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Darrell Grant: Our Mr. Jackson
by Maurizio Zerbo
Pianista di vaglia, Darrell Grant ha il pregio di non deludere chi si aspetta classe, squisita musicalità e buon gusto nella pratica jazzistica. Queste componenti si ritrovano nell'omaggio discografico a Milt Jackson e al Modern Jazz Quartet. Our Mr Jackson è un CD interessante per la musicalità e le sofisticate soluzioni melodiche, anche se prive di grandi colpi d'ala. È un esempio di elegante mainstream dove emergono la grande tecnica, l'equilibrio, la cura dei particolari, la ...
read moreDarrell Grant's MJ New: Our Mr. Jackson
by Jack Bowers
Anyone missing the artistry and elegance of the Modern Jazz Quartet will warm quickly to pianist Darrell Grant's MJ New, which pays homage to the great vibraphonist Milt Jackson and, through him, the legendary MJQ, on Our Mr. Jackson. The instrumentation is the same as the MJQ, with Mike Horsfall sitting in for Jackson on vibraphone and Grant for pianist John Lewis. Bassist Marcus Shelby (think Percy Heath) and drummer Carlton Jackson (Kenny Clarke, Connie Kay) round out the quartet. ...
read moreBill Ortiz: Points of View
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Long associated with Carlos Santana, with whom he had a 16-year stint, trumpeter Bill Ortiz steps into the spotlight here with an auspicious and highly entertaining session. Ten selections showcase Ortiz who is supported by some of the Bay area's best. The order of the day is energy, excitement, and an overall superb show. “Sunburst," an Eddie Henderson tune, launches things with a pulsing piano, driving bass, textured rhythms and Ortiz wailing, first using a Harmon mute ...
read moreWynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock & More
by Joe Dimino
Straight outta San Francisco with his talented orchestra, Marcus Shelby opens this week's episode with music off his latest CD Transitions. We then move into the reason Marcus got into jazz and that would be the New Orleans titan Wynton Marsalis. The hour continues with Bonerama covering Led Zeppelin, Frank Grasso, Dennis Coffee and Etienne Charles. In between those jazz lines, we profile the lives of Kalya Ramu and Yoko Miwa. We finish it all up with the talent of ...
read moreMarcus Shelby: Transitions
by C. Michael Bailey
Considering ambition and musical vision, bassist/bandleader Marcus Shelby has a single peer: Wynton Marsalis. Both men have a healthy reverence for the past and big imaginations for large-scale works. Shelby is struck by history, much of which he incorporates into this larger works like Soul of the Movement: Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011) and Beyond the Blues: A Prison Oratorio (2015). On Transitions, Shelby wanted to present something akin to his live performances with his big band. ...
read moreMarcus Shelby Orchestra: Transitions
by Jack Bowers
Although it is not alluded to anywhere, the centerpiece of San Francisco-based composer / bassist Marcus Shelby's latest big-band album, Transitions, is the evocative four-movement suite “Black Ball: The Negro Leagues and the Blues," which pays tribute to the all-black enterprises whose shining stars were barred from displaying their talents in the major baseball leagues until the great Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and opened the floodgates in 1947. Shelby's picturesque charts, which traverse the ...
read moreMarcus Shelby Orchestra: Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Edward Blanco
A man with a deep social conscience and a fervent interest in social history, San Francisco bassist and band leader Marcus Shelby has previously used music to illuminate past injustices on Port Chicago (Noir Records, 2006), and then again with Harriet Tubman (Noir Records, 2008). On Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Shelby once again tackles another large-scale project of social and spiritual significance expressed through his creative musical interpretations.For Shelby, the inspiration ...
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