Ian Charleton Big Band A Fresh Perspective Self-released Ian Charleton, composer/conductor arranger, is a Senior Chief Musician, who was the Head of Academics at the Naval School of Music, where he taught arranging. Also, a graduate of the University of North Texas, he burst on the scene with his 2013 debut CD, Brain Chatter. This […]
Brian Charette Power From the Air Steeplechase Power From the Air is the third album for organist Brian Charette with his primarily woodwind sextet, the most albums he has ever made with one group. Consider however that this lineup has three new players from the previous The Question That Drives Us although the configuration remains […]
Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Trio Someday, Someday Summit Jazz vocalist Rebecca Dumaine, the daughter of pianist Dave Miller, returns for another generous program of mostly standards, several done rather inventively on Someday, Someday. Yet, she both includes and strays from the Great American Songbook on this outing. Joining are bassist Chuck Bennett, drummer […]
Reggie Quinerly New York Nowhere Redefinition Music With what could be the best album title in this pandemic era, drummer-composer Reggie Quinerly is instead not speaking so much about the present state of NYC but bidding goodbye to what was his home after 21 years. He and his family relocated to Los Angeles last fall […]
Schapiro 17 Human Qualities Summit Last year we covered Schapiro17’s debut recording, New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 on these pages. Human Qualities is the follow-up with this same 17-piece band and seven new Schapiro compositions plus a fresh rendition of a classic ballad. Jon Schapiro’s consistently surprising arrangements keep one guessing and inspire […]
Dan Blake Da Fé Sunnyside Saxophonist Dan Blake is an activist. His latest album, Da Fé, sets his activism to music with a project that’s spiritual, intense, and turbulently urgent. A practicing Buddhist since his college years, Blake has served since 2015 on the board of Buddhist Global Relief, an organization dedicated to combatting chronic […]
David Larsen The Mulligan Chronicles Self-released Ask any casual fan of jazz for a bandleader who played baritone saxophone and it is likely that just one name will emerge – the famed player and composer Gerry Mulligan. Mulligan was every bit as important to the post bebop, cool movement aka “Birth of the Cool” as […]
Roni Ben-Hur Stories Dot Time Jazz guitar virtuoso Roni Ben-Hur shares another chapter of his genre-busting 40-year multicultural musical journey with Stories and an impressive lineup that includes the legendary George Cables on piano, esteemed trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, the steadfast rhythm section with bassist Harvie S and drummer Victor Lewis, and special guest vocalists Magos Herrera and Tamuz Nissim. Ben Hur’s story began in Dimona, a small, provincial desert […]
Bruce Brown Death of Expertise Triangle 7 Herein lies another one of those interesting musical stories as vocalist/songwriter Bruce Brown, who was once a pianist too, found some new inspiration in songwriting, following recovery from a life-threatening stroke four years ago. Two decades ago, Brown was gigging in L.A. but has lived in New Zealand […]
SHIJIN Theory of Everything SOCADISC We covered Shijin’s self-titled debut in 2018 and perhaps you recall that this is not your usual jazz group but instead a inter-continental group that brings American and European jazz artists together in a fusion-jazz/improvisational format across eight original compositions. The quartet has musicians that have performed in a variety […]
Menahan Street Band The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band Daptone Menahan Street Band, an all-star Brooklyn collective featuring members of Budos Band, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, and Charles Bradley’s backing band, deliver their first album in nearly a decade. The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band has already had three singles, the opening […]
Michael Dease Give It All You Got Posi-Tone Recalling many of those great Blue Note albums with trombonist Curtis Fuller and Art Blakey, Give It All You Got, the eighth Posi-Tone release by one of today’s leading voices on the trombone, Michael Dease, carries that infectious soul-jazz vibe and percolates with similar energy. Dease has […]
Ryan Dugré Three Rivers 11A Brooklyn guitarist and composer Ryan Dugré works as a sideman with folks like Cass McCombs and Eleanor Friedberger, but his solo music is composed of cinematic, guitar-led instrumentals. The pieces feel intimate, warm and nostalgic but perhaps not what you are expecting if you’re thinking John Fahey or Leo Kottke […]
Mark Winkler and David Benoit Old Friends Café Pacific Readers of these pages know that Mark Winkler is one of the premiere vocalists in jazz, with more than 16 albums to his credit, two of which we have covered here. Now we bring you his collaboration with old friend, pianist/composer David Benoit. The aptly titled […]
Michael Wimberley Afrofuturism Temple Mountain Afrofuturism is an ambitious project from percussionist, keyboardist, and composer Michael Wimberly. With the full album due this week, followers will have already heard the first five tracks which were released in December and four tracks released a month ago. Those and the final three make up the full album […]
The David Angel Jazz Ensemble Out on the Coast – 3 CDs Basset Hound Music David Angel is likely the best arranger and composer you have never heard of. You are not alone. Even though he is one of the most respected on the West Coast, he is virtually unknown to the public. It certainly […]
Greg Murphy Cool Water Whaling City Sound Master keyboardist and composer Greg Murphy delivers a very inspirational project, Cool Water, based on his trip to Africa. “The inspiration for the concept of the album and title track, ‘Enkare Nairobi,’ (which means ‘cool water’ in Maasai and refers to the Nairobi River which flows through the […]
Roseanna Vitro Listen Here (reissue) Skyline Vocalist Roseanna Vitro, who has led a multi-faceted career as performer, recording artist, educator, and journalist has delivered well over a dozen albums since her debut in the early ‘80s with Listen Here. This debut, recorded in the fall of 1982 and released in 1984, featured an impressive supporting […]
Rick Margitza Sacred Hearts Le Coq Renowned saxophonist Rick Margitza’s Sacred Hearts is one of four of the first releases from the new jazz label, Le Coq Records, and is the first not recorded at Capital Studios in L.A. That’s because Margitza has been living and working in Paris since 2003. This is his first […]
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Bernstein Reimagined MCG Jazz Seeing the name Leonard Bernstein, will make most associate this ambitious project with classical music yet it reads more like a Duke Ellington or Gil Evans record. In fact, Bernstein stated that Ellington wrote symphonic jazz while he wrote jazz symphonies. Also, the legendary composer once called […]
Larry Newcomb Quartet Love, Dad Essential Messenger As you might guess from the title this is a father-son duo featured in this quartet led by renowned guitarist Larry Newcomb, with his son Jake Newcomb on the standup bass. Rounding out the foursome are pianist Thomas Royal and drummer Dave Marsh. This is the guitarist’s third […]
Don Bonsanti and the 14 Jazz Orchestra Cartoon Bebop Dabon Music Arranger Don Bonsanti is back with The 14 Jazz Orchestra following up the previously issued successful The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be. The big band is contemporary and creative with five reeds, three trumpets, three trombones, and various players in the rhythm […]
Diego Rivera Indigenous Posi-Tone Indigenous is saxophonist/composer/bandleader Diego Rivera’s second release for Posi-Tone. As the title suggests, this is multi-cultural program consisting of a mix of originals and covers. Joining the Rivera are trumpeter Etienne Charles (three tunes), pianist Helen Sung, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Donald Edwards in a fiery quartet/quintet that blazes through […]
Melbreeze I Love Paris Blue Canoe I Love Paris is the follow-up for progressive vocalist Melbreeze to her largely Latin Animazonia and most directly to her 2019 Amethyst. Like the latter, I Love Paris is an album of radically reimagined standards. The Turkish-born vocalist has resided in L.A. in recent years and has stamped herself […]
Mike Scott Collecting things Self-released Guitarist and composer Mike Scott has been a fixture on the Los Angeles jazz scene for over 20 years. He is founding member of The Los Angeles Jazz Collective, and like many musicians in the city has recorded for film and television soundtracks, in addition to his work as sideman […]
Binker and Moses Escape the Flames Gearbox This serves to both inform you about the London-based sax-drum duo of Binker and Moses as well as the label, Gearbox. Binker and Moses We have covered sax-drum duos on these pages before, specifically the London duo of Tony Irving & Massimo Magee with Vitriol and the Third […]
Miles Donahue Just Passing Thru Whaling City Sound Miles Donahue is a unique cat, even in jazz circles. As a multi-instrumentalist he not only plays a couple of also, tenor, and soprano saxophones, but also trumpet and keyboards. This writer can’t point to many in that category although Joey DeFrancesco is one who comes to […]
Andy James Tu Amor Le Coq Le Coq is a new record label whose inaugural releases just two weeks ago assembled some of the strongest names in jazz to present an eclectic set of styles worthy of the stellar musicians that set the stage for what the label will be offering. On The Jazz All […]
Sounds of A&R (S.O.A.R) Questions Left Unanswered Self-released The group dubbed Sounds of A&R, or as they are commonly referenced S.O.A. R., is the partnering team of vocalist April May Webb and the trumpeter Randall Haywood, with support from April May’s siblings Jacob Webb on bass and Nathan Webb on drums, plus guitarist Charlie Sigler, pianist James Austin and harpist Riza Printup. Questions Left […]
Santi Debriano Flash of the Spirit Truth Revolution To understand the eclectic nature of bassist/guitarist/composer Santi Debriano’s Flash of the Spirit, it helps to understand his makeup. The native Panamanian, who moved to New York at age 4, has never abandoned his original heritage, so for essentially an entire lifetime he has lived in several […]
David Detweiler Astoria Suite NEXTLEVEL/Outside in Music Born and raised in Houston, TX but having lived on opposite sides of the United States in both New York and Florida, Saxophonist and composer David Detweiler is well acquainted with shifting definitions of home. In 2010, Detweiler returned to New York, moving to Astoria, with his wife […]
The Jeff Benedict Big Big Band The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful Groovy Panda Last year we brought you Paraphernalia, from the Dave Askren/Jeff Benedict Quartet as their tribute to the music of Wayne Shorter. Saxophonist/composer/arranger Benedict is a 30-year veteran of the L.A. music scene and is an educator at California State […]
The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble Jagged Spaces Self-released This is the recording debut for co-leaders guitarist Skip Grasso and bassist Phil Ravita. Each of the nine tunes was written by a band member in the quintet that also features saxophonist Benny Russell, pianist Greg Small, and drummer Nuc Vega. Four tunes are from Grasso, two apiece […]
New Faces New Sounds Posi-Tone Some of the first group of Posi-Tone issues in 2021 seem to take their cue from the vintage Blue Note. A forthcoming release in February is from the collective Out to Dinner, replicating the instrumentation of Eric Dolphy’s iconic Out to Lunch. There were several labels in the ‘70s and […]
Charles Colizza Group Hug the Devil Self-released Montreal, Quebec -raised, NYC-based guitarist Charles Colizza makes his debut with a strong quintet that features the legendary Billy Drewes on soprano saxophone, Jake D’Ambra on tenor, Nick Panoutsos on double bass, and Lukas Akintaya on drums and percussion. Hug the Devil was recorded last December before the […]
Jim Hyne’s Top Release Picks of 2020 In No Particular Order Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the […]
Rhythm City Rhythm City Autumn Hill Drummer Rob Silverman released his own Drumology two months ago, an album that brought together jazz and rock drummers in primarily a jazz fusion vein. Now Silverman returns with a St. Louis-based trio, Rhythm City, featuring pianist Ptah Williams, and bassist Larry Kornfield for another mostly fusion inspired outing. […]
Markus Gottschlich Found Sounds Self-released The U.S.-based Austrian pianist, composer, bandleader, and Steinway Artist Markus Gottschlich leads his trio with guests across a concept album. Found Sounds aims at helping people examine and re-examine their relationship to their environment. In developing the album, his third as a leader, Gottschlich recorded and collected sounds (thus the […]
Jeff Ellwood The Sounds Around the House Self-released Sometimes a musician can get comfortable as an in-demand sideman and it takes a little push to step forward as a leader. Such is the case with tenor saxophonist Jeff Ellwood who steps into that role for the first time with The Sounds Around the House. In […]
Bill Evans Live at Ronnie Scott’s (with Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette) Resonance Ah, Black Friday is here. This one features legendary, influential pianist Bill Evans across 20 tracks live at London’s iconic Ronnie Scott’s in 1968 with his short-lived but remarkable trio of Jack DeJohnette and Eddie Gomez, who were at Scott’s for a […]
MicroCorgi MicroCosmos Self-released MicroCorgi is a New York -based trio debuting and featuring Andrew McGowan (keys), Yuto Kanazawa (guitar), and Ilya Dynov (drums). They hail from far corners of the globe and have diverse influences such as European Jazz, Japanese rock, Afro-beat, and New Orleans brass band music. Having formed in 2018, they forged a […]
Deborah Silver Glitter and Grit (featuring Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel) Bismeaux Productions Rather inexplicably, considering that vocalist Deborah Silver reached #1 in Billboard on both the Traditional Jazz Album and the Heatseeker Album chart with her 2016 release, The Gold Standards, her latest release, Glitter and Grit, where she is backed by Ray […]
Paulette McWilliams A Woman’s Story Blujazz Chances are that you’ve heard Paulette McWilliams sing before. If you’ve heard Richard L’Hommedieu’s interview and/or seen the accompanying cover story (11/17/2020) you’re already aware of this but suffice it to say, McWilliams is the primary female voice on Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til you Get Enough,” Aretha Franklin’s […]
The Peter Leitch New Life Orchestra New Life Jazz House Heartwarming stories such as that of Peter Leitch deserve attention. Although the Canadian-born, New York City-based guitarist can no longer play his guitar for audiences, he perseveres, having been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer eight years ago. Due to remarkable work by his oncologist, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Paulette McWilliams Paulette McWilliams is best known for her deep, sultry, silky, liquid velvet tones, her melodic interpretation, as well as her wide vocal range. Hers is one of the iconic voices behind Michael Jackson”s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” — Michael’s biggest hit! Aretha […]
Carla Marciano Quartet Psychosis – Homage to Bernard Herrmann Challenge This one comes from across the pond and yes, saxophonist Carla Marciano and her quartet hail from Italy. This is this writer’s first exposure to her remarkable tone and passionate approach to her instruments – alto and sopranino saxes. It’s no surprise that she is […]
George Benson Weekend in London Provogue Records/Mascot Music During his six-decade career the all-time jazz great George Benson has amassed 37 studio albums, eight previous live recordings, 22 compilation albums, and countless recorded sessions as a sideman. Benson is also the holder of ten Grammy awards. The Pennsylvania born veteran has played the world’s biggest […]
The Mariel Bildsten Quintet Backbone Outside in Music Maybe you are guessing that this is a debut and if so, you’re right. However, trombonist Mariel Bildsten has considerable side-woman experience and plays in several big bands, notably as the lead trombonist in Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra. She also plays in the Eyal Vilner Big Band, […]
Susan Alcorn Pedernal Relative Pitch One does not think of the pedal steel guitar in the context of jazz with few exceptions, the prime example being the versatile Greg Leisz who is part of Charles Lloyd’s Marvels. Enter the creative, trailblazing Susan Alcorn, who like most associated with the instrument, had her beginnings in country […]
Patrick Cornelius Acadia: Way of the Cairns Whirlwind Maine’s Acadia National Park has always been a favorite of this writer’s having spent at least two vacations there while raising my family. So, naturally this latest work from alto saxophonist, composer, solo artist, and educator Patrick Cornelius is of interest. Normally one associates jazz with urban locales, […]