Legendary drummer Steve Gadd has had his band of Mike Landau/g, Jimmy Johnson/b, Kevin Hays/keys and Walt Fowler together for almost a decade (when they aren’t touring with James Taylor), and they have been p laying like a well tuned…
Month: January 2020
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Teymur Phell: Master Volume
While it’s not as groundbreaking as the debut album of Jaco Pastorius, this release by electric bassist Teymur Phell is a gorgeous demonstration of the breadth, width and depth of his instrument. He features it in a variety of settings,…
FOXY! Jimi Hendrix: Songs For Groovy Children-The Fillmore East Concerts
If you want a real treat, gather some friends over to your place grab disc four of this 5 disc set of Jimi Hendrix’s two day concerts at the Fillmore East, and put on “Steal Away” for a Blindfold Test.…
A PAIR OF THREES…Bob Ravenscroft & Inner Journeys: Phantasmagoria, Hal Galper Trio: The Zone
The core unit of jazz, the piano trio, is explored in various ways on these recent releases Bob Ravenscroft plays piano and synthesizer as he leads his team of bassist Dwight Kilian and drummer/synther Rob Moore through 21 songs that…
Roberta Piket: Domestic Harmony-Piket Plays Mintz
Pianist supreme Roberta Piket continues her musical relationship with Billy Mintz even when going solo in piano, as she dedicates this latest album to interpretations of his compositions. Piket has a rich and classy touch, reflective and deeply resonant on…
Aaron Dolman: Nostalgia and Other Fantasies
Drummer Aaron Dolman creates a team that sounds like it’s imbibed deeply from the waters of Bill Frisell on this reflective session. There are two guitarists, Marcus Savard-Lowry and Zacharie Bachand along with bassist Mathieu McConnel and viola/vocalist Caitlin Smith.…
Tony DeSare & Tedd Firth: Lush Life
At first, you have to wonder why Tony DeSare would have someone else besides himself accompany his warm and Rat Packy voice on piano. But his childhood friend Tedd Firth is at the piano (and organ) throughout on these intimate…
Skip & Dan Wilkins Quartet: Someday
Brothers Wilkins have Skip at the piano and Dan at the tenor sax along with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Bill Goodwin for some classy and swinging standards. Skips fingers are pretty and lyrical along with Marino on”Remind Me” and…
Third Coast Percussion: Fields
The quartet of Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore interpret compositions by Devonte’ Hynes that sound like a new album by Brian Eno. An eleven piece “For All Its Fury” suite mixes synthesizers with kalimba (“Reach”), vibes…
Marta Sanchez Quintet: El Rayo De Luz
Pianist Marta Sanchez leads a two sax quintet with Roman Filiu’s alto and Chris Cheek’s tenor in the front line supported by the fluid bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Daniel Dor. The double reeded harmony glides well in unison on…