Home » Jazz Articles » Chuck Berghofer
Jazz Articles about Chuck Berghofer
Chris Standring: Wonderful World
by Jack Bowers
Wonderful World, the fourteenth album as leader by British guitarist Chris Standring, was no doubt recorded with the best of intentions. And make no mistake, the music is warm and lovely, furnishing an opulent showcase for Standring's mellow guitar. Aside from that, however, there's not a whole lot to say. Standring's “orchestra" consists of a nineteen-member string section, while Geoff Gascoyne's syrupy arrangements call to mind popular string-laden sessions from the 1950s and '60s, “easy listening" albums for “late-night lovers" ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot: Sunset in the Blue - The Deluxe Version
by William H. Snyder
Henri Matisse, the master of the use of color, said, “Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue." Melody Gardot's Sunset in the Blue: The Deluxe Version shows its mastery, in both the color of its cover design and the execution of its musicianship. Back in the day, Matisse got in trouble with some art critics for his simile. Some listeners might have a similar reaction to Melody's music, but not all. Gardot's ...
Continue ReadingMelody Gardot: Sunset in the Blue
by Scott Gudell
Melody Gardot emerged from her own smoky shadows of the mid-2000s as if she were some femme fatale emanating from a film noir movie. The plot twist was that she was the good girl, but it was her body that had been damaged in an auto accident. An extensive recovery followed. Her long, lean cane only reinforced her long, lean looks. The shades added just a touch of mystery. If there was anything positive, it was that she confronted the ...
Continue ReadingKenny Kotwitz & the L.A. Jazz Quintet: When Lights Are Low
by Jack Bowers
Imagine the following conversation: “Hi, my name is Kenny Kotwitz. I'm an accordionist and I want to record a centennial tribute to Art van Damme. Would you care to join me?" Okay, it probably didn't go down quite like that but the premise, in these days of rap, heavy metal, acid rock, new wave, bubblegum pop, crass and outrageous behavior and whatever else it takes to incite the music market, is no less improbable. Braving the odds, not only did ...
Continue ReadingCarl Saunders: Jazz Trumpet
by Dan Bilawsky
Septuagenarian trumpeter Carl Saunders, whose horn served and enhanced the music of Stan Kenton, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and numerous other icons, has been a steady presence on the Summit Records imprint. Whether exploring rare Bill Holman charts or crafting a program with a patriotic shine, acting as a featured guest with the Gary Urwin Jazz Orchestra, adding some signature zest to the Phil Norman Tentet's material, or offering up his compositions for an ongoing songbook project with heavy-duty leader-participants ...
Continue ReadingRoberta Gambarini: Easy To Love
by Michael Caratti
This debut outing from Roberta Gambarini sees the Italian-born jazz vocalist pair up with two star-studded rhythm sections and legendary tenor saxophonist James Moody, to present what has to be one of the best vocal jazz albums of the decade.
Opening with Cole Porter's classic title track Gambarini's exquisite tone and masterful rhythmic phrasing are immediately on display in the first a capella section. The gradual addition of bass and brushes does little to prepare you for what happens next, ...
Continue ReadingRoberta Gambarini: Easy To Love
by Suzanne Lorge
If Roberta Gambarini had chosen to pursue opera we might be seeing her at the Met instead of in the world's top jazz clubs, so exquisite is the natural lyricism of her voice and her technical mastery of its use. Absent from her performance are the blatant shifts in registration, dicey intonation, and questionable diction that are often stereotypically associated -- rightly or wrongly -- with jazz singing. But a jazz singer Gambarini is, and a fantastic one at that.
Continue Reading
