Forget the Playboy Jazz Festival; the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues fest beats the older and richer sister. This is coming from a jazzer, yet still, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, I have more fun here than in…
Month: May 2016
Jack DeJohnette/Ravi Coltrane/Matthew Garrison: In Movement
Songs old and new for jazz fans are addressed here as Ravi Coltrane explores a couple songs made famous by his father, an R&B gem from Earth, Wind and Fire and some originals come into play from the free from…
DID YOU SEE THE MOVIE? Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
No, I haven’t seen the movie yet. Has any jazz film ever cashed in on its promise? OK, maybe the Dexter Gordon one, but it’s been pretty dry going back to Steve Allen portraying Benny Goodman. This time, the film…
LADIES GET THE BLUES…Jane Lee Hooker: No B!, Tasha Taylor: Honey For The Biscuit
These two ladies show that you don’t need a Y chromosome to play the blues like a man. Two different paths up to the same delta. Jane Lee Hooker is an all female team here, but this isn’t a gimmick…
LA’S HALCYON DAYS OF JAZZ….Don Menza Quintet: First Flight Complete Sessions, Frank Strazzeri: Strazzatonic
The 1970s were a good time to fall in love with jazz. When I was just starting to get into America’s Classical Music, you had fertile jazz ground. The studios were packed with jazzers making a good living, while…
HIS FIRST FORAY…Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio: East Coast Love Affair
He’s now considered one of the most important guitarists around, but back in 1996 Kurt Rosenwinkel was just starting out on this gig at Small’s Club in New York. He’s teamed with two guys who are also big names these…
ALTOS ATMOSPHERE…Michael Lington: Second Nature, Jacknife: The Music of Jackie McLean
The alto sax can come in a wide variety of formats, with some of jazz’s most important albums being delivered by alto saxists. Here are a couple that mine the caves for vintage sounds from earlier generations. Alto saxist Michael…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Brian Bromberg: Full Circle
Brian Bromberg is one of those consummate bass players around. A highly respected studio stud, he’s released some amazing albums ranging from “smooth” jazz to Hendrix tributes. Here, he picks, plucks strums and even hits just about everything, as he’s…
Konstantin Ionenko Quartet: Noema
Bassist Konstantin Ionenko leads a soft and gentle quartet on this session with compatriots Dima Bondarev/fh, Alex Maksymiw/g and Pavel Galitsky/dr. The ECM-inspired moods include Bondarev’s caressing tone on flugelhorn with tender cymbals tapping on pieces such as “Kaleidoscope” and…
Michael Blake: Fulfillment
Michael Blake puts his soprano and tenor saxes in a wide variety of settings on this latest release. He’s with a foundational team of JP Carter/tp-el, Peggy Lee/cel, Chris Gestrin/p-key, Ron Samworth/g, Andre Lachance/b and Dyal van de Schyff/dr which…