Jazz Articles about Charles Ruggiero

About Charles Ruggiero

Album Review

Charles Ruggiero: Plays Monk Live! At The Baked Potato

Read "Plays Monk Live! At The Baked Potato" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 18, 2026

Perhaps no other composer has contributed more standards to the jazz canon than Thelonious Sphere Monk, whose music was once considered too atypical and erratic for the mainstream. Times and tastes have changed, however, and on second glance, Thelonious Monk's compositions, even when skirting the norm, seem nowhere near as deviant as before. In 2026, it is hard to envision a list of jazz benchmarks that does not include such classics as, for example, “'Round Midnight," “Straight, No Chaser," “In ...

Album Review

Bob Reynolds: Eddie Told Me So

Read "Eddie Told Me So" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 4, 2026

When Bob Reynolds first heard tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris, he was more than impressed. “I've been inspired by his music ever since," Reynolds writes. Indeed, he was. So inspired, in fact, that there is more than a little Harris in his tenor's tone and temper on Eddie Told Me So, in which Reynolds' quartet does its best to refresh the Harris legacy for a new generation of listeners as well as for those who may have overlooked the legendary tenor ...

Album Review

Champian Fulton: Flying High - Big Band Canaries Who Soared

Read "Flying High - Big Band Canaries Who Soared" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
July 10, 2024

If memory serves, Woody Herman was once quoted as saying “it's tough to be a canary," or words to that effect. “Canary" of course, was just one of the many euphemisms used for female big band singers in the 1930s and 1940s. Herman's pointed observation was spot on. He thought, correctly, that most female singers were being evaluated--by male critics, of course--on their physical attributes primarily, not on their vocal prowess. This is no place to go into detail, but ...

Album Review

Brian Bromberg: LaFaro

by Joshua Weiner
May 2, 2024

As much as one can appreciate the astonishing stylistic breadth of music that is gathered under the banner of “jazz" today, for many listeners there remains nothing like a supremely swinging straight-ahead date for listening pleasure. For those folks, Brian Bromberg's gorgeous new album LaFaro delivers on many levels: musicianship, sound quality, thematic cohesion and classic tunes. Bromberg is a master bassist who has done extensive work as a Los Angeles-based session musician in addition to releasing 28 of his ...

Album Review

Doug MacDonald: Sextet Session

Read "Sextet Session" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
March 22, 2024

Guitarist Doug MacDonald records albums like someone who is either making up for lost time or does not have much time to spare. According to his discography, Sextet Session is at least the thirty-second album MacDonald has led or co-led, almost half of which have been released in the past couple of years or so. To keep things fresh, MacDonald has performed with almost every size group from big band to duo, but not often with as sharp and experienced ...

Album Review

Doug Webb: The Message

Read "The Message" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
June 17, 2022

The trappings of The Message, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb's eleventh release for Posi-Tone Records, are perhaps recognizable to anyone with an interest in jazz conventions. All hands, except for drummer Charles Ruggiero, contribute at least one composition. While some are more adventurous (tenor saxophonist Bob Reynolds' “Where Did You Come From?," and alto saxophonist Greg Osby's “Nekide") than others (Webb's “Caught In The Webb" and organist Brian Charette's “Bonnie Lass"), there is nothing here that pushes the envelope or prompts ...

Album Review

Charles Ruggiero & Hilary Gardner: Play The Bird And The Bee

Read "Play The Bird And The Bee" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 15, 2019

If you've encountered drummer Charles Ruggiero's debut, Boom Bang, Boom Bang! (Rondette Jazz, 2014), you might've seen this coming. There, in the penultimate spot on the playlist, is a cover of The Bird and the Bee's “I'm A Broken Heart" featuring vocalist Hilary Gardner. Something of an outlier on the album, it hinted at a great appreciation for the sharp lyrics and artful designs responsible for that indie synth-pop duo's acclaim. That small seed of possibility, pointing ...