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Josie Falbo: You Must Believe in Spring
by Howard Mandel
The first moments of Josie Falbo's You Must Believe in Spring sweep us into a lush soundscape, through a cinematic introduction, up close and intimately to her marvelous voice. Her voice is full, rich and pure top to bottom, fluid and shapely as anything imaginable, imparting true faith into lyrics valuing a lifetime's experience, acceptance, appreciation and hope. Josie Falbo gives voice to a heartening message, that like all 13 selections here issue sincerely from the glorious musical gifts she ...
read moreThe Justin Haynes Jazz Collective: In a Funk
by Jack Bowers
In a Funk is the second recording as leader by Illinois-bred composer / arranger Justin Haynes, the first by his eighteen-member Jazz Collective. As was true of his debut album, Shoeless in Georgetown (2015), the most impressive cards are Haynes' splendid charts, ably performed by an ensemble of accomplished and purposeful musicians from the Chicago area. Haynes wrote five of the session's enticing themes and arranged all of them, raising the curtain in a hard-swinging groove with ...
read moreThe Pete Ellman Big Band: The Twelve Grooves of Christmas
by Nicholas F. Mondello
As we enter the Holidays, the airwaves and digital streams flow with seasonal fare of all types of genres. And, once we ring in the New Year, said music heads back into hibernation until the next Thanksgiving and December roll around. The Pete Ellman Big Band's The Twelve Grooves of Christmas is such a fine recording that it might not be surprising for listeners to listen to it year around. The effort is that good. This high-energy ...
read moreJoshua Jern Jazz Orchestra: Lockdown
by Jack Bowers
After taking a pleasant and romantic Midnight Stroll in 2019, trumpeter/composer Joshua Jern's Chicago-based Jazz Orchestra (like almost everyone else) began a coronavirus-decreed Lockdown but has emerged two years later from that self-imposed hiatus swinging harder and more often than ever. As before, most compositions and all arrangements are by Jern; and as before, the orchestra performs them with ardor and panache. This time around, however, there is a formidable new “weapon" on two tracks ("A Stretch ...
read morePete Ellman: For Pete's Ache
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Long a fixture throughout Chicagoland, the Ellman name is synonymous with all things musical. No “ache" at all, this album is a fun big-band romp. There is some outstanding ensemble and solo work and the various terrific arrangements bring the best out of a superb, engaged ensemble. The opener, “High Speed Pursuit," is a whirlwind burner which demonstrates the swing, muscle, and solo talent of this fine ensemble. Think “Naked Gun" on speed. The swing spirit is ...
read moreJoshua Jern Jazz Orchestra: Midnight Stroll
by Jack Bowers
One can only imagine how difficult it must be, especially in such uncertain times, for any musician to decide that the time has come to assemble a big band and usher it into a recording studio, let alone one whose name and reputation are, more than likely, scarcely known outside his own neighborhood. Thumbing his nose at the odds, Joshua Jern, a Chicago-based trumpeter and educator with impressive talents, has done exactly that, escorting his remarkably well-groomed ensemble on a ...
read moreRoger Ingram: Roger Ingram Live at the College Hideaway with the Jim Stewart Orchestra
by Nicholas F. Mondello
In 1960, there was a forgettable little movie titled Visit to a Small Planet (1960, Paramount Pictures) starring comedian Jerry Lewis (with an uncredited cameo by drummer, Buddy Rich). In the flick, all sorts of Lewis-looney shenanigans occur. Recently, trumpeter Roger Ingram landed his craft in Niantic, Connecticut and recorded a half-dozen neat cuts live with this superb local unit. No Looney Tunes here, the mission's result is a swinging and satisfying first encounter of the most enjoyable musical kind. ...
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