Jazz Articles

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Jeff Beck: Emotion & Commotion

by Doug Collette
April 21, 2010

Jeff Beck's Emotion & Commotion is designed to nurture the guitarist's growing visibility of the last ten years, and may well serve that purpose, even if it only scratches the surface of his genius. The presence of orchestration on many of these tracks is admirable for its ambition, but is not a novel concept within Beck's discography. The Beatles' producer George Martin, who worked with this idiosyncratic musician for three albums, forged some judicious arrangements on Blow by ...

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Chuck Anderson: Guitar Reemergence

by Victor L. Schermer
April 20, 2010

Chuck Anderson's guitar artistry is a cut above the jazz standard. The quality of his execution is so fine that on first hearing, it is literally stunning. His recent CD, Freefall (Dreambox Media, 2010) consists of musical gems--all-original compositions, woven into a tapestry worthy of a master classical guitarist. Yet it is all straight-ahead mainstream jazz played on a Gibson L5 electric guitar in a trio setting.

The question arises as to why he is not better known within the ...

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Michael Musillami: Old Tea

by Troy Collins
April 20, 2010

In March 2009, guitarist Michael Musillami's son, Evan, took his own life at the age of 29. During the months that followed, Musillami composed a book of tunes inspired by and dedicated to Evan, which make up Old Tea, the fifth release from his veteran trio. Named after Lao Cha, a rare form of Taiwanese Oolong, Old Tea refers to a pastime Musillami and his son often enjoyed together--sharing a good cup of tea. Aided by the empathetic contributions of ...

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Hot Club of Detroit: It's About That Time

by Larry Taylor
April 20, 2010

This is the year of “gypsy jazz." Around the world, the 100th birthday of Django Reinhardt, legendary Gypsy guitarist, is being celebrated with festivals and concerts.

At this centennial time, the Hot Club of Detroit's It's About That Time is firmly in the tradition of Reinhardt's Hot Club of France, his legendary quintet from the1930s. This follows the Detroit group's 2008 self-titled release, but goes further beyond gypsy genre-related tunes with arrangements that incorporate the influences of greats from Duke ...

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Ska Cubano: Mambo Ska

by Chris May
April 20, 2010

A blast--a raucous, riotous, irresistible blast. Ska Cubano is a London-based, Caribbean retro band led by the singer/songwriter Natty Bo (aka Nathan Lerner) and featuring his ex-wife, Miss Megoo (aka Megumi Mesaku), a fiery ska saxophonist in the grand tradition of Roland Alphonso and Tommy McCook. Japanese-born Miss Megoo, who also plays some of the honkingest, bar walking, R&B baritone this side of the pearly gates (check the YouTube clip below), is one of the band's five hot horns; other ...

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Chuck Anderson Trio at the New Hope Winery

by Victor L. Schermer
April 20, 2010

Chuck Anderson Trio New Hope WinerySat, April 10, 2010, 8 pm(First of two sets)

Having been impressed with Chuck Anderson's new CD, Freefall, the current reviewer recently interviewed this master guitarist in process of renewing his playing career after a period in the wings due to a couple of untoward life events (theft of his prized guitar and previously undiagnosed severe sleep apnea). Eager to catch Anderson's trio in live performance, he hopped over to ...

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Benny Goodman 70th Anniversary Concert at Carnegie Hall, January 16, 2008

by AAJ Staff
April 20, 2010

Benny Goodman 70th Anniversary ConcertCarnegie HallNew York, NYJanuary 16, 2008 The King of Swing, Benny Goodman, played a historic concert at Carnegie Hall on January 16, 1938. The concert was probably the first to prominently display popular music in a classical music venue. Carnegie Hall was open again to swing, when a 70th Anniversary tribute to the 1938 concert was held on January 16, 2008 in the Stern Room, the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. ...

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Peppe Merolla: Stick With Me

by Raul d'Gama Rose
April 20, 2010

Although Stick With Me is a simple, straight ahead album, it is fresh and full of wonderful twists and turns. The very first track says, “expect the unexpected," when “Naples," opens with a splash of cymbals, the rolling thunder of mallets on tympanis and Steve Turre calling plaintively on his trademark shells, and then it's a rollicking Afro-Cuban rhythm recalling the Neapolitan ethos. That is, until the bridge arrives with Turre bleating and grunting on trombone to hook up the ...

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Take Five with Assaf Kehati

by AAJ Staff
April 20, 2010

Meet Assaf Kehati:Israeli/Bostonian jazz guitarist Assaf Kehati has been performing with legendary drummer Billy Hart and up-and-coming bassist Noam Wiesenberg for the past two years. For a recent Regattabar concert, Kehati's trio expanded to a quartet after renowned saxophonist Eli Degibri (Al Foster's Band) joined the group. The quartet plays both Kehati's and Hart's original compositions as well as jazz standards by composers such as Arthur Altman, Irving Berlin and Ray Noble. His debut CD, A View From ...

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Curios: The Other Place

by Bruce Lindsay
April 20, 2010

The Other Place is the third album from Curios, the British piano trio. The band's reputation has been steadily rising since its formation in 2006--critical acclaim accorded to their first two albums, Hidden (Jazzizit, 2007) and Closer (Impure Music, 2008) and the 2008 BBC Jazz Award for Best Band have all helped to raise Curios' profile. All the tunes on The Other Place are penned by pianist Tom Cawley, who has also written for singers such as ...