Jazz Articles

Glenn Cashman's Southland Nonet: Music Without Borders

by Edward Blanco
August 8, 2013

Tenor saxophonist Professor Dr. Glenn Cashman and composer, lyricist and voice teacher Eric Futterer have been friends and collaborators in music for more than a decade. Years ago, with the help of veteran west coast bassist Howard Rumsey (Lighthouse All-Stars), Futterer and Cashman collaborated on their biggest effort to date when they founded the Muckenthaler Jazz Festival, held annually at the historic Muckenthaler Cultural Center ("The Muck"), an eighteen-room villa on 8.5 acres in Fullerton, CA. Music Without Borders is ...

Luther Hughes / Cannonball-Coltrane Project: Things Are Getting Better

by Woodrow Wilkins
January 23, 2011

Match the stylings of two of the most revered jazz saxophonists, and you're likely to come up with The Cannonball-Coltrane Project. This five-piece ensemble pays homage to Julian “Cannonball" Adderley and John Coltrane. Bassist Luther Hughes says the idea came to him as he was listening to The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago (Mercury, 1959), the only time Adderley and Coltrane recorded an album together, when they weren't backing up Miles Davis. To make it work, Hughes brought ...

Tom Ranier/Glenn Cashman Sextet: Bright Idea

by John Barron
July 28, 2007

The Tom Ranier/Glenn Cashman Sextet is an all-star group of some of the most in-demand jazz musicians on the Southern California scene. Ranier, whose sideman credits include Buddy DeFranco and Kenny Burrell, is one of the west coast's top jazz and studio pianists. Cashman is a renowned tenor saxophonist who divides his time between teaching in upstate New York and playing gigs around Los Angeles. Bright Idea continues in the same hard-driving, progressive fashion as the group's previous release, Blue ...

Stuart Elster Trio: Get It Right

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 1, 2006

With a blast of early 1960s soul jazz, the Stuart Elster trio gets it right, which coincidentally is the title of the group's second album. It wouldn't be difficult to compare this sound to that of the Bobby Timmons trio, especially given the bouncy and infectuous riffs presented on the first portion of this album. LIke the title track, “Up In There" and “Waltz For Rachel" are just as tuneful; bassist Luther Hughes and drummer Paul Kreibich contribute to the ...

Dewey Erney with the Tom Kubis Orchestra: Lucky To Be Me!

by Edward Blanco
June 30, 2006

Lucky To Be Me!, a collaboration of song and swing, is a throwback to an earlier era that embraced the romantic and gentler side of jazz. Vocalist Dewey Erney has often been compared Tony Bennet and Frank Sinatra, but his voice is actually most similar to that of the late Mel Torme. While he has twelve previous recordings to his credit, this is his first on the Primrose Lane label.

Erney enlisted the talents of saxophonist/arranger and bandleader Tom Kubis ...

Tom Ranier & Glenn Cashman: Blue in Green

by Jim Santella
October 31, 2005

Saxophonist Glenn Cashman owns a warm tone that comes with a crystal clear persuasion. As he converses with pianist Tom Ranier on this program of standards and originals, you can feel the ease with which the two artists communicate. In music, as well as with person-to-person communication, tone can make a difference between understanding and missing the point. Cashman's warm tone comes with a full body and seamless phrases that allow him to connect his ideas to the piano's perceived ...

Becky Gonzales Hughes: Late Bloomer

by Jim Santella
April 4, 2005

Spring may be a little late this year, but it's well worth the wait. Our annual surprises come in the form of little sprouts in the garden that bring flowers, little creatures in the forest who bring up little ones at this time of the year, and a grand change in the weather. Even little goldfish in outdoor ponds know the meaning of Spring and how effective its blooms are in altering behavior all over the world.

Becky ...

Luther Hughes: Luther Hughes and the Cannonball-Coltrane Project

by Jim Santella
March 6, 2005

Featuring alto saxophonist Bruce Babad and tenor saxophonist Glenn Cashman, The Cannonball-Coltrane Project remembers Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane with warm feelings. Initially formed as an homage to the landmark 1959 Adderley-Coltrane album The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago, the group continues to pay tribute to its elders through exceptional interpretations of straight-ahead jazz. Bassist Luther Hughes leads with the strength of Charles Mingus on this program of originals and familiar chestnuts.

Cashman starts his “Trane Remembered" with ...