AAAHHHHH! ELLINGTON!!!!! No one puts out as much essential and rare Ellingtonia as Storyville Records. Here are two more releases that need to be either on your shelf or in your ipod. 1) The broadcasts from Duke Ellington’s Orchestra on…
Author: George W. Harris
Bill Evans: Live at Art D’Lugoff’s Top of the Gate
RINGER OF THE WEEK: This tiny label has been putting out some extremely impressive and important archival material lately. Freddie Hubbard and Wes Montgomery were recently featured, and now this one with Bill Evans’ 1968 trio with Eddie Gomez/b and…
Gregoire Maret: Gregoire Maret and Stephane Wrembel: Origins
I put these two reviews together to demonstrate a study in contrasts. Clinical versus organic. Chromatic harmonica player Gregoire Maret heads this album, with a little help of all stars like Marcus Miller, Take Six, Toots Thieleman, Cassandra…
JD Allen Trio: Victory
Sometimes, I just don’t get it. Sure, tenor saxist JD Allen has some impressive credentials, having toured with Betty Carter for a long time. But, there has to be something said about being in a big band for awhile and…
Branford Marsalis & Joey Calderazzo: Songs Of Mirth And Melancholy
The thing that has always impressed me about both Wynton and Branford Marsalis is that when they play jazz, they sound like jazz musicians, and when they play classical (unlike Benny Goodman) they sound like classical artists. Here, Branford and…
Bastian Weinhold: River Styx
Drummer Bastian Weinhold leads a post bop quintet with Adam Larson/ts, Pascal Le Boeuf/p, Nils Weinhold/g and Linda Oh/b through a collection of band-penned originals. The music divides into edgy and longer pieces like “The Tune” and “Space” and dreamy…
Deborah Pearl: Souvenir Of You
Here’s a clever tribute to an unfairly overlooked giant of the jazz scene: Benny Carter, who not only was one of the great alto sax players ever, but was pretty good with the trumpet and writing pen as well. Here,…
NewFound Road: Live At The Down Home
In jazz, the music is supposed to tell a story; ditto for lyrics to The Great American Songbook. I think that’s what I like about Bluegrass-this band right here, Jamie Booher/b, Joe Booher/mandolin, Josh Miller/banjo-g, Im Shelton/g and Jim VanCleve/fiddle,…
Walt Weiskopf Quartet: Live
Tenor saxist Walt Weiskopf briought a top notch team to the University of South Carolina for an impressive gig back on April 8, 2008. The rhythm team of Renee Rosnes/p, Paul Gill/b and Tony Reedus/dr is flexible and veers towards…
Dan Weiss: Jhaptal Drumset Solo
The title is a bit of a misnomer, as on first glance, you’re probably going to think that this release by drummer Dan Weiss is simply one guy “going for it.” Instead, Weiss teams up with guitarist Miles Okazaki and…