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Aubrey Johnson, Randy Ingram: Play Favorites
by Angelo Leonardi
Il debutto discografico del duo Aubrey Johnson/Randy Ingram nasce dopo una lunga frequentazione tra la cantante e il pianista, frequentazione iniziata quasi per caso nel 2015 in un recital di facoltà e proseguita con costanti esibizioni negli ultimi anni. Docente al Berklee College of Music, Aubrey Johnson ha rivelato le sue alte capacità tecniche ed espressive in svariate collaborazioni (con Billy Childs, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Bobby McFerrin ecc...) e soprattutto nel bel debutto del 2020 Unraveled. ...
read moreJamie Baum Septet+: What Times Are These
by Katchie Cartwright
Reading Marge Piercy's poem To Be of Use" (track two onWhat Times Are These), Jamie Baum could be speaking of herself, one of those who jump into work head first without dallying in the shadows, who swim off with sure strokes," knowing that the thing worth doing has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident." What Times Are These is a satisfying form of this sort. Confined to her New York apartment during the Covid-19 lockdown, Baum responded ...
read moreRandy Napoleon: The Door is Open: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Paul Rauch
In and around the formidable jazz studies program at Michigan State University is a plethora of jazz talent devoted to instrumental and compositional excellence. Most of this talent is young, benefiting from a wide array of world-class instructors that includes program director Rodney Whitaker and veteran guitarist Randy Napoleon, among other notables. Within this labyrinth of jazz wisdom in the Detroit / Lansing metroplex is composer Gregg Hill, a former truck driver and tech entrepreneur whose performing ambitions were superseded ...
read moreJun Iida: Evergreen
by Gary Fukushima
They are everywhere, dotting the undulating terrain of the great Pacific Northwest, from the winding, twisting shorelines of Puget Sound to the mountains that rise in the distance in every direction: the Olympics to the west, the Cascades to the east, Mt. Baker to the north and the majestic Rainier to the south. The trees are a constant, comforting blanket over this land, ever-present, ever-green. Jun lida has called this place home for the past three years, another ...
read moreJun Iida: Evergreen
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Evergreen from trumpeter/flugelhornist Jun Iida is a textural panorama of multi-cultural jazz flavors, offering original and known fare. Each of the ten tracks is a portrait, and they display fine solo and ensemble playing. To describe Evergreen in one word is to call it intriguing." Gooey Butter Cake," one of six originals from Iida, opens things in a jovial, hippity-hop, jny: New Orleans-esque groove which develops into a trumpet-bass solo ride, with solos following from pianist Josh Nelson ...
read moreAubrey Johnson & Randy Ingram: Play Favorites
by Jerome Wilson
At its best, the pairing of piano and voice can create special chemistry, as in the cases of Ran Blake and Dominique Eade or Bill Evans and Tony Bennett. The combination of Randy Ingram's piano and Aubrey Johnson's voice is in the same class on this album. The two musicians exude a sense of familiarity and trust as they play together, and their sounds mesh effortlessly. Their song selection covers modern pop, the Great American Songbook and jazz standards and ...
read moreLyle Mays: Eberhard
by Mario Calvitti
La prematura scomparsa di Lyle Mays nel febbraio 2020 ha privato il mondo di uno straordinario musicista, troppo poco considerato al di fuori dell'importantissimo contributo da lui dato all'interno del Pat Metheny Group, dove ha rappresentato l'ideale complemento del chitarrista dal 1977 al 2010 prima di decidere di abbandonare definitivamente la scena musicale per dedicarsi professionalmente al mondo del software, un altro dei suoi numerosi interessi. Se i periodi trascorsi a fianco di Pat Metheny ne hanno ...
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