Jazz Articles

Arnaldo Antunes/Carlinhos Brown/Marisa Monte: Tribalistas

by AAJ Staff
December 18, 2003

To get the point of Tribalistas you have to see past the hype. Sure, the three musicians who put this music together are huge stars in Brazil--and the world, at least the places where global music is appreciated. Marisa Monte has few peers when it comes to vocal music; her collaborators have made huge names of their own, Arnaldo Antunes as a pop hero in his own right and Carlinhos Brown as percussionist for everyone who matters. You might imagine ...

Arnaldo Antunes/Carlinhos Brown/Marisa Monte: Tribalistas

by AAJ Staff
October 18, 2003

What happens when Brazil's reigning pop diva joins forces with cerebral rocker Arnaldo Antunes and ultra-hip percussionist Carlinhos Brown? That's a trick question, really, since they've gotten together before. The result was the superb Rose and Charcoal (Metro Blue, 1994), released under Monte's name, but featuring all of the Tribalistas trio in major roles.

Their latest venture is somewhat less successful - given the hype about “secret" recording sessions, supposed overt connections with the Tropicália movement of the ...

Richard Leo Johnson: Fingertip Ship

by AAJ Staff
January 21, 2003

Self-taught and self-tuned, guitarist/photographer Richard Leo Johnson takes listeners on a thirteen-part voyage on his Fingertip Ship. Though he pays tribute to Jazz legends Tony Bennett, Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt and Jaco Pastorius and explores the feelings of Pink Floyd and The Who, Johnson’s technique, style and delivery are unlike any other performer. Often hitting the frets without knowing exactly what "key" he may be in (if any), Johnson’s intuitive and idiosyncratic approach ranges from the delicate and spare to ...

Holly Cole: The Best of Holly Cole

by AAJ Staff
January 20, 2003

From the spare supports of the soaring “Calling You" to the lush strings of an instantly recognizable “Blame it On My Youth," Canadian chanteuse Holly Cole’s arrangements and internalized delivery make nearly every selection sing on their own and linger sweetly in the musical mind. Re-grooving Lennon and McCartney’s “I’ve Just Seen a Face" and adding a Burt Bacharach bass line to Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now," Cole takes a great song and makes it great again in ...

Richard Leo Johnson: Fingertip Ship

by Matthew S. Robinson
August 1, 2001

Self-taught and self-tuned, guitarist/photographer Richard Leo Johnson takes listeners on a thirteen-part voyage on his Fingertip Ship. Though he pays tribute to Jazz legends Tony Bennett, Stephane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt and Jaco Pastorius and explores the feelings of Pink Floyd and The Who, Johnson’s technique, style and delivery are unlike any other performer. Often hitting the frets without knowing exactly what “key" he may be in (if any), Johnson’s intuitive and idiosyncratic approach ranges from the delicate and spare to ...

The Wild Magnolias: Life Is A Carnival

by Jim Santella
May 1, 1999

Mardi Gras is party time for New Orleans. The Wild Magnolias sing a popular form of rock music with ties to jazz and blues. Dr. John guests on four tracks to lend solid piano accompaniment for lead singer Big Chief Bo Dollis. Although the Mardi Gras “Indians" don ornate Native American costumes, they’re not Native American tribesmen, but rather New Orleans street bands who love to party. The tradition has been around for about a hundred years; whenever there’s a ...

Richard Leo Johnson: Fingertip Ship

by AAJ Staff
March 1, 1999

It sounds like hyperbole, but I mean it – you have heard these techniques before, but you haven’t heard them like this. If you have, I consider you privileged.

Richard Leo Johnson is a photographer from Arkansas; his pictures are part of museum collections. The guitar stayed in his living room while a technique slowly took shape; only recently has he ventured into public performance. In this set he strums, tweaks, bangs, and does things I am at a loss ...