Three ladies with three different deliveries… Julia Vari is rarin’ to go as she’s full of energy with the team of Jose Negroni/p-arr, Nomar Negroni/dr and Rafael Valencia/b. She oozes with Latin Passion throughout, as on the sparkling “La Bikina”…
Month: April 2024
Keyon Harrold: Foreverland
Playing trumpet and singing Keyon Harrold explores the modern R&B field on this recent release. He brings in rap vocals from Common and Jean Baylor as well as keyboards from Robert Glaspeer on Find Your Peace” with some soul moods…
Luca Sestak: Lighter Notes
Pianist Luca Sestak teams up with drummer Nicholas Stampf and bassist Alexander Broschek and guest trumpeter Oli Parker for a mix of ideas that lean towards inspirations from the classics. Sestak gives a rapid run to the races on “Toccata”…
VINYL REVIVAL…Red Garland: Groovy, Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane: Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane, The John Wright Trio: South Side Soul, The New Miles Davis Quintet: Miles
If you look in the dictionary for the word “jazz”, you’re likely to find a picture of one of these albums, as they perfectly portray what mainstream modern jazz was and is supposed to sound like. These four vinyl reissues…
Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star: Beatin’ The Odds
This is the second release I’ve encountered from Leigh Pilzer, and I love her sense of teamwork as well as swinging creativity. She plays baritone and bass saxes (which is more felt than heard) and bass clarinet, putting together a…
Alice Coltrane: Shiva Loka
Here’s a previously unissued recording of Alice Coltrane caught at the height of her musical and spiritual powers. She’s performing at Carnegie Hall for a benefit helping the Integral Yoga Institute back in 1971. Having just recorded her album Journey…
Larry Goldings & John Sneider: Chinwag
Larry Goldings must have lots of room in his garage, because he has to have somewhere to store all of the different keyboards that he uses on this series of duets with trumpeter John Schneider. What he does,is play tvarious…
WEST COAST HOT…Shelly Mann & His Men: Jazz From The Pacific Northwest
Without a doubt, one of the most recorded drummers in jazz has to be Shelly Manne, who was the epitome of the California West Coast sound of jazz in the 1950s. His trio and small band albums from this period…
The Stratos Ensemble: Freeing Form
Rare is the band that has a unique sound with a feel of experimentation but still be accessible to modern ears. Such is the success of The Stratos Ensemble, consisting of Dean De Benedictis/p-key-voc, TJ Sammut/g, Robert Gross/b, Coco Roussel/dr-synth,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Abdullah Ibrahim: 3
Still going strong at 89, Abdullah Ibrahim continues to grow as a pianist and composer, with a two disc album recorded both directly to tape in concert (one with and one without an audience) with Cleave Guyton Jr/fl-pic and Noah…