Jazz Articles
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Marc Jordan: Both Sides
by Edward Blanco
American-born Canadian singer and songwriter Marc Jordan, who covers a wide range of genres, including jazz, unveils his first album since 2013 with one of his finest recordings to date on the soft and breezy balladic Both Sides. Containing lush romantic jazz arrangements of contemporary standards and recorded with the Prague Symphony Orchestra featuring trumpeter Randy Brecker among others, this is one masterpiece of a recording that speaks to the heart. Also included in this special musical package are a ...
read moreJane Bunnett & Maqueque: Oddara
by James Nadal
There has been a constant stimulating fascination associated with Cuba that has attracted numerous jazz musicians to delve deeper into its musical traditions. Also, judging by the amount of recent recordings by Cuban artists, and those who feature them in collaborative efforts, the island sustains its status as a vital source of inspiration on the global jazz scene. Cuba captivated saxophonist/flautist Jane Bunnett many years ago, eventually leading her to form the all-female group Maqueque in 2013, culminating in a ...
read moreElizabeth Shepherd: Signal
by Mark F. Turner
Montreal-based singer Elizabeth Shepherd gently stirs jazz with an underground pop aesthetic in Signal. Similar to the fresh styles of contemporaries such as Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato, Shepherd's appeal is heard in her multifaceted gifts as a songwriter, musician, and composer; attributes which garnered her a Juno Award nomination for Best Vocal Jazz Album for her 2012 release Rewind (Linus Entertainment). Signal takes a soulful groove-centric stance with tight rhythmic hooks and beats that would fit ...
read morePeter Appleyard: Sophisticated Ladies
by Edward Blanco
Celebrated Canadian vibraphonist Peter Appleyard made some waves on his last instrumental album, revisiting the past in a previously unreleased recording that captured a select group of jazz giants on the historic The Lost 1974 Session (Linus, 2011). Now, this 84 year-old jazz legend focuses on the present and surrounds himself with a phenomenal group of talented ladies who voice time-honored classic standards on Sophisticated Ladies. Though not the first album boasting this particular conceptual approach, it is the first ...
read morePeter Appleyard: Sophisticated Ladies
by Dan Bilawsky
Peter Appleyard seems to have a way with the ladies. The octogenarian vibraphonist brings his virile mallet work to bear while escorting a dozen lovely songbirds through some smartly arranged standards on this, his second release the span of a few months. Appleyard started off the year by looking toward the past, issuing a previously unreleased all-star jam session from 1974, but his gaze is firmly on the present throughout Sophisticated Ladies. He hobnobs with some of the finest vocalists ...
read morePeter Appleyard And The Jazz Giants: The Lost 1974 Sessions
by Hrayr Attarian
A gem of a discovery, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard's The Lost 1974 Sessions is an important record, both artistically and a historically. Appleyard assembled most of clarinetist Benny Goodman's group in RCA's Toronto studios for a one of a kind opportunity when band in town for a concert. He called the ad hoc band the Jazz Giants, and this is perhaps the only place to hear these masters play and interact with one another.The perfect host and leader, Appleyard ...
read morePeter Appleyard And The Jazz Giants: The Lost 1974 Sessions
by Edward Blanco
Canadian vibraphonist, percussionist and composer Peter Appleyard has spent most of his professional career in Toronto. He has hosted his own radio and television programs, and was made an Officer of The Order of Canada in recognition of his musical accomplishments. He drew international acclaim as a member of Benny Goodman's jazz sextet during the early '70s, with whom he performed at Carnegie Hall in 1974. Appleyard saw a once in a lifetime opportunity, and reassembled most of the group ...
read morePeter Appleyard And The Jazz Giants: The Lost 1974 Sessions
by Dan Bilawsky
While the aggregation of all-star jazz men featured on this previously unreleased, decades-old session may seem random at first glance, the great Benny Goodman is actually the musical tie that binds them all. In September of 1974, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard was part of a particularly strong Goodman sextet that appeared at Carnegie Hall. Appleyard had his own gig in Toronto the following evening and, amazingly enough, everyone in the band, with the exception of drummer Grady Tate, was available. Appleyard ...
read moreFrank Harrison Trio: Sideways
by Dan McClenaghan
After studying Boston's Berklee School of Music, pianist Frank Harrison returned to his native United Kingdom, making a name for himself as a sideman, most notably in saxophonist Gilad Atzmon's band. But beginning with First Light (Basho Records 2006), he has offered up three piano trio outings, each with different personnel. On Sideways Harrison is joined by bassist Davide Petrocca and drummer Stephen Keogh, band mates who can lay down an insistent groove or drift through the subtle permutations of ...
read moreSophie Milman: Make Someone Happy
by Donald Elfman
It's truly a treat to witness the growth of an artist. Vocalist Sophie Milman confesses that she didn't know much about music when she made her first record but her natural talent and lovely grace has helped her get through. So this Russian native--now a resident of Canada with time in Israel in between--has released Make Someone Happy, showing just how far she's come. Milman has always had a way with a lyric and poise well beyond her years--intelligent and ...
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