CD Reviews Jazz

John Escreet the epicenter of your dreams Blue Room Music John Escreet’s 2022 trio album Seismic Shift (covered here) was so bold and impactful that it likely made it difficult to return with the trio and produce a similarly startling result. Pianist and composer Escreet was wise enough to recognize this and although returning with […]

RADAM SCHWARTZ SAXOPHONE QUARTET MUSIC Arabesque Records Radam Schwartz, composer/arranger; Marcus G. Miller, soprano saxophone; Irwin Hall, alto saxophone; Anthony Ware, tenor saxophone; Max Schweiger, baritone saxophone. GUEST ARTISTS: Micha Josephs, guitar; Carrie Jackson, vocals; Andrew Atkinson, percussion. Radam Schwartz is well-known in the jazz world as a jazz organist.  His recordings as a bandleader […]

SERGIO PEREIRA BOSSA + Tiger Turn, LLC Sergio Pereira, voice/guitars/violão/percussion/composer/arranger/producer; Luis Guerra, piano/keyboards; Ariel Ramirez, electric bass; Mauricio Zottarelli, drums/percussion/arranger/co-producer; Chipi Chacon, trumpet/flugelhorn. SPECIAL GUESTS on “One for Pat”: Romero Lumbambo, violão; Ivan ‘Melon’ Lewis, piano; Ivan Ruiz Machado, bass; Jose San Martin, drums. Still smiling from his 2024 win of the World Entertainment Award […]

THE BRUCE LOFGREN GROUP INSTRUMENTAL ADVENTURES: EARTHLY AND COSMIC TALES Night Bird Records Bruce Lofgren, acoustic & electric guitars/composer; Billy Hulting, hand percussion instruments; Craig Fundiga, vibraphone;  Randy Landas, acoustic, electric & fretless basses; Hope Easton, cello; Geoff Nudell, B flat clarinet. This production reminds me of the Pan Pipe projects.  It reflects the original […]

ALLEGRA LEVY OUT OF THE QUESTION SteepleChase Records Allegra levy, vocals/lyricist/composer; Carmen Staaf, piano/Fender Rhodes; Mimi Jones, bass; Allison Miller, drums/shaker; Roxy Coss, tenor & soprano saxophones; Andrew Baird, guitar/ukulele; Aubrey Johnson, background vocals. “Are You Real?” is a tune by Benny Golson with lyrics by Allegra Levy.  This song opens Levy’s album with power […]

Oded Tzur My Prophet ECM It’s long been said that some of the greatest saxophonists such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Coleman Hawkins are easily identifiable in just the first few notes they play. While we’re not yet putting the Israeli-born and raised New York City based saxophonist Oded Tzur in that ‘all-time […]

MAC GOLLEHON & THE HISPANIC MECHANICS BITE OF THE STREET Nefarious Industries Mac Gollehon, trumpet/scat vocals/keyboards/composer; Eric Klaastad, bass; Jeanne Carne, drums; Ismael Sanchez, percussion; Adam Perez, keyboards; Ariel Lawler, background vocals; David Brenner, sound effects. The trumpet of composer, Mac Gollehon, bounces boldly atop the percussion of The Hispanic Mechanics featuring Jeanne Carne on […]

SHAWN MAXWELL J TOWN SUITE Cora Street Records Shawn Maxwell, alto & soprano saxophone/flute/composer; Michael Barton, electric bass; Collin Clauson, Fender Rhodes/Wurlitzer; Greg Eassig, drums/percussion. Maxwell’s first original tune marches off the compact disc with the drums and bass driving the groove beneath Maxwell’s soprano saxophone solo.  His album is appropriately named  for his hometown […]

Fernando Huergo Big Band Relentless Whaling City Sound Bassist and composer Fernando Huergo leads his 18-piece big band on Relentless, a set of compositions inspired by Luke Mogelson’s article in the New Yorker, titled “Relentless Absurdity.” These pieces reflect not only the absurdity of war but societal struggles, oppression, discrimination, and environmental challenges. Huergo aims […]

SERGIO PAMIES TIME TO SAY Newtrad Records Sergio Pamies, piano; Ricky Rodgriguez, bass; Jimmy Macbride, drums; Samuel Torres, percussion; Marshall Gilkes, trombone; Michael Thomas, alto & soprano saxophones; Alex Norris, trumpet /flugelhorn. GUEST ARTISTS:  Dave Liebman, soprano saxophone; Paquito D’Rivera, clarinet. The title tune of this album encompasses Straight-ahead, Latin jazz, and high energy, percussive […]

Alex Sipiagin Horizons Blue Room Horizons is trumpeter/flugelhornist and composer Alex Sipiagin’s twenty-seventh album as a leader. Having covered just two of those, both on Posi-Tone – Upstream (on these pages) and Ascent to the Blues, Sipiagin impressed with his challenging compositions, fiery playing, and improvisational talent.  This is his second for Blue Room, following […]

ISREA BUTLER CONGO LAMENT Independent label Isrea Butler, trombone; David Loeb, piano; Steve Flora, bass; Bob Chmel, drums; Douglas Lawrence, tenor saxophone. The Isrea Butler quintet opens with the title tune, written by the great Bennie Green.  The trombonist (Butler) steps out-front and establishes the melody, with Dave Loeb on piano setting the tempo and […]

RICKY ALEXANDER JUST FOUND JOY Turtle Bay Records Rickey Alexander, soprano saxophone/clarinet/vocals; Kevin Dorn, drums; Rob Adkins, bass; Brennen Ernst, guitar; Jon Thomas & Dalton Ridenhour, piano; Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet/cornet; SPECIAL GUEST: Vanisha Gould, vocals. This album turns back the hands of time.  With the exception of a solitary Alexander original composition (Promenade), the songs […]

Bruno Råberg Tentet Evolver Orbis Music Sweden-born, U.S. based bassist/composer Bruno Råberg has made 14 recordings as a leader and more than 50 as a sideman since coming to the U.S. in 1981. For this project, Evolver, Råberg returns to a large ensemble format for the first time in 22 years with players familiar to […]

Jake Hertzog Longing to Meet You Self-released Guitarist and composer Jake Hertzog has performed and composed across multiple genres and served as musical director for pop stars. For Longing to Meet You he convened a jazz quartet comprised from their mutual time attending the Manhattan School in New York. They are altoist Matt Woroshyl, bassist […]

JEREMY GIGNOUX ODD STILLNESS Alberta foundation for the Arts Jeremy Gignoux, violin/viola/composer; Jiajia Li, bass flute/dizi; Keith Rodger, double bass; André Wickenheiser, trumpet; Carsten Rubeling, trombone; Robin Tufts, drums; Rebecca Bruton, voice; Mark Dejong, bass clarinet. Somewhere between restraint and wonder, the string instrument master, Jeremy Gignoux offers this experimental album of ambient instrumental music.  […]

Koppel Blade Koppel Time Again Cowbell Music This organ trio emerges surprisingly. We’ve gotten used to the trio albums, three of them, from altoist Benjamin Koppel, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist Scott Colley. We’ve also witnessed that same threesome performing in front of Anders Koppel’s brilliant symphonic piece, The Mulberry Street Symphony. Yet, close followers […]

CHAD EDWARDS WYOMING ROADS Independent Label Chad Edwards, piano/organ/composer; Robert Kyle, saxophones/flute; Hussain Jiffry, basses; Kevin Winard, drums/percussion. The Chad Edwards project comes lilting through space like a gliding seahawk. The very first tune, “Wyoming Roads” is an original by the pianist.  He was inspired by a road trip where he set out to feel […]

ANTONIO ADOLFO LOVE COLE PORTER AAM Records Antonio Adolfo, piano/arranger/vocals; Lula Galvao, guitars; Jorge Helder, double bass; Rafael Barata, drums/percussion; Dada Costa, percussion; Jesse Sadoc, trumpet/flugelhorn; Danilo Sinna, alto saxophone; Marcelo Martins, tenor & soprano saxophones/flute; Rafael Rocha, trombone. Since childhood, Antonio Adolfo says that the music of Cole Porter has been the soundtrack of […]

The Bobby Broom Organ-Sation Jamalot Steele This year’s reviews from yours truly are not as heavily populated with organ trios as in years past but this throwback album by Bobby Broom’s Organ-Sation may well compensate in spades. These are live performances from 2014-2019 of familiar pop songs and standards, in the tradition of his once […]

JIHYE LEE ORCHESTRA INFINITE CONNECTIONS Motema Music Jihye Lee, composer/conductor; Adam Birnbaum, piano; Matt Clohesy, bass; Jared Schonig, drums; Keita Ogawa, percussion; Alex Goodman, guitar; Ben Kono, alto saxophone/piccolo/flute; Dave Pietro, alto saxophone/flute/alto flute; Jason Rigby & Jonathan Lawary, tenor saxophone/flute/clarinet; Carl Maraghi, baritone saxophone/bass clarinet; Brian Pareschi, Nathan Eklund, David Smith & Stuart Mack, […]

Nir Felder III la.reserve In a year when we’ve been blessed by so many terrific guitar records from the likes of Julian Lage, Bill Frisell, Gilad Hekselman, and others, we welcome back Nir Felder with his third solo release, III, now on a new label, the burgeoning la.reserve. The Katonah, NY native enlists mostly the […]

SEAN HONG WEI & JEREMY MONTEIRO THE NEW JERSEY SESSIONS Jazz Note Sean Hong Wei, tenor saxophone; Jeremy Monteiro, piano; Jay Anderson, bass; Evan Sherman, drums; Houston Person, tenor saxophone; Alex Sipiagin, trumpet. This hard-bop group opens with the Charlie Parker tune, “Dewey Square” showing that they love to ‘swing’ with as much power and […]

JOHN AMBROSINI SONGS FOR YOU Independent Label John Ambrosini, piano/vocals/keyboards/background vocals/arrangements/all piano solos; David Phelps, acoustic & electric guitars; Zachary Swansen, acoustic bass; Matt Miller, drums; Steve Finkelstein, percussion; Rich Lamb, keyboards. Randy Brecker, trumpet; Ada Rovatti & Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone; David Binney, alto saxophone; William Galison, harmonica; Brian King, vibraphone; Rich Lamb, string […]

PHIL RANELIN THE FOUND TAPES LIVE IN LOS ANGELES: 1978 – 1981 Org Music Phil Ranelin, trombone/composer; Billy Childs, piano; Tony Dumas, bass; Ralph Penland, drums. “When I moved to Los Angeles in 1977 to join Freddie Hubbard’s band, I thought I would be content playing with one of the greatest trumpeters ever.  However, after […]

Tony Romano Three Chord Monte TRM With a play on words, from Elvin Jones’s “Three Card Molly,” and the card game of a similar name, guitarist Tony Romano entitles his own solo jazz album, filled with original compositions, Three Chord Monte. Romano has spent most of his career as a sideman for vocalists but issued […]

LAUREN HENDERSON SOMBRAS Brontosaurus Records Lauren Henderson, vocals/composer/arranger/producer; Joel Ross, vibraphone; Sean Mason, piano; Jonathan Michel, bass; Joe Dyson, drums/percussion. Joe Dyson’s percussion licks open the first tune on Lauren Henderson’s new album as her smokey, seductive voice sings “Fuego.”  Henderson has added the vibraphone of Joel Ross to the mix and the instrument adds […]

JO HARROP THE PATH OF A TEAR Lateralize Records Jo Harrop, vocals/composer; Larry Klein, bass/producer; Anthony Wilson, guitar; Victor Indrizzo, drums/percussion; Jim Cox, piano/Fender Rhodes/Hammond B-3 organ; David Piltch, bass. Here is an artist that immediately snatched my attention with her very first song called “Beautiful Fools.”   What a great and unique title!  I grabbed […]

Jon Gordon 7th Ave. South ArtistShare Having spent quite a bit of time in NYC in the early to mid-1980s, it’s certainly easy to relate to saxophonist and composer Jon Gordon’s salute to the mecca of jazz in the city at that time, 7th Ave. South. The street was lined with jazz clubs, the venerable […]

NICK FINZER LEGACY: A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF J.J. JOHNSON Outside in Music Nick Finzer, trombone; Renee Rosnes, piano; Rufus Reid, bass; Lewis Nash, drums. This latest CD released by trombonist, Nick Finzer is a tribute and centennial celebration to J.J. Johnson. Johnson is considered one of the most influential and pioneering trombonists in jazz history.  […]

Jason Robinson Ancestral Numbers 1 Playscape Recordings Saxophonist and composer Jason Robinson just released the first part of a comprehensive project tracing the roots and branches of his family tree on Ancestral Numbers 1 with the second part to follow in October. It’s an intriguing concept and one that’s rarely if ever been set to […]

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway Live At Mezzrow Cellar Music Group The renowned pianist, composer, and arranger Roger Kellaway mentions in the liners to his live album Roger Kellaway Live At Mezzrow something that makes the utmost sense but rarely mentioned, and at least here, rarely thought about. The pianist has, for the past twenty years, […]

Ivo Perelman and Matthew Shipp Magical Incantation Soul City Sounds Magical Incantation is astoundingly the nineteenth duo collaboration between Brazilian saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp. The duo began in 1996 with the saxophonist’s Bendito of Santa Cruz. Obviously at this point in their collaborative tenure, they can anticipate the other’s moves like the […]

AMBER WEEKES A LADY WITH A SONG CELEBRATES NANCY WILSON Amber Inn Records  Amber Weekes, vocals; Russell Malone, Andrew Synowiec, Gregory Cook & Paul Jackson Jr., guitar; Tony Campodonico, acoustic & Fender Rhodes piano; Andy Langham, piano; John B. Williams, Carlos Puerto & Jeff Littleton, bass; Fritz Wise, Donald Barrett & Oscar Seaton, drums/percussion; Joey […]

COUNTERMEASURE ORCHESTRAL SESSIONS Independent Label VOCALS: Gianna Antonacci, Nina Brown, Elora Burns, Icarus Devdas, J-M Erlendson, Marla Kishimoto, Qwyn Alexis, Tara Park, Hayley Preziosi, Daniel Boyle, Jeremy Voltz and Aaron Jensen, composer/arranger/lyricist; Charles Cozens, orchestrator/conductor of the Burlington New Millennium Orchestra. An Internationally acclaimed Canadian 12-member vocal group called Countermeasure has released their fourth studio […]

BOB ANDERSON LIVE! Jazz Hang Records Bob Anderson, vocals/composer; Vince Falcone, piano; Joe Lano, guitar. Orchestra In 2015, VHI voted Bob Anderson the #1 celebrity vocal impersonator in the world.  This is an honor that People magazine also crowned him with, and Tony Bennett proclaimed, “He does me really well … He does everybody well! […]

Jack Walrath Live at Smalls Cellar Music Group Trumpeter, composer, and arranger Jack Walrath joins the legends in the SmallsLive Living Masters Series, leading his long-running conventional jazz quintet in this live gig. This is a group that Walrath has been leading since 2010 – Abraham Burton on tenor saxophone, George Burton on piano, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Donald Edwards on […]

ELENA GILLIAM SHALL WE DANCE Meta Jax Elena Gilliam, vocals; Rob Whitlock, & Michael LeVan, piano; George Gilliam, guitar; Miles Jensen, Nylon string guitar; Lyman Medeiros, bass; Alex Bailey, drums; Ginger Murphy, cello; Sarpay Ozcagatay, flute; Tony Guerrero, fluegelhorn/trumpet/arranger; Arturo Sandoval, trumpet; BUDAPEST SCORING ORCHESTRA: Zoltan Pad, conductor; Balint Sapszon, Orchestra manager. Elena Gilliam has […]

Marta Sanchez Trio Perpetual Void Intakt Maybe it was the glut of albums releasing at the same time or not enough focus on the music a couple of weeks ago when Perpetual Void from pianist Marta Sanchez’s Trio was released but Sanchez, a member of David Murray’s new quintet impressed so much on Murray’s recent […]

Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens Red Hook Two musicians inextricably linked to Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) pay homage to their favorite places in NYC’s Central Park. Rather remarkable, since it is decades since they first met, this is the […]

Mute After You’ve Gone Endectomorph Music This is the second offering from the Asian-American quartet Mute, who made their debut with their self-titled album in 2019. While they are the essence of postmodern jazz, they make a few nods to tradition on this one, After You’ve Gone, named, of course, for the iconic standard. The […]

Josh Lawrence Measured Response Posi-Tone Trumpeter Josh Lawrence leads the classic jazz quintet configuration of trumpet, tenor, piano. bass, and drums on Measured Response, his sixth album as a leader on Posi-Tone. He has co-led two with the Fresh Cut Orchestra on Ropeadope and has received three Grammy nominations, most notably with Orrin Evans’ Captain […]

John Dokes Our Day Swing Theory Entertainment Last year in an interview with female jazz vocalist sensation Samara Joy, Christian McBride playfully asked, ‘where are all the guys?”  Since that time but only coincidentally in response to the playful jibe, we’re heard great albums from baritone Paul L. Chambers, Allan Harris, and mainstays Kurt Elling […]

BOBBY SELVAGGIO 11 STORIES, DREAMS, INSPIRATIONS FOR MY BOY Hidden Cinema Records Bobby Selvaggio, alto & soprano saxophone/composer/arranger; Orlando Watson, spoken word; Zaire Darden & James Johnson III, drums; Paul Thompson, bass; Joey Skoch & Theron Brown, piano; Chelsea Selvaggio, vocals.  SAXOPHONES:  Tony Spicer, tenor saxophone/ bass clarinet; Chris Coles, & John Klayman, tenor; Brad […]

Ian Wardenski Quintet featuring TAMARA TUCKER UNFOLDINGS Independent Label Ian Wardenski, guitar/composer/arranger; Tamara Tucker, vocals; Savino Palumbo, piano; Amy Shook, bass; Frank Russo, drums; Mercedes Beckman, alto saxophone. Ian Wardenski is a guitarist, composer, educator (professor of Music at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD, and Chair of Performing Arts).  “Unfoldings” is Wardenski’s third […]

Yelena Eckemoff Romance of the Moon L & H Production Pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff’s 2023 Lonely Man and His Fish was one of the year’s most charming albums, a human-pet story set to music and covered on these pages. Her latest, Romance of the Moon, het twentieth album, may seem different on the surface […]

KENNY BARRON BEYOND THIS PLACE Artwork Records Kenny Barron, piano/composer; Steve Nelson, Vibraphone; Kiyoshi Kitagawa, double bass; Jonathan Blake, drums. Immanuel Wilkins, alto Saxophone. This album opens with one of my favorite Hoagy Carmichael ballads, “The Nearness of You.”  It is a beautiful way to start the ‘set.’  On track #2, they play the Barron […]

Hakon Skogstad 8 CONCEPTS OF TANGO Ora Fonegram Hakon Skogstad, piano/composer; Andreas Rokseth & Asbjerg Ryeng, bandoneon; Ole Scheyen Sjölin, double bass; Sveinung Lillebjerka & Anders Larsen, violin; Bergmund Waal Skaslien, viola; Marit Aspaas, cello. Hakon Skogstad describes his recent recording release saying: “In 8 Concepts of Tango, I have taken inspiration from Astor Piazzolla’s […]

Zaccai Curtis Cubop Lives! Truth Revolution Pianist and composer Zaccai Curtis, like others with Afro-Cuban heritage, plays in so many different contexts that it’s sometimes easy to overlook the foundation of his style. In the past year, Curtis has been the pianist for rising saxophone star Lakecia Benjamin. In Newport 2019 he was in the […]