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Brian Charette: Like the Sun
by Dan Bilawsky
With time on his hands, neurons firing fast and a serious hankering for tinkering, organist and keyboard whiz Brian Charette created what can best be described as an integrated groove orchestrion with catholic tastes. Using samplers, drum machines and arpeggiators programmed to react to and accompany his playing, Charette birthed a man-meets-machine outfit bent on exploring the outer limits, welding atmospherics to grooves, and forwarding catchy and playful lines that seem tailor-made for their territory, though the reverse is actually ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Apples & Oranges
by David A. Orthmann
The ingenuity of veterans operating within the recognizable parameters of the jazz mainstream never ceases to impress. A case in point is Apples & Oranges, tenor and soprano saxophonist Doug Webb's tenth release for the Posi-Tone imprint. A program comprised of the warhorses “In A Sentimental Mood," “Spring Is Here," and “Estate," the 1960s pop song “How Can I Be Sure," plus a blues, a waltz and a couple of bebop lines composed by the leader may seem passé in ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With Brian Charette
by AAJ Staff
Meet Brian Charette: Grammy-nominated organist/pianist, Brian Charette, has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Besides being a critically acclaimed composer and bandleader, he has worked with many notable artists such as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Lou Donaldson and countless others. Charette is a Hammond endorsed, SteepleChase and Posi-Tone recording artist. In 2019, Charette released Beyond Borderline (Steeplechase), his sixth as a leader and was rated with 3 ½ stars in Downbeat. His recordings have been ...
Continue ReadingOz Noy: Snapdragon
by Mike Jacobs
It's an old sentiment but it still holds that great instrumental chops, enthralling as they may be, are fairly meaningless on their own. And quite frankly, they are pretty ubiquitous these days with the internet exposure machine going full tilt. Given all that, it's quite easy for the listener to become inured with technical prowess-- especially wizardry of the fretboard. So to say Oz Noy is a fantastic guitarist just isn't enough anymore. It's fortunate then that what ...
Continue ReadingDoug Webb: Apples & Oranges
by Kyle Simpler
Chances are good that pretty much everybody in the US has heard Doug Webb's music. He's performed for numerous television programs, including Law and Order, Family Guy and The Simpsons, where he played Lisa Simpson's saxophone parts. He's also been featured on several movie soundtracks and recorded with artists in practically every genre of music, including jazz greats such as Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Clarke to name a few.Webb has also established a formidable collection of ...
Continue ReadingBrian Charette Trio with Ed Cherry at The Turning Point Cafe
by David A. Orthmann
Brian Charette Trio with Ed Cherry The Turning Point Cafe Piermont, NY July 15, 2018 Eight selections into an eighty-minute set Brian Charette looked over at Ed Cherry and asked what kind of ballad he wanted to play. In an instant Cherry answered with his guitar, kicking off Duke Ellington's “In A Sentimental Mood." Without a moment's hesitation, Charette's organ and the drums of Jordan Young fell right into place. Whether genuinely spontaneous or a ...
Continue ReadingBrian Charette: Groovin' With Big G
by Dan Bilawsky
Groovin' With Big G was destined to come about. When a young Brian Charette was cutting his teeth on jazz piano gigs in his home state of Connecticut in the early '90s, he wound up working dates with drummer George Coleman Jr The two struck up a friendship, and Coleman's encouragement helped Charette make the leap to New York a few years later. Coleman even let the budding pianist crash in his rehearsal studio for a spell. ...
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