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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.
Jocelyn Gould Elegant Traveler Posi -Tone Elegant Traveler is the debut for the well-traveled Canadian jazz guitarist/composer/arranger and now bandleader Jocelyn Gould. Gould works with a core quarter augmented by one, two, or three horns on five of the ten selections, mostly originals with a few standards. While earning her master’s degree at Michigan State, […]
Sissy Castrogiovanni Terra MANU There is always a fascination for this writer when world music meets jazz, and to a good back story as well. It also doesn’t hurt to have eye catching album art, On Sissy Castrogiovanni’s self-produced Terra, most stateside listeners, except those who speak the Sicilian dialect, will not identify with the […]
Jeffrey Halford and the Healers West Towards South Review Of “West Towards South”by Jeffrey Halford And The Healers. The formula of the concept album has been around a while. I suppose one of the earliest, and most famous of all was The Beatles classic, ”Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band,” There have been quite a […]
Grant Dermody My Dony Self-released Just listen to the opening title track and it’s immensely clear that this is a deep blues album. Tread in a little further and learn that multi-Grammy award winning musician and producer Dirk Powell partnered with Dermody in the production, songwriting, and, as per usual, brought an arsenal of instruments, […]
King Solomon Hicks Harlem Provogue/Mascot Label Group Twenty-five year old Solomon Hicks is from New York Cities upper west side. He started playing guitar at the age of six. When he was fourteen he recorded “Embryonic” with the seventeen-piece Cotton Club All-Star Band, and toured Europe and Japan. His first mentor was Melvin Sparks. The […]
Carla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow Life Goes On ECM This may mark the first time we’ve covered an ECM album on these pages and although this is the third in the series for Bley/Sheppard/Swallow trio, this writer confesses to have only heard this one. The renowned improvisational pianist/composer Carla Bley is 80 and bassist Steve Swallow, […]
Fred Randolph Mood Walk Creative Spirit The picturesque jaguar prowling down a path lined with upright basses could connote many things – beauty, power, ferocity, and boundless energy, to name just a few. Unfortunately, though, most will likely access bassist/composer/bandleader Fred Randolph’s fourth album, Mood Walk digitally, and will totally miss the provocative image which […]
John Primer & Bob Corritore The Gypsy Woman Told Me Vizztone Label Group John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi in 1945. He moved to Chicago and was a regular at Theresa’s Lounge. He also played in both Willie Dixon’s Chicago Blues All-Stars and The Muddy Waters Band. After Muddy’s death he joined Magic Slim […]
Dave Askren Jeff Benedict Paraphernalia – Music of Wayne Shorter Tapestry Now that Wayne Shorter is no longer performing, this is the second album to feature his music this year although Shorter did play on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s Music of Wayne Shorter while this quartet effort, Paraphernalia, from guitarist Dave Askren and […]
Gabrielle Louise The Unending Alteration of the Human Heart Self-released The Unending Alteration of the Human Heart is the studio follow-up to singer-songwriter Gabrielle Louise’s 2016 When the Static Clears, my introduction to the Colorado-based artist. She did also release Live at ETown Hall in 2017. This is her ninth album overall. Gabrielle is a […]
Mark S. Black Wheels Keep Turning “Wheels Keep Turning”is the fourth studio album from Mark S. Black. This album sees Mark reunite with Mark Ward who hails from Melbourne Australia. Mark mixed his debut album called “The Midnight Ramblings Of A Demented Irishman “ recorded back in 2004. Wheels Keep Turning was mastered by Paul Gomersall. Paul has […]
Mike Zito Quarantine Blues Gulf Coast Records Over the year’s guitarist/vocalist Mike Zito has become a true force in the blues world. He won his first Blues Music Award in 2010 for “Song of the Year”; for the title track off his Eclecto Groove album “Pearl River” co-written with Cyril Neville. He formed “The Royal […]
Joan Watson-Jones Choices EOS 4 Joan Watson-Jones is a vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and host of producer of The Jazz Room, an online radio program of jazz music and interviews. Choices is her fourth albums, comprised of her originals and two standards. Watson-Jones is a mainstay in the New England jazz scene, and she brings aboard […]
Anni Piper Blow Up Doll Sugar Daddy Records Australian born Anni Piper was first influenced by listening to the blues-rock of Stevie Ray Vaughan. The bassist released her debut recording “Jailbait” in 2004. She signed with Bluesleaf Records and between 2008 and 2013 released three albums. Due to her wardrobe and pin up modeling she […]
Arturo O’Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra The Four Questions ZOHO Grammy Award-winning pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra’s Four Questions marks O’Farrill’s first album in his famed catalog to exclusively include all originally written compositions. Special guest Dr. Cornel West is featured as soloist, conductor, and percussionist on the title […]
Tyler Morris Living In The Shadows Vizztone Label Group Boston born Tyler Morris began playing guitar at the age of ten. Influenced by his father he started playing in blues clubs a year later. He released his debit recording 2015’s “And So It Begins” when he was only fifteen. The next year he followed up […]
Pokey LaFarge Rock Bottom Rhapsody New West Yes, this writer may be a little late to Pokey LaFarge but am attracted to his old school 1950s R&B as done by white artists from the period, mixed in with some bluesy and rockabilly riffs here and there. Echoes of the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and others […]
Thomm Jutz Live in Two Worlds Volume 1 Mountain Home Music Company Thomm Jutz released the first of two volumes of music titled To Live In Two Worlds. Volume 1 released in March by Mountain Home Music Company. There is a vintage vibe as the album opens with an acoustic soundtrack to simpler times. This […]
Kathleen Grace with Larry Goldings Tie Me to You Monsoon The last time this writer heard the superb and sultry vocalist Kathleen Grace was on her last recording, 2013’s No Place to Fall, which was essentially an Americana recording imbued by the likes of Greg Leisz’s pedal steel, Dave Raven’s drums, and plenty of electric […]
Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove Heaven Forever Little Village Foundation Little Village Foundation has made another discovery, this time not unearthing a new star but a hardened music veteran of six decades. His band, the Tulsa Groove, will inevitably bring back memories of the great J.J. Cale. In fact, play Heaven Forever for […]
Lauren Henderson The Songbook Session Brontosaurus Vocalist, arranger, and multi-lingual Lauren Henderson is back with her sixth musical alliance with pianist Sullivan Fortner – The Songbook Session. Fortner, considered one of today’s top pianists, has been visible lately on a few online performances with Cecile McLorin Salvant. Truth is, though, that he has worked longer, over a decade, with Henderson. […]
Leslie Beukelman Golden Daffodil Woolgathering Golden Daffodil is the first vocal release for bassist/composer Matt Ulery’s Woolgathering Records. We covered Ulery’s most recent release as a leader, Delicate Charms, (a chamber jazz outing which in no way resembles this one) last October on these pages. This is Chicago-based vocalist Leslie Beukelman’s second full-length jazz release […]
Steve Howell, Dan Sumner & Jason Weinheimer Long Ago Out Of The Past Music Texas born Steve Howell lives near Shreveport, La. He has immersed himself in the rural blues of the south and is normally content to re-create obscure country blues with his warm vocals and finger picking. He recorded his debut album “Out […]
Dylan Hayes Electric Band Songs for Rooms and People Blujazz There is no photo of Dylan Hayes on the CD jacket, but a quick search reveals a 20-something. Indeed, this is his debut album and it has tons of youthful energy flowing through the keyboards, whether acoustic or electric, that Dylan Hayes plays on Songs […]
The Nighthawks Tryin’ To Get To You Eller Soul Records The R n’ B and roots music legends, The Nighthawks, were first formed in 1971. They recorded their debut album in 1974. My favorite recordings of theirs include 1986’s “Hard Living” with Jimmy Thackery; 1996’s “Pain and Paradise”; and 2009’s “American Landscape”. In 2014 they […]
Dana Sandler I Never Saw Another Butterfly Self-released I Never Saw Another Butterfly is jazz vocalist Dana Sandler’s debut, based on a book of the same name, setting poems from children of the Holocaust to music. The album is being released today, April 21, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Originally published in 1959, the book is a […]
Tom Gilberts Old School Polymerase You know this will be a different kind of blues record as it opens with the slow blues “Lady Luck,’ suggesting a confidence that few blues guitarists have as not many would dare to open with a simmering slow one. Tom Gilberts is a master of tone and nuance and […]
Sarah Siskind Modern Appalachia Red Request Sarah Siskind’s Modern Appalachia is long overdue as it’s her first album in nine years. This is an important project as evidenced by the gleaming list of guests including Bill Frisell, Justin Vernon, Jeff Sipe, Mike Seal, Daniel Kimbro, Rose Cousins, Julie Lee, and Elizabeth Foster. Don’t let the […]
Andrew Alli Hard Workin’ Man EllerSoul Emerging harmonica sensation Andrew Alli hails from Richmond, VA, the same area of his mentor, the Piedmont harp master, Phil Wiggins. Alli not only blows his blues harp in an intense, county rooted style, he can sing with passion too. He’s a young cat with an old soul. Allie […]
makAndy Milne and Unison The reMISSION Sunnyside Pianist, bandleader and educator Andy Milne brings us The reMISSION, with his new trio UNISON. Stepping into piano trio performance for the first time, the album is a stunning shift in direction for the artist. In late 2017, a life-changing cancer diagnosis forced Milne into a period of reflection over his fruitful career, a […]
Bobby Selvaggio Live from the Bop Stop Dot Time We didn’t want to leave this one behind. This is alto saxophonist Bobby Selvaggio’s eleventh album and first live recording, Live from the Bop Stop. Specifically the site is the Bop Stop at the Music Settlement in Cleveland, OH, a place where the bandleader has performed […]
Be Sharp Band Ashes The Blues may well have originated in the southern states of the USA, but today we all live in the modern world and the same issues effect our lives, day in day out. Because right now the Blues is global, it doesn’t matter whether the music is created in Louisiana, London, […]
Crystal Shawanda Church House Blues True North Records/New Sun Records Crystal Shawanda is an indigenous Canadian born in the Wiikwemkoong First Nation, an unceded territory, on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario. She moved to Nashville and signed with RCA Records in 2007. Her debut album “Dawn of a New Day” reached the top 20 on […]
Ali Holder Uncomfortable Truths Self-released The title alone provides intrigue as Texas singer-songwriter Ali Holder doesn’t just confess but instead urges us to stand tall, defiantly in the face of stereotypes while acknowledging difficult circumstances. Ultimately, rather than dwelling on the negative, she pushes toward the optimistic higher road, chronicling some of the pain on […]
The Proven Ones You Ain’t Done Gulf Coast Records The Proven Ones released their debut recording “Wild Again” in 2018. The all-star ensemble is led by Jimi Bott, drums. Bott has twenty Blues Music Award nominations for Best Instrumentalist – Drums, winning that award in 2015. His longtime partner Willie J. Campbell has four of […]
#Bloomerangs Moments and Fragments Instru Dash Mental It’s unusual to begin your band name with the pound sign but in this age of text messaging and digital communication perhaps, it’s not odd. (and, for those who file CDs alphabetically like this writer, how do you deal with a #? Suggest you just go to ‘b’). […]
Brian Dunne Selling Things Self-produced Selling Things is a cathartic project for Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Brian Dunne, drawing on a difficult year spent wrestling with mental health and an existential crisis. Yet, you can right away hear the unbridled passion in Dunne’s expressive voice. He’s got plenty to let go of and he’s determined to make […]
Eliza Gilkyson 2020 Red House This is a difficult one to hear in the context of its original inspiration – that being an election year where there is potential of a return to common sense, decency, and forward-looking thinking from the President. This health pandemic leaves us with such an uncertain future that the importance […]
The Claudettes High Times in the Dark Forty Below Records The Claudettes were founded by Brian Berkowitz known professionally as Johnny Iguana. He had previously played organ in the Indie rock band “Oh My God” but is a highly regarded Chicago blues pianist having recorded with Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Lurrie Bell, Matthew Skoller and […]
Enrique Haneine Unlayered Elegant Walk Enrique Haneine is a jazz-world musician, composer, pianist, drummer, improviser, and educator that is currently living in New York City and was born in Mexico City from Lebanese descent. Haneine was raised in Mexico, immersed in Latin music interwoven with classical and jazz studies, and obviously has lineage tracing its way […]
Shunzo Ohno Runner Pulsebeats Renowned trumpeter and composer Shunzo Ohno has released his 18th album as leader. This relatively short, (very short for a jazz) album clocks in at just over 30 minutes but offers a wide span of music within that condensed amount of time. Runner is comprised of three compositions; the first of […]
Jay Willie & James Montgomery Cadillac Walk Zoho Music Connecticut based Jay Willie is the frontman for The Jay Willie Blues Band first formed in 2001 with Bob Callahan and Bobby T. Torello. They are a Texas styled blues band playing both traditional and contemporary blues. The JWBB released their debut recording in 2011 with […]
Lou Volpe Before & After Jazz Guitar Let’s acknowledge that moat of the artists you read about on these pages are blues musicians. Even though the record label above and perhaps some of guitarist Lou Volpe’s previous work my steer toward jazz, this writer finds plenty of blues in Volpe’s style. Think back to Larry […]
The TNEK Jazz Quintet Plays the Music of Sam Jones TNEK Jazz If you’re familiar with the music of Cannonball and Nat Adderley and their soul-jazz albums from the ‘60s and ‘70s, chances are that you know the bassist/composer Sam Jones. Jazz fans in general are likely familiar with the name as he was a […]
The Reverend Shawn Amos & The Brotherhood Blue Sky Put Together Music Shawn Amos is the son of Wally Amos founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand and singer Shirlee Ellis professionally known as Shirlee May. Born in New York City Amos returned and attended film school at New York University. After reading […]
John Blues Boyd What My Eyes Have Seen… Gulf Coast Records John Blues Boyd was born in Greenwood, Ms. in 1945. He began working in the cotton fields when he was seven years old. He relocated to California in 1980 where his primary occupation was that of a hot tar roofer; singing the blues whenever […]
The Southbound Snake Charmers To The Bone You know in life ,if you get the basics right then I believe everything else falls into place. I believe the same is true for music. So when I listen to the music of “The Southbound Snake Charmers “I get that same feeling, the basics are right here. In musical terms […]
Laila Biali Out of Dust Self-released (in U.S.) labels elsewhere We are reminded constantly that some of the best music comes from across our northern border. Just this week we heard again from Canadian genre-defying Basia Bulat, a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and three-time Juno Award nominee, who released Are You in Love? This […]
Schapiro17 New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 Summit As you all know, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue remains the top selling jazz album of all time and people are still buying it more than 60 years later. In that time, we’ve heard tributes, arrangements of many of the tunes, especially “So What” and “All […]
Beano Mojohand Beano Mojohand How do I find the words to start this review, normally I’m not a person lost for them Ok ok,for those of you who know me,you have had your laugh. Seriously though the quality of this debut album is simply amazing. “Beano”delivers a level of playing ability, talent and heart that […]
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