon McLoughlin, Patty Griffin, […]
The Sugar Darlings Thirsty For Your Love Independent The Sugar Darlings are an up and coming band out of Montreal formed in 2020. They are the winner of the Quebec to Memphis competition representing the Montreal Blues Society at the 2024 International Blues Challenge. They were also nominated for “New Group Of The Year” at […]
Paul Oscher Live At The Tombs House of Detention, NYC Blues Fidelity Recordings Paul Oscher received his first harmonica when he was twelve. He taught himself how to play while working his day job delivering groceries. At the age of fifteen Paul was already playing Black clubs in Brooklyn. Paul was seventeen when he was […]
Obed Calvaire 150 Million Gold Francs Ropeadope Obed Calvaire is one of jazz’s renowned drummers who made his mark with the SF Jazz Collective and Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, among other ensembles. On 150 Million Gold Francs Calvaire leads a quintet in an especially timely project, given the ongoing strife in Haiti, […]
CHRISTIAN de MESONES YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE That 555 Lyfe Label Christian de Mesones, bass guitar/composer; Mike Gamble, Drew Davidsen, & Jack Turner, guitar; Elliot Levine, keyboards; Carl “C-Man” Anderson, drums; Christopher Valentine, keyboards/drums/ percussion; Bill Dickens, Vail Johnson, Brendan Rothwell, & Andrew Gouche, bass guitar; Rob Maletick, Keith L. Anderson, Jaared Arosemena, & Eddie […]
Noah Haidu Standards II Sunnyside When jazz listeners think of Standard Trios, they likely gravitate toward the legendary Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio or the long-running trio of Bill Charlap. Now with this second offering from pianist Noah Haidu, Buster Williams, and Billy Hart, we must make way for a respectful next entry in that conversation. […]
Fred Hersch Silent, Listening ECM Like Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Craig Taborn, Paul Bley and several others, Fred Hersch now adds his name to the vast solo piano catalog of ECM, with Silent, Listening. His is a mix of composition and improvisation with originals and a few standards as well. Hersch was inspired by his […]
RONNY SMITH STRUTTIN Pacific Coast Jazz Ronny Smith, guitars/keyboards/bass/programming; Arcangelo Trabucco, piano; Habbert Cheeks, Ben Pham & Phil Beale, drums; Juan Guillermo Aguilar, drums/percussion; Jose Juvinao & Zoltan Renaldi, bass; Bejamin Barreiro, Alex Bone, James White & Beto Braga, saxophones; Snake Davis, tenor saxophone; Charles Chazzy Green, flutes; Fabian Silva & Alejandra Gomez, trumpets; Guile […]
Arnaud Dolmen & Leonardo Montana LéNo Quai Son Records and Samana Production A colleague used the expression recently “music that means something,” which is more than fitting for this collaboration between Arnaud Dolmen, drums, glockenspiel and backing vocals, and Leonardo Montana, piano and backing vocals. Dolmen is of Guadeloupean origins, and this is his third […]
Dave Douglas Gifts Greenleaf Music Trumpeter, composer, and label owner Dave Douglas convenes a new trio/quartet for new originals and four Billy Strayhorn pieces reimagined for this bass-less group. Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis seems practically ubiquitous lately and appears on five of the ten tracks. Joining those two are two members of the Oscar-nominated post-rock […]
ELLIE LEE ESCAPE Independent Label Ellie Lee, piano/composer/arranger: Steve Wilson, saxophone; Steve LaSpina, bass; Jongkuk Kim, drums. Ellie Lee is a pianist, composer and arranger who offers us seven original compositions on this album of eight tunes. The quartet opens with her title tune,”Escape.” Lee sets the mood and tempo on piano, until Steve Wilson […]
Andrea Wolper Wanderlust Moonflower Music Not being aware of adventurous vocalist Andrea Wolper until now, this writer did what he usually does, checked her accompanists and her background. Both were impressive. In terms of the latter, she began like most do, by singing standards, moving on to big band and then to free jazz with […]
STUART MACK VIBRATIONS Outside in Music Stuart Mack, trumpet/flugelhorn/composer; Alejandro Aviles, alto & tenor saxophone/flute; Manuel Valera, piano; Adi Meyerson, upright bass; Dan Pugach, drums. There is a short ‘intro’ that spotlights Stuart Mack’s trumpet, with Manuel Valera accompanying him on piano. They open this debut album for Stuart with the title tune, “Vibrations,” that […]
Rees Shad The Galahad Blues Self-released Rees Shad is one of the most prolific artists on the scene, having released some 30 albums in his three decades as a recording artist. He’s a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and storyteller rife with unexpected themes and ideas. Beyond that he is a polymath of first order, a luthier, a […]
Chris Badnews Barnes Badnews Travels Fast Gulf Coast Records “Hokum,” according to Webster’s: a word probably created as a blend of “hocus-pocus” (meaningless talk or activity) and “bunkum” (nonsense). “Hokum blues,” as defined on Wikipedia: “A particular song type of American blues music which uses extended analogies or euphemistic terms to make humorous, sexual innuendos.” […]
Big Harp George Cooking with Gas Blues Mountain Records George Bisharat a.k.a. Big Harp George is a San Francisco singer, songwriter and harmonica player. He favors the chromatic harp which gives his music a Jazz like sound. Formerly George was a criminal defense attorney and award winning professor at the University of California. Early harp […]