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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, screenplay, sully, tierney suttion
HOME PAGE Making A Scene Presents an Interview with Tierney Sutton Band Tierney Sutton is considered the “Susan Lucci” of Jazz Grammy Nominations; having been nominated nine times, with eight consecutive nominations for “Best Jazz Vocal Album.” Sutton’s Grammy Nominated project, “ScreenPlay” is a deep dive into songs from American film and has already been […]
brian scanlon, jazz, LA Jazz, making a Scene
HOME PAGE Making a scene Presents an Interview with Brian Scanlon After a long and storied career, saxophonist BRIAN SCANLON is releasing his debut CD, BRAIN SCAN. Scanlon is a first-call studio musician. Over the past 32 years, he has worked on dozens of movies including Crazy Rich Asians, La La Land, and The Secret […]
George Garzone, jazz, Jeff Rupert, making a Scene
Jeff Rupert – George Garzone The Ripple Rupe Media The Ripple isn’t trying to mimic that most classic tenor tandem, Sonny Rollins and Trane on “Tenor Madness.” That iconic piece stands alone. Instead, tenors Jeff Rupert and George Garzone pay tribute to the legendary “Prez,” Lester Young. In fact the title refers to the far-reaching […]
cd review, jazz, lizzie Thomas, making a Scene
Lizzie Thomas New Sounds from the Jazz Age Self-released Lizzie Thomas is a jazz vocalist in love with The Great American Songbook as are many. Yet, she brings an improvisational take on these songs, never content to just do them the same way. As she says, “I can call a tune for the rest of […]
cd review, evilution, jazz, Justin Varnes, making a Scene
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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, massimo magee, tony irving
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 […]
jazz, kayle brecher, making a Scene
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 […]
brain scan, brian scanlon, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
cd review, jazz, jim hynes, making a Scene
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 […]
dominican republic, jazz, latin, making a Scene, Yasser Tejeda
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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, mary black
Mary Black Orchestrated Gifthorse Mary Black, long considered Ireland’s premiere female vocalist, has been recording now for three decades but this is a first. Like early Emmylou Harris, Black is an interpreter, not a writer. Yet, she has a sizeable catalog from which she chose 11 songs to be orchestrated by Ireland’s acclaimed RTE National […]
avante garde, Fay Victor, indie, jazz, making a Scene
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, […]
cd review, Diva, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, Rozina Patkai
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 […]
cd review, fusion jazz, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
blues, cd review, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
cd review, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
alan rosenthal, cd review, jazz, making a Scene
Alan Rosenthal Elbow Grease Street of Stars Don’t let the glasses fool you. Just like pianist Bill Evans had that professorial look, pianist Alan Rosenthal does too and just as Evans produced a distinctive piano sound, Rosenthal produces unexpected improvisations, albeit more akin to Monk. Rosenthal is also an astute and versatile composer. He composed […]
jackie allen, jazz, making a Scene, vocalist
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 […]
cd review, jazz, making a Scene, matthew snow
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 […]
cd review, jazz, making a Scene, roger kellaway
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 […]
Dylan Jack, Eric Hofbauer, jazz, making a Scene, Remains of Echoes
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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, patsy cline, Staci Griesbach
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, jazz, making a Scene, too many ghosts
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 […]
Activate Infinity, jazz, making a Scene, The Bad plus
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 […]
jazz, making a Scene, matt, ulery
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, […]
cd review, jazz, john allee, making a Scene
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, jazz, making a Scene, Ukraine
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, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
blues, jazz, popm, Snave and the Third Stream, Tin, Tin Can Fish House
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, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
blues, indie Blues, jazz, making a Scene, pascal bokar
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Pascal Bokar! Pascal Bokar’s American Shores, in the “AfroBlueGrazz” style coined by the album’s producer Greg Landau, is an ambitious fusion of textures and styles that comes from Bokar’s unique cultural perspective. As an accomplished jazz guitarist and scholar of African music and jazz he consistently heard clear […]
jason kao hwang, jazz, Karl Berger, making a Scene
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 […]
big beat, jazz, making a Scene
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 […]
blues, indie Blues, jazz, making a Scene, Paula Harris, Speakeasy
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 […]
cd review, Frank Foster, jazz, Kenyatta Beasley Septet, making a Scene
Kenyatta Beasley Septet Frank Foster Songbook Sony/The Orchard Trumpeter Kenyatta Beasley leads an explosive session with his septet, through the compositions of renowned saxophonist, the late Frank Foster, Beasley’s mentor. These burning cuts, stretched over twos discs, were recorded during a two night stand at Brooklyn’s Jazz 966 in 2013. There are only 11 compositions […]
cd review, jazz, Lisa Rich, making a Scene
Lisa Rich Highwire Tritone This is vocalist Lisa Rich’s third album, coming now a mere 32 years later, recently remixed and released for the first time. Yes, there’s a story here. Rich sings so purely and this recording is so pristine in sound that it deserves to be heard. Not only that, it features compositions […]
Gibson clark, jazz, making a Scene, saxophone
Clark Gibson Tri-Colored Eyes Self-released This is saxophonist Clark Gibson’s fourth release as leader and reunites him with one of his earliest collaborators, the in-demand B3 master, Pat Bianchi. It’s their mission on Tri-Colored Eyes, all Gibson compositions, to honor the hard bop organ trio sound of past years while con-temporizing it. When most folks […]
fabrizio sciacca, jazz, making a Scene
Fabrizio Sciacca Quartet Getting’ It There Self-released Italy-born, NYC-based bassist Fabrizio Sciacca makes his debut as a leader with Getting’ It There. Fabrizio studied under his mentor, the most prolific jazz bassist of them all, Ron Carter, and recruited the pianist from Ron Carter’s Trio, Donald Vega. Joining Vega and Sciacca are drummer Billy Drummond, […]
Nicholas Bearde I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole Right Groove Nicholas Bearde is a renowned jazz vocalist with a silky baritone voice that lies somewhere between Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstein. He’s the ideal one to pay tribute to Nat King Cole in celebration of Cole’s 100th birthday with I Remember […]
bill o'connell, jazz, latin jazz, making a Scene
Bill O’Connell and the Afro Caribbean Ensemble Wind Off the Hudson Savant Surely Bill O’Connell’s name would not immediately scream “Latin Jazz” to those unfamiliar with his career. Yet, for over four decades now, O’Connell has been considered one of the top pianist/composer/arranger/band leaders in NYC in both jazz and Latin jazz. Importantly, this could […]
A Life Between, Chase Baird, jazz, making a Scene
Chase Baird A Life Between Soundsabound A Life Between, coming eight years after his debut Crosscurrents. The album follows Baird’s graduation from Julliard and a chance meeting with master pianist Brad Mehldau in New York City where Baird now resides and works, (at least when he can). Baird is one of too many young artists […]
jazz, making a Scene, new orleans, The session
The Session Collusion Bubble Bath Collusion, their third album, marks the return from a brief hiatus of the New Orleans-based quartet, The Session. The four members got their start with Jason Marsalis’ Vibes Quartet, but soon found synergy amongst themselves. They are bassist Jasen Weaver, trumpeter Steen Lands, pianist Andrew McGowan and drummer Darrian Douglas. […]
jazz, making a Scene, Mark Winkler
Mark Winkler I’m With You Mark Winkler Sings Bobby Troup Café Pacific Mark Winkler certainly counts Bobby Troup among his leading mentors. This is Winkler’s second full album in tribute to the great songwriter, known best for the iconic “Route 66.” Winkler issued Mark Winker Sings Bobby Troup in 2002, before he was as widely […]
jazz, making a Scene, Mark Doyle, Rock, soundtrack
Mark Doyle Watching the Detectives – Guitar Noir III Free Will Mark Doyle’s guitar album, Watching the Detectives – Guitar Noir III, is a unique and defyingly challenging merging of jazz, rock, and soundtrack. There cannot be many like this out there although Doyle will clearly admit to drawing from a few major influences. The […]
jazz, making a Scene, Ricardo Peixoto, Scary Beautiful
Ricardo Peixoto Scary Beautiful Self-released Guitarist and composer Ricardo Peixoto originally hails from Brazil but has developed a cross-pollinating music style that encompasses different cultures and genres. Scary Beautiful, his third CD as a leader, is an ambitious project involving 27 musicians in the credits, playing just about all modes of woodwinds, brass, and strings, […]
jazz, making a Scene, melbreeze
Melbreeze Amethyst MCC This is the second release for avant-garde vocalist Melbreeze, following the success of her last year’s largely Latin Animazonia. This writer is usually not interested in an album of covers, especially one that hits so many familiar tunes but Melbreeze’s approach is just so refreshingly different that it merits some commentary. First […]
americana, jazz, making a Scene, maryjo mundy
Maryjo Mundy The Fourteenth Confession – Songs of Laura Nyro Bluejazz Sometimes it takes a tribute or interpretations from another artist for one to truly appreciate the beauty and power of the songs left behind by the original. Thus is the case for this live performance by Maryjo Mundy last year at the Gardenia in […]
jazz, Joe Restivo, making a Scene
Joe Restivo Where’s Joe? Blue Barrel Records Joe Restivo was raised in Memphis, the son of a local mom and Brooklyn born navy veteran. At the age of twelve he was playing guitar in punk bands, but by the time he graduated high school he was hanging out on Beale watching the legendary blues and […]
