Jazz Articles

Count Basie: Late Night Basie

by Jack Bowers
July 28, 2023

Late Night Basie: great idea. Three tracks by the Basie Orchestra and four by other assorted groups: not-so-great idea. Enlisting Jazzmeia Horn to scat on the Basie classic “One O'Clock Jump": rather pointless. Compressing seven numbers (eight, actually) into a meager twenty-four--or perhaps more like twenty-eight--minutes (including a “bonus" track): head-scratching. Mind you, the other ensembles represented on the album are not bad; they simply are not Basie. Apart from “One O'Clock Jump," the full Basie Orchestra performs on another ...

Live Licks: The Rolling Stones On Tour 2002-2003

by Doug Collette
November 20, 2004

The Rolling Stones Live Licks: The Rolling Stones On Tour 2002-2003 Virgin Records 2004

Leave it to the Stones, the band that cannot be killed with conventional weapons. They tour the world presenting a show rife with circus-like theatrics, then release a live two-CD set culled from those shows, right at what's defined as Chirstmas time for the music industry. How predictable!?...Then listen to it and find it's chock-full of off-the-wall selections--the ...

Flora Purim: Speak No Evil

by Javier AQ Ortiz
February 24, 2003

Quick and to the Point: Unyielding Purim’s flowering...

Festive restfulness, mature wits, shrewd phrasing intonation and taste, with absolutely no vocal bells and whistles. It’s Mrs. Flora Purim, Brazil’s gracious-sounding elder stateswoman.

Speak No Evil is Purim’s latest. Her vocals, secure and succulent, convey enough exotica brushes in her accented musical fountainheads –and sonic conduits– to extend intimacy into the listening experience. She is the vocal jewel adorning a soloist and ensemble, manifested through her ...

Nikka Costa: Everybody Got Their Something

by Rob Evanoff
June 1, 2001

A far cry from being confused with a famous Nikki and his book of Dirt, Nikka Costa finally debuts stateside with her Virgin release and it’s a real dirty pleasure.

Want a mental taste? Take the sexual vocal passion of earlyTina Turner, the delivery ofJanis Joplinand mix it with the modern day soul of Lauryn Hill and the funk-junk swagger ofLenny Kravitzand you’ll have a hint of how Everybody Got Their Something will grab a hold of you. Nikka might ...

Beenie Man: Art and Life

by Rob Evanoff
July 1, 2000

Art and Life appear to be fraternal twins. Ever consider how interwoven art and life are? And how each continues to mutate and re-emerge as generations whisk by? History will one day reaffirm Hip-Hop as the only true descendant of Jazz by its prevailing influence on the creative arts and its spot-on reflection of culture and modern life. A testament to this fact lies in the energy of hip-hop’s vocal delivery, the way its percussive flowing rhythm has given the ...

D'Angelo: Voodoo

by Rob Evanoff
July 1, 2000

What’s a reviewer to do when all he does is stew aboutVoodoo? Being out of the loop, not having heard of Michael “D’Angelo” Archer until late last century, witnessing the pre-release anticipation but shunning it as my jaded exterior is impervious to the manipulation machine. Months go by, and everyone is talking about him, his “Untitled” video, his body (an abundance of print ads, wall murals and billboards), his sold-out shows (5 nights at the House of Blues in L.A.), ...