Just when you thought that nothing new could be done to the wonderous sounds from Brazil, you get this delightful collection of fresh compositions from cellist Catherine Bent. She cleverly uses her instrument as a lead, and it works amazingly…
Month: August 2018
Toronto Jazz Orchestra: 20
Artistic Director, conductor and composer Josh Grossman celebrates 20 years of the Toronto Jazz Orchestra with a strong collection of original pieces and arrangements. He shows clever ideas abounding with a funky rendition of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” based on…
Marius Neset: Circle of Chimes
Saxist/composer Marius Neset creates a suite of sorts, complete with church bells on this creative album with Lionel Loueke/g-voc, Andreas Brantelid/cel, Ingrid Neset/fl-pic, Ivo Neame/p, Jim hart/vib-perc, Petter Eldh/b and Anton Eger/dr-perc. The moods range from a dramatic “Satellite” and…
Bob Mintzer Big Band & New York Voices: Meeting of Minds
One of the most versatile jazz artists, Bob Mintzer, continues to stretch into creative territories on this recent album. The Yellowjackets alumnus brings together a hard hitting big band which includes Roger Rosenberg/bs-cl and Bob Sheppard/ts-fl in order to support…
Hakon Skogstad: Two Hands to Tango
Pianist Hakon Skogstad gives his ten fingers to the sounds of tango on this creative collection ranging from originals to Astor Piazzolla. Skogstad’s touch is rich and romantic, flowing with passion on “Los Mareados” and “Felicia” while getting Chopinesque during…
HARMONICA HAPPENINGS….Tomislav Goluban featuring Toni Staresinic: Velvet Space Love, Big Harp George: Uptown Cool, Mark Wenner’s Blues Warriors: Blues Warriors
Fitting into everything from country, blues, jazz and even classical, the harmonica always finds a home. Here are two recent releases that show the width, and, literally, the breath of the instrument. If you ever thought you’ve heard everything a…
Michael Sarian & The Chabones: Leon
Composer and leader Michael Sarian brings his horns, voice and moog/synth to create moody pieces with a versatile team of Jim Piela/as-ss, Evan Francis/ts, Elad Cohen/tb, Michael Verselli/p-key, Trevor/eb, Josh Bailey/dr-perc and Franco Pinna/perc. There is a hint of Middle…
Aerie: Sonic
The two sax team of Ingo HIpp/as and Sam Comerford/ts create progressive sounds with Laurent Meteau/g, David Helm/b and Matthew Jacobson/dr on this edgy collection of originals. The horns are dreamy and float weightlessly on the breathy “In the Dumps”…
SWING IS A VERB…Louis Armstrong: Sparks, Nevada 1964!, Gene Krupa: Live 1966
These two recent concert recordings released by Dot Time Records reveal that the genre of music isn’t nearly as important as the way it is delivered. While Louis Armstrong preceded the Swing Era, it has been argued that he not…
Wayne Shorter: Emanon
You think that only younger guys like Kamasi Washington are able to release ambitious multi-disc sets? Think again, and take a gander at a Master in action! This 3, count ‘em, 3 disc set of Shorter has him with his…