making a Scene

Russ Lossing Alternate Side Parking Music Aqua Piazza Alternate Side Parking Music marks the debut of pianist/composer/improviser Russ Lossing’s new quartet, King Vulture with reedist Adam Kolker, bassist Matt Pavolta, and drummer Dayeon Seok. Even more importantly, this is a brilliant album that will have you smiling and probably even laughing as Lossing’s compositions often […]

Nicole Zuraitis How Love Begins Outside in Music Jazz singer-songwriter and vocal/instrumentalist, the Grammy-nominated Nicole Zuraitis, teams with bassist and co-producer Christian McBride on How Love Begins, a seldomly expressed and at times irreverent but realistic dissertation on the ebbs and flows of modern love. Besides the multi-talented Zuraitis and McBride, the supporting cast includes Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Maya Kronfeld on […]

Douyé The Golden Sèkèrè Rhombus Nigerian-born, L.A.-based jazz vocalist Douyé puts a completely refreshing spin on the Great American Songbook on The Golden Sèkèrè, her fifth album named after the beaded Nigerian percussion instrument. Blending her African heritage with these well-known songs introduces a unique soundscape that in essence makes these familiar songs sound new.  Having sourced a bounty of songs from […]

Wayne Smith Jr. Be Still Blue Collar Drummer, composer, and educator Wayne Smith Jr. is a vital member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, stepping out here as a leader for one of the more calming albums we’ve heard recently.  Leading a quintet that includes trombonist Brent White, alto saxophonist Matthew Clayton, guitarist Ian Macaulay, and […]

Sunnyside While it might be a bit unusual reviewing two albums in the same space, we have two solo piano efforts from two different artists that are on the same label, both essentially interpreting standards. Understand this is not an effort to compare the two or necessarily draw distinctions between the two but their different […]

Patrick Cornelius Book of Secrets Posi-Tone Multi-reedist and composer Patrick Cornelius didn’t intend to originally make Book of Secrets using his arsenal of alto and soprano saxophones, alto flute, and clarinet, thinking that he’d just play the soprano saxophone. Producer Marc Free suggested the variety and the results have yielded arguably the most well-thought out […]

Terry Gibbs Legacy Band The Terry Gibbs Songbook Whaling City Sound The vibraphonist and composer Terry Gibbs thought he was done with music at age 92 but the muse struck, and he gathered several lyric writers (Steve Allen, Michael Dees, Jerry Gladstone, Arthur Hamilton, and Bobby Troup. and a dream band to play 15 of […]

Daniel Hersog Open Spaces (Folk Songs Reimagined) Cellar Music When Cory Weeds and his Vancouver-based Cellar Music is issuing an artist, it behooves this writer to take notice. Conductor, arranger, trumpeter, and composer Daniel Hersog is releasing his second album, Open Spaces (Folk Songs Reimagined) and the idea of taking familiar songs and transforming them […]

Senri Oe Class of ‘88 PND/Sony Masterworks Every so often a story comes along that’s worth sharing, almost aside from the music itself. Contrary to the usual path of a jazz musician crossing into the pop world to achieve commercial success, here we have the former Japanese pop star Senri Oe going in the opposite […]

Nanny Assis Rovanio: The Music of Nanny Assis In + Out Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer Nanny Assis delivers just his second album as a leader but the first with mostly his own compositions. Demonstrating his love for collaboration, Assis invites twenty guests, including renowned bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Chico Pinheiro, pianist Fred […]

Noah Haidu Standards Sunnyside The iconic trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette, known as the Standards Trio, established the template 40 years ago with their first of 21 albums on standards. Rising star Noah Haidu has now carried that legacy forward with an esteemed trio of his own featuring bassists Buster Williams and Peter […]

Dred Scott The Pacific Jazz Group Ropeadope Pianist Dred Scott just took a gigantic left turn, but we shouldn’t be at all surprised given the vast ground the maverick pianist has covered with 11 albums as a leader, over 50 as a sideman, and performances with Anthony Braxton, Cecil McBee, Andrew Cyrille, Joe Morello, Charlie […]

Yosef Gutman Levitt Soul Song Soul Song Yes, you read that correctly as Yosef Gutman Levitt’s Soul Song is the name of the inaugural album on a label of the same name he just founded.  The South African born bassist who wowed us with the sound of his five-string acoustic bass guitar on Upside Down […]

Javon Jackson “With Peter Bradley” – Soundtrack and Original Score                                                                                             Solid Jackson Tenor saxophonist and hard bopper Javon Jackson has delivered his first original film score for the art-world documentary With Peter Bradley. Bradley is an abstract artist who is finally beginning to receive some long overdue acclaim. The film documents the artist’s daily practice, […]