Brazilian born but Chicago rooted bassist Marcel Bonfim brilliantly mixes both worlds on this collection of originals and flavored covers. His team of Jonathan Wenzel/dr-perc, Casey Dahl/p-key and Gerald Martinez/ts-ss-as is sweet and fresh with Wenzel’s brushes waltzing under Martinez’s…
Month: December 2023
Rock Candy Funk Party@The Baked Potato 12.15.23
“You people in the front row think you’ve got the good seats. You’re about to get pummeled” Tis has been the season to be jolly about guitars! December has brought a surfeit of six stringers roasting solos by the open…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Steve Davis: Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1
For some reason, this 2088 meeting between trombonist and the legendary pianist Hank Jones (long with bassist Peter Washington) has been hidden in the shelves. This just might be Jones’ last recording, having left for his reward in 2010 and…
VINTAGE LADY SOUL…Aretha Franklin: A Portrait of the Queen 1970-1974
One of the true giants of pop music, and possibly the definition of “soul” vocals, Aretha Franklin (who just recently left us for her reward) is celebrated here with a collection of five of her most important albums of the…
Rich Halley-Matthew Shipp-Michael Bisoio-Newman Taylor Baker: Fire Within
Tenor saxist Rich Halley brings together intuitive masters Matthew Shipp/p, Michael Bisio/b and Newman Taylor Baker/dr for some stretched out original explorations. Halley’s music always have a Charles Mingusy feel to it, combining the jazz tradition with stratospheric adventures, and…
Jeff Babko-Tim Lefebvre-Mark Guiliana: Clam City
Best known for his work on piano and keyboards (and even sometimes trombone) with the likes of Steve Gadd, Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather (as well as holding down the piano chair on Jimmy Kimmel Live), Angeleno Jeff Babko brings…
Mathias Heise Quintet: Mouth Games
Danish harmonica man Mathias Heise brings together Jacob Christoffersen/p, Pelle von Bulow/g, Thomas Fonnesbaek/b and Jeppe Gram/dr for a large palate of colors. Using mostly originals, Heise does delve into a coule of covers, bopping hard with Gram on John…
Ciara Moser: Blind, So What
Playing bass, Ciara Moser puts together an ambitious band and concept album with a wide range of support. The core teammate is Lumanyano MZI, playing drums, helping the production and adding spoken voice and vocals. There is a team of…
Rob Luft: Dahab Days
These days, it seems guitarists sound like everyone else, so it’s refreshing to hear one like Rob Luft who has managed to create a unique and yet still attractive sound. He’s with a core unit of Joe Wright/ts, Joe Webb/p-B3,…
Jazzrausch Bigband: Mahler’s Breakdown
Founder and bandleader of the Jazzrauch Big Band Roman Sladek comes up with the ambitious idea of “jazzing up” Mahler’s 5th Symphony. In fact, I wouldn’t call it as much jazzing it, as making it more funky, as the team…