CD Reviews on projects by Jazz artists
Shunzo Ohno Runner Pulsebeats Renowned trumpeter and composer Shunzo Ohno has released his 18th album as leader. This relatively short, (very short for a jazz) album clocks in at just over 30 minutes but offers a wide span of music within that condensed amount of time. Runner is comprised of three compositions; the first of […]
Lou Volpe Before & After Jazz Guitar Let’s acknowledge that moat of the artists you read about on these pages are blues musicians. Even though the record label above and perhaps some of guitarist Lou Volpe’s previous work my steer toward jazz, this writer finds plenty of blues in Volpe’s style. Think back to Larry […]
The TNEK Jazz Quintet Plays the Music of Sam Jones TNEK Jazz If you’re familiar with the music of Cannonball and Nat Adderley and their soul-jazz albums from the ‘60s and ‘70s, chances are that you know the bassist/composer Sam Jones. Jazz fans in general are likely familiar with the name as he was a […]
Laila Biali Out of Dust Self-released (in U.S.) labels elsewhere We are reminded constantly that some of the best music comes from across our northern border. Just this week we heard again from Canadian genre-defying Basia Bulat, a three-time Polaris Music Prize finalist and three-time Juno Award nominee, who released Are You in Love? This […]
Schapiro17 New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 Summit As you all know, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue remains the top selling jazz album of all time and people are still buying it more than 60 years later. In that time, we’ve heard tributes, arrangements of many of the tunes, especially “So What” and “All […]
J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band New York Moment Twee-Jazz As the name implies, this band is a ‘tweener” somewhere between a large ensemble or a larger band. Additionally, most units of this type would have one main vocalist while this one has five, each with a distinctly different style. The J.C. Hopkins Biggish Band is a […]
Chicago Yestet Not There Yet Tiddlywinks Music You’ve heard of quartets, quintets, septets and others but this may be the first time you’ve encountered a yestet. This is Chicago’s own acclaimed ensemble, the Chicago Yestet, releasing its third album, Not There Yet. Under the direction of Joel Adams, the 13-piece band presents an engaging, diverse release which addresses […]
Jenny Davis Rearranged Three Penny Just seeing the name Jenny Davis, not to mention her half smiling face in the promo materials, may lead one to believe that this is your basic jazz vocal album. Yet, while it has some of that character, it’s much broader with some very imaginative instrumental configurations and performances. That’s […]
Bob Baldwin Henna City Sketches Bob Baldwin leads this sizeable project with no fewer than 21 musicians and/or singers in the credits with a repertoire that’s as justifiably wide. This is the 31st album for the New York state born contemporary jazz pianist, composer, author and producer. His dad was also a jazz pianist, having […]
Vito Dieterle Anemone and Status Sphere with Joel Forrester Ride Symbol Yes, you read the title correctly. We are covering two separate albums from NYC-based saxophonist Vito Dieterle that he is choosing to release at the same time. Anemone has the classic organ quartet sound of the ‘60s while Status Sphere with Joel Forrester is […]
Funk Shui NYC Shark NATO on a Plane ZOHO Funk Shui NYC is a 15-piece ensemble led by co-leaders trombonist Rob Susman and bari sax/flutist Dave Morgan. They are ostensibly a jazz unit but it’s their wide-ranging repertoire that sets them apart. The five tunes composed by band members here ring with funk, classic rock […]
Clairdee A Love Letter to Lena Declare Music San Francisco jazz vocalist mainstay Clairdee bursts forth with an expansive project honoring Lena Horne, with a supporting cast of no fewer than 20 musicians or singers, including some stirring narration from actress/director/playwright Margo Hall. Clairdee spent three years shaping the project, originally envisioned back in 2009, […]
J D Walter Dressed in a Song Self-released This is a comeback for jazz vocalist JD Walter, the unexpected kind. With a reputation for being somewhat eccentric, adventurous, and the so-called “progressive electronic vocalist,” Walter returns from a life-threatening heart condition and surgeries on his heart and vocal cords to deliver an intimate album of […]
Mike Bond The Honorable Ones Bounce Castle Pianist Mike Bonds is making his debut as a leader with The Honorable Ones, and it’s a quite impressive one. Joined by NYC-based first callers, the core quintet has acclaimed reed man Steve Wilson on alto and soprano, rising trumpet star Josh Evans, renowned bassist and bandleader Ben […]
Sinne Eeg & The Danish Radio Big Band We’ve Just Begun BFM Jazz Jazz vocalist Sinne Eeg has been spreading her spell beyond her native Denmark where she is a huge star, to other locales in Europe and the U.S. Now that she’s combined songwriting with her classy interpretations of standards, she is quickly becoming […]
Sam Hirsh Quite Frankly Umadas Music Pianist, composer and educator Sam Hirsh makes his debut as a bandleader with Quite Frankly, recorded to celebrate the pianist’s thirtieth birthday and tenth year as a staple musician in the jazz scene in Los Angeles. Joined by a bicoastal cadre of world-class improvisers, Hirsh introduces a set of original tunes inspired […]
Robin McKelle Alterations Doxie Alterations is jazz vocalist/composer Robin McKelle’s follow-up to her 2018 Melodic Canvas which we covered on these pages. While that was mostly an album of originals, McKelle chooses here to, as she says, “fuse jazz, soul, r&b, blues and rock while keeping continuity in the music.” These are mostly familiar songs […]
Pacific Mambo Orchestra The III Side Self-released The Grammy-winning Pacific Mambo Orchestra (PMO) was founded in 2010 by Mexican-born pianist Christian Tumalan and German-born trumpeter Steffen Kuehn. The 20-piece ensemble is the only active Latin Big band on the US West Coast, comprised of some of the Bay Area’s top talent. In addition, this aggregation […]
Calle Loiza Jazz Project There Will Never Be Another You Self-released This one has a rich story. Calle Loiza is the famous street in Santurce, Puerto Rico with a storied history of culture and artistic creativity. The Bomba rhythms are known to have origin near there. Some core members of this group met at a […]
Josh Deutsch/Nico Solfiato Trio Redshift Musica.org (from Italy) The duo of trumpeter Josh Deutsch and guitarist Nico Solfiato have been active since 2006 when they first met in Boston. They draw on multiple genres, sometimes covering classical and pop in addition to jazz. Sometimes they are totally acoustic but are not averse to electronic loops […]
Justin Varnes Survival Instinct: The Evilution of the Pack Self-released The title undoubtedly piqued your curiosity and there is no misspelling. Instead drummer and leader Justin Varnes is bringing awareness to one of the root causes of violence; our need to belong to a pack coupled with our need to blindly protect that pack. Thousand […]
Tony Irving & Massimo Magee Vitriol and the Third Oraculum 577 Records This is today’s free jazz from two London artists. It’s either your thing or it’s clearly not. There’re no fence sitting for music like this. For reference points think of John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space, a duo with drummer Rashied Ali. Or, the long […]
Kayle Brecher Kayleidoscope Penchant Four Kayle Brecher’s interpretation of the opening “My Favorite Things” lets you know right away that she is a unique, imaginative jazz vocalist. She respects the tradition but is also willing to take some chances. Brecher currently resides in Philadelphia but is a native New Yorker who began her career in […]
Brian Scanlon Brain Scan Self-released Even before listening to Saxophonist Brian Scanlon’s debut album, this writer couldn’t help but chuckle at the album title, knowing how often “Brian” has resulted in the typo “Brain.” That alone was a good omen. Scanlon is a first call studio musician, who has worked on dozens of movies and […]
Making a Scene Presents Jim Hynes’ Top 30 Jazz Releases of 2019! These are in no particular order Click on the Album art to purchase on Amazon .. Click on the Artist’s Name to read the review! Betty Bryant Project 88 Beverley Church Hogan Can’t Get Out of This Mood Charlie Dennard Deep Blue Clifford […]
Yasser Tejeda & Palotré Kijombo Self- released Surely, you’ve already identified this as Latin music and possibly Latin jazz. Yet, that’s only partially right. it’s broader than either one. Yasser Tejeda’s music on Kijombo is, at least in the U.S. and many countries, the seldom heard roots music of the Dominican Republic, here re-imagined by […]
Raquel Cepeda Passion – Latin Jazz Self-released Houston-based jazz vocalist and songwriter Raquel Cepeda is a multi-talented artist with an interesting story and an auspicious debut. She uses the word ‘passion’ liberally. It’s the name of her band, her album, and her life force. From the liner notes, these excerpts from Cepeda will provide a […]
Fay Victor Barn Songs Northern Spy You may have never heard a vocal album like this one, unless, of course, you’ve heard Fay Victor before. Called by some an avant-garde vocalist and luminary on the contemporary avant-garde scene, Victor’s website has a slightly different descriptor – sound artist. Victor is many things – a composer, […]
The Diva Jazz Orchestra DIVA + The Boys MCG Jazz Perhaps we should start with MCG Jazz, an interesting organization that brings us the music. It is a social enterprise of Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, a subsidiary of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, a non-profit arts and learning center in Pittsburgh, PA. MDG Jazz preserves, presents, and promotes […]
Rozina Patkai Taladim Tom-Tom Rozina Patkai is a jazz singer, songwriter and visual artist based in Budapest, Hungary. This is her third release, a special one in which she sets the poems of world-famous artists to music. Herein are poems by Nathaniel Barratt (“Lorelei”), T.S. Eliot (“Song”), William Blake (“Laughing Song’), Jane Tyson Clement (“Sea […]
Santiago Bosch Galactic Warrior Self-released Fusion lives. The adage says every fifty years or so, trends reappear. There have been plenty of very good recent fusion albums from the likes of Hudson, Shijin, Gerry Gibbs, The Funky Knuckles and many, many others. What is striking about the new release from keyboard ace Santiago Bosch, among […]
Bernie Mora & Tangent No Agenda Rhombus Records The San Antonio based guitarist Bernie Mora stepped out front in 2013. He formed his band Tangent and they released their debut recording “Dandelion”. Tangent is an instrumental jazz fusion group that mixes funk, and rock into their sound. Their music can best be described as Spyro […]
Skip and Dan Wilkins Quartet Someday Deer Head Just as this recording form the Skip and Dan Wilkins Quartet is essentially an homage to the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA, my review is a kind of homage that same venue, relatively local for this writer. Yes, it’s a rather unlikely spot to […]
Jackie Allen A Romantic Evening With – Live at the Rococo Avant Bass This live concert from renowned jazz vocalist Jackie Allen is available as a CD or with an accompanying Blu-ray disc. You may have already seen this as it has aired on several PBS outlets across the country. There’s a bit of a […]
Matthew Snow Iridescence Self-released Matthew Snow’s Iridescence stands apart from most straight-ahead jazz albums due to that unusual instrumentation. Delivering hard bop and ballads without tenor sax, trumpet or piano is rather heady stuff but Snow’s combination proves intriguing. Joining Snow who is an emerging composer and bassist based in NYC is joined by fluent […]
Roger Kellaway The Many Open Minds of Roger Kellaway IPO The brilliant, versatile pianist Roger Kellaway may often be dismissed as “too mainstream” or generally an accompanist for vocalists singing standards or orchestrated pop material. Yet, the pianist who turns 80 this month, has a love for straight-ahead jazz from bebop to hard bop. On […]
Eric Hofbauer and Dylan Jack Remains of Echoes Creative Nation Music Guitarist Eric Hofbauer and percussionist Dylan Jack have put together an album of one of the most eclectic mix of covers ever. It’s a guitar and drum exploration into what is possible when two creative minds go to work. The goal of the Boston-area […]
Staci Griesbach My Patsy Cline Songbook Independent Staci Griesbach was a former Vice President of Publicity at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. After returning from vacation she found herself downsized. She decided then to place her corporate career on hold and fulfill her long standing desire of becoming a jazz vocalist. Virginia Patterson Hensley a.k.a. Patsy […]
Bonsai Universe Too Many Ghosts Self-released Too Many Ghosts, the latest title from renowned guitarist Woody Aplanlap, is the second project from what he’s dubbed Bonsai Universe. It’s a beautiful mess. In other words, depending on your mood his inventive psychedelic sounds can joyously transport you but if you’re looking for something more cohesive and […]
The Bad Plus Activate Infinity Edition Activate Infinity is the second album from The Bad Plus since Orrin Evans replaced co-founder Ethan Iverson in the piano chair. This widely popular jazz trio who has gathered a wide fan base drawing on pop and rock audiences, has delivered an album almost every year since their inception […]
Matt Ulery Delicate Charms Woolgathering Matt Ulery, Chicago-based bassist-composer, casts a mysterious, dense, often warm spell with his quintet called by the same name as the album, Delicate Charms. The unit is unusual in that the front line features alto saxophonist Greg Ward and violinist Zach Brock, each capable of inventive melodic lines, ensemble work, […]
John Allee Bardfly Portuguese Knees Music There have been a couple of other Shakespeare related efforts to cross this writer, a former English major no less, desk’s recently, and for reasons of those albums being a bit esoteric or somehow unconvincing, we didn’t bring ink to these pages. So yes, John Allee, veteran stage and […]
Fima Chupakhin Water Self-released The Ukraine is in the news often lately as it becomes a central focus in the impeachment proceedings but musically we can all be on the same side welcoming Ukrainian-native, Brooklyn-based pianist Fima Chupakhin who is presenting his first album as leader, Water, accompanied by a group of stellar international musicians […]
Chris Madsen Bonfire Outside in Music Saxophonist and band leader Chris Madsen leads his Chicago-based quartet on Bonfire, and album of eight originals, stretching nearly an hour. These compositions have been a long time in the making but allow for plenty of improvisation and interplay. Befitting the album title, there are plenty of moments when […]
Snave and the Third Stream Tin Can Fish House In 1957, Gunther Schuller described the Third Stream as a place where jazz and classical music meet halfway. For Snave and the Third Stream, that definition expands. It is where jazz, pop, country, blues, Cajun, folk and rock come together. And they do merge beautifully on […]
Guillaume Muller Sketches of Sound Self-released Even before listening, one should give a wink to Guillaume Muller for the word play of the album title, playing off one of Miles Davis’ many great records. Guitarist Muller is a relative newcomer to the NYC jazz scene beginning in 2016. This is his debut as a leader […]
Karl Berger-Jason Kao Hwang Conjure True Sound Recordings We have covered the outstanding violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang on these pages before with his Burning Bridge band and the album Blood, Delivering very edgy and highly creative sounds. Here he is paired with avant-garde vibraphonist Karl Berger, certainly a collaboration that in some ways […]
Makar Kashitsyn Jazz Animals Rainy Days There’s a revolution going on in Russia, a jazz revolution that is. We’ll get to the mission and some of the projects of the label, Rainy Days but first we’ll talk about the debut recording of alto saxophonist and composer Makar Kashitsyn, the 19-year-old prodigy from Moscow with Jazz […]
Big Beat Sounds Good, Feels Good Self-released Jazz education is thriving in many fine colleges and universities these days. In fact, there are so many talented players coming on the scene that supply is outrunning demand. There are just not enough venues and gigs for these youngsters to play. Nonetheless, the musical inspiration and joy […]
Paula Harris Speakeasy Paula Harris is the sort of vocalist you would expect to find, in fact, in a classic speakeasy or in a ritzy nightclub. Her voice is full and sometimes haunting, as it is on the first song, “Nothing Good Happens After Midnight. It is also capable of getting naughty on a song […]
