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Veronica Swift: Veronica Swift
by Mike Jurkovic
Leave it to the irascibly spirited and octane-charged Veronica Swift to release the party record of the year! From the pure joy scatting of the blast-off opener “I Am What I Am" (from Broadway's grand musical La Cage aux Folles) to the rabble rousing, mad-cap Joan Jett jam with The Ramones finale “Don't Rain On My Parade" (only available on the CD and digital versions), the incredibly talented and free-swinging Swift swings for the fences and wins the home-run derby ...
read moreVeronica Swift: Veronica Swift
by Katchie Cartwright
Veronica Swift is a masterful jazz singer. Her craft is immaculate. She scats like nobody's business and her texted improvisations are inventive. What's more, she always seems to sing straight from the heart. All that might be enough for some people, not Swift. She is an artistic adventurer who wonders aloud on social media: “What would it sound like if you put together Ella Fitzgerald and--I don't know--Jimi Hendrix?" An answer is the third track on her self-titled ...
read moreMichael Davis - Hip-Bone Big Band: Open City
by Jerome Wilson
Michael Davis is an accomplished trombonist who has had a long career of live and studio work accompanying a varied roster of big-name jazz and rock talents such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Mintzer, Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, and Sarah Vaughan. He is also an established solo artist and composer who leads an imposing large ensemble, the Hip-Bone Big Band. The big band's second album is an exuberant affair which reflects the joy of getting back ...
read moreJohn Daversa: All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren
by Angelo Leonardi
Quest'ambizioso concerto per tromba e orchestra composto e orchestrato da Justin Morell per il trombettista John Daversa rinnova il fascino delle pagine che Gil Evans scrisse per Miles Davis negli anni cinquanta. Nessuno dei due ha voluto ricreare quei lavori e si tratta di sfumature, dovute al clima impressionista, al lirismo della tromba sordinata e agli arrangiamenti maestosi. Quasi sconosciuti in Italia Morell e Daversa sono artisti di prim'ordine ed hanno prodotto un concept album splendido, ottenendo ...
read moreLeon Foster Thomas: Calasanitus
by Chris May
Born in Trinidad and in 2023 based in London, steel-pan virtuoso Leon Foster Thomas surprised and delighted many in the jazz world with Metamorphosis (Ropeadope, 2016). It was his third album but the first to receive widespread distribution in the US and Europe. The disc proved the steel pan to be serious and sophisticated, sitting comfortably in a lineup of otherwise standard instrumentation, and an instrument that in the right hands can be as expressive as the vibraphone, its nearest ...
read moreTito Carrillo: Urbanessence
by Paul Rauch
Trumpeter Tito Carillo's second bite of the apple on Origin was more than a decade in the making, following up his outstanding first release, Opening Statement (Origin, 2011). With Urbanessence (Origin, 2022), the Chicago-based artist is truly up to the task, producing a work which is an homage to everyday life in the city. The narrative makes the point that cities are home to creators, visionaries and an army of people who are motivated by the hope they provide. Cities ...
read moreTito Carrillo: Urbanessence
by Jack Bowers
Urbanessence, the second album as leader from Chicago-area trumpeter, composer and educator Tito Carrillo, is a rhythmic showcase for ten of his buoyant original compositions, all of which embody his love of BAM (Black American Music) and the lyric legacy of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Peru. Carrillo, a bold and burnished improviser from the Freddie Hubbard-Lee Morgan-Donald Byrd school of hard bop, shares the front line with the energetic and versatile saxophonist Troy Roberts (who plays ...
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