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Jazz Articles about Jeff Babko
Ann Hampton Callaway: Finding Beauty. Originals. Volume 1
by Richard J Salvucci
"This is my most personal record," Callaway says. Throughout my career, I've loved singing the great jazz classics and selections from the Great American Songbook, but I've always snuck my original songs on various projects. The pandemic made me think, 'I don't know if I'll live through this, but if I do, what's at the top of my bucket list?' And I realized that I wanted to tell my story and share the deepest part of me. What better way ...
read moreDan Schnelle: Shine Thru
by Jerome Wilson
Dan Schnelle is a drummer on the Los Angeles music scene who has played in a lot of contexts. That is reflected in his first album which delves into different shades of jazz-rock with traces of exotica and electronic music in the margins. Unknown Territory" and Spaceman Spiff" are angular pieces that spotlight the atmospheric keyboards of Jeff Babko and the electric guitar of Anthony Wilson with the ethereal vibe of a vintage science-fiction soundtrack. Shine Thru" ...
read moreDan Schnelle: Shine Thru
by Dan Bilawsky
This debut album from one of the West Coast's go-to drummers delivers an empyrean escape while offering a clear look at the impressive inner workings of a beautiful mind in motion. Those who know Dan Schnelle as a sideman will recognize his master musicianship right off the bat as he lays the foundation for this absorbing music, but they'll probably also come to realize that there's far more to the man than his stick work. In crafting a program built ...
read moreMike Miller: Trust
by Jim Worsley
This record is more than a breath of fresh air. It is more like when you open the front door and that momentary rush of crisp wind blows in. Trust embraces that sensation and creates a limitless screen door of opportunity. Ten original and melodious compositions by Mike Miller seamlessly flow, and both sustain and cherish the feel of the moment for the duration. The magnitude of this project propelled Miller to assemble an elite group of musicians. ...
read moreLyle Workman: Uncommon Measures
by Mike Jacobs
If there's a major takeaway to be had from listening to guitarist Lyle Workman's Uncommon Measures, it's the palpable sense that all of his impressive musical experience has been poured into it. And to that end, Workman certainly doesn't bury the lead. The epic opening track North Star" can single-handedly make sense of Workman's entire decades-long resume. It's a CV that includes working in and with bands (Bourgeois Tagg, Jellyfish, Frank Black), being a hired gun" guitarist (with such icons ...
read moreBKO Quintet: Bamako Today
by James Nadal
While most musicians have the convenience of being in a relaxed atmosphere while preparing to produce a record, this was not the situation for the members of the BKO Quintet. Amidst the revolutionary turmoil which embroiled Mali in late 2012 to the brink of civil war, they maintained focused on their musical endeavor, albeit with a warranted sense of urgency, until with the proper visas and connections they were able to fly to France to produce Bamako Today. Though it ...
read moreJeff Babko: Mondo Trio
by Ian Patterson
Stepping out of the confines of the house-band on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live Show, keyboardist Jeff Babko recruits drumming legend Vinnie Colaiuta and Bela Fleck's saxophonist Jeff Coffin to record Mondo Trio,(Abstract Logix, 2007) his first effort as leader. The nine original tunes deftly mix up elements of prog-rock/fusion, funk, plus jazz, and it makes for absorbing listening.
There is a touch of early '70s Zappa about Head Trauma, with keyboard and sax laying down a grinding riff ...
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