The music and attitude of sui generis bassist Charles Mingus is captured by pianist/vocalist Stephanie Nilles on this recent release. What she has done is take the music from Mingus, particularly during the fiery time in his career when he…
Month: April 2021
PRIOR PRYOR…Richard Pryor: Richard Pryor, Richard Pryor: Craps
Like his comedic predecessor Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor’s recordings are difficult to listen to these days with the knowledge of his disastrous later years in life. At the time of these recordings which bookend his career, Pryor was considered the…
LADIES OF VOICE…Kari Kirkland: Wild Is The Wind, Zoe Scott: Shades of Love
Vocalist Kari Kirkland teams up with Kevin Axt/b, Shelly/p, John Daversa/tp, Gregg Field/dr, the late Roy Hargrove/tp, Brian Kilgore/p Dean Parks/g and the guest Budapest Sessions Orchestra for a collection of rich interpretations. She’s folksy on “Everybody Wants to Rule…
Professor Aucoin & The Jazz Scientists: Mystified
“Professor” Tim Aucoin plays bass and sings as he leads a team of John David/dr, Randy Hoexter/p-key, Trey Wright/g, Sam Skelton/sax and Karla Harris/voc through a collection of soulful originals. The team boogaloos like Tower of Power on the punchy…
WES GOES SOUTH…Nelson Riveros: The Latin Side of Wes Montgomery
Guitarist Nelson Riveros comes up with the logical and brilliant idea of taking the tunes and attitude of the iconic Wes Montgomery and adding a Latin flavor to his works. It’s not a leap into the dark, as Wes included…
Yulia Musayelyan Tango Project: Oblivion
Rich modern tango tunes are delivered by Yulia Musayelyan on flute as she’s teamed with Maxim Lubarsky/p, Fernando Huergo/b and Mark Walker/dr on material dominated by the pens of Piazzolla and Pedro Laurenz. She uses her bass flute to rich…
I WANT MORE…Foster Joseph: FOSTER (To Love)
I usually don’t review eps, but this vocalist Foster Joseph just knocked me out. He’s got a tenor voice that ranges from raconteur to suave seducer, and he’s teamed with a late 50s sounding Kinda Blue team of James Hurt/p,…
Amaury Faivre: 2020
Amaury Faivre plays all the instruments on this blue-hued collection of originals to produce a wide ranging mix of personal tones. The album is bookended by a pair of instrumentals, the relaxed “Watch Her Sleep” and the Cajun sounding “Amuse-bouche”…
Michael Wimberly: Afrofuturism
Technically titled TMR (Temple Mountain Records)Presents Afrocentrism by Michael Wimberly, this album has the keyboardist leader exploring various aspects of black American music ranging from vintage soul to West African roots. There is a large collection of vocalists along with…
MODERN TONES…David Olney & Anana Kaye: Whispers and Sighs, Son of the Velvet Rat: Solitary Company
Here are some mixes of traditional and current events Vocalists David Olney and Anana Kaye create a rich tapestry that mixes rural sounds with modern tones as they play acoustic guitar and keyboards respectively with a team of Irakli Gabriel/g,…