Celebrating a life that has included stints with as wide a palate as Art Pepper, Bobby Darin, Don Ellis and even the theme song for the TV show All In The Family, piano legend Roger Kellaway packed the house and…
Month: November 2019
Spyro Gyra: Vinyl Tap
Just when you thought accessible jazz was a thing of the past, we’ve gotten two releases from venerable crossover bands, The Yellowjackets with Raising Our Voice, and now Spyro Gyra, which sounds completely rejuvenated. Saxist Jay Beckenstein and company have…
Kinky Friedman: Resurrection
Tales that sound like he lived on the road hitchhiking through the dep south are told by Kinky Friedman with his team of Larry Campbell, who plays just about anything with a string, Lincoln Schleifer/b, Dennis McDermott/dr and Bill Payne/key…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Rez Abbasi: A Throw of Dice by the Silent Ensemble
Guitarist Rez Abassi has put together an expansive catalog over the years, but his release may be his most ambitious. He puts music to a silent film, the 1929 silver screener A Throw Of Dice and breaks the music into…
LADIES OF SONG…Lisa B: Reverberant-Poems & Music, Kelley Suttenfield: When We Were Young-Sings Neil Young, Emi Takada: Why Did I Choose You?, Emma Frank: Come Back
Women at the mic… Lisa Bernstein sings, delivers poetry and verse on this album that has her mix and match with James Gardiner/synth-keys, Ben Flint/key, Scott R. Looney/key, Marcus Shelby/b and Jeff Marrs/dr. She likes telling stories in an intimate…
Uri Caine: The Passion of Octavius Catto
The gripping story of abolition activist Octavius Catto is produced in this intriguing ragtime opera composed by pianist Uri Caine. Vocalist Barbara Walker teams with the Philadelphia Choral Ensemble and the Catto Freedom Orchestra along with Caine’s team of Mike…
Avram Fefer Quartet: Testament
Tenor/alto saxist Avram Fefer displays a strong declarative sound as he teams up with adventurous spirits Marc Ribot/g, Eric Revis/b and Chad Taylor on this collection of mostly originals. The guitar work of Ribot takes many roles here, creating a…
Ivo Perelman & Matthew Shipp: Efflorescence
As Reggie Jackson once said about Nolan Ryan’s fastball, “Hey, I love ice cream, but I’m not ready for a gallon of it at once.” That is the attitude that is easy to feel on this four disc set of…
TENOR MADNESS…Ray Blue: Work, Eric Wyatt: The Golden Rule-For Sonny
As I always say, “if were so easy, why doesn’t everyone do it?” Well, these two guys do it. Tenor saxist Ray Blue mixes his sorghum thick tone with a Pavarotti sense of lyricism on this irresistible album with a…
Bevan Manson and Friends: The Jazz Cave
Pianist and composer Bevan Manson mixes trios, solos and group outings on this easy swinger of a session. Bassist Matt Livingston-Jeff D’Angelo, drummers Matt Gordy, B3er Brian Charette, percussionist Brad Dutz and vocalist Tierney Sutton all take turns in the…