Jazz Articles

Harry Skoler: A Work of Heart

by AAJ Staff
January 22, 2003

On his 1999 album A Work of Heart clarinetist/composer Harry Skoler opens his repertoire and his orchestral possibilities as wide as his heart, letting in new people and new ideas. In addition to his trusted rhythm section of bassist Richard Kimball and drummer Tim Gilmore, Harry adds the formidable talents of neighborhood fret-master Garrison Fewell and pianist/arranger/producer Donn Trenner--who has also worked with other reed masters like Stan Getz and Charlie Parker, as well as Tommy Dorsey, Lena Horne and ...

Paul Kendall/Bob Leto: Red Top

by Paul West
July 4, 2002

There’s no denying the love jazz aficionados feel for good, old-fashioned tunes. The kind of smooth, light and sprightly sounds that play it safe but do so with energy have a place in our hearts – or ears, to be exact. Red Top, a new album by tenor saxophonist and flutist Paul Kendall and drummer Bob Leto, has precisely this kind of appeal: its rhythms and tones would be comfortable in any upper-class jazz club where men in suits can’t ...

Paul Kendall/Bob Leto: Excursions

by David A. Orthmann
May 1, 2001

The primary strength ofExcursions, a date co-led by tenor saxophonist Paul Kendall and drummer Bob Leto, is the contrast between Kendall’s style and the record’s other primary soloist, pianist Kenny Drew Jr. A thoughtful, deliberate player with bebop roots and hints of Shorter and Coltrane in his approach, Kendall makes a visceral impact without getting showy. In contrast, Drew is a dramatic soloist whose influences encompass the entire scope of modern jazz piano, with a prodigious technique that he frequently ...

Paul Brusger: You Oughta Know It

by Mark Corroto
July 1, 2000

I know it’s only hard bop, but I like it. Only hard bop, indeed! For bassist Paul Brusger, conjuring the music of McLean, Mobley, Morgan, and Miles reminds me why I’m a jazz fan. From the minute the laser hits the disc (it is the 21st century) a wave of energy hits you, simultaneously transporting you back to the great Blue Note dates of the sixties and reminding you the music wears well in our glorious future.

You might be ...

Peter Welker: We'll Be Together Again

by Jack Bowers
November 1, 1999

Eight beauteous songs lovingly embraced by veteran San Francisco Bay area trumpeter Peter Welker with help from a number of his friends. If Welker’s name weren’t above the marquee one would be hard–pressed to identify him as the foreman; everyone on this assembly line makes an essential contribution, Welker no more than anyone else. Trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, once Welker’s teacher at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, flew to the West Coast to sit in on three numbers, and solos effectively ...

Peter Welker: We'll Be Together Again

by Paula Edelstein
August 1, 1999

Jazz with a conscience is the best description for Peter Welker’s debut on Brownstone Recordings. WE’LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN is a collection of mainstream jazz classics first recorded in the 20s and 30s, with Peter Welker providing a conscientious rework and more than enough breathing room for their cool, soulful comeback. The Berklee trained and famed North Beach Jazz Workshop bandleader, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, recorded the entire CD “live” in the studio, with such talented guests as trumpet great Herb ...

Sherri Roberts: Dreamsville

by Jim Santella
February 1, 1999

Singer Sherri Roberts has a pleasant, expressive alto voice, scat-sings and interprets lyrics, uses a vibrato somewhat wider than most, and fades from the limelight at will. The singer, who grew up in Atlanta, earned a degree in theater, and moved to San Francisco, names influences such as Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, and Helen Merrill.

Roberts fares best when she projects firmly with a strong will and with her desired expressions, such as on “It Never Entered My Mind." While ...