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Ed Cherry: Are We There Yet?
by Pierre Giroux
February is appropriately recognized in the United States as Black History Month. The Cellar Music Group has been in the forefront of acknowledging the importance of Black musicians to jazz in America. With the release of Are We There Yet? by guitarist Ed Cherry, Cellar Music Group presents another release that is led by a Black artist. Cherry who has been a stalwart in the New York jazz scene since 1978, has pulled together a tight band including vibraphonist Monte ...
Continue ReadingEd Cherry: Are We There Yet?
by Edward Blanco
In remembering the great Wes Montgomery, guitarist phenom Ed Cherry records his arrangement and interpretations of one of the superstar's most memorable compositions with an incredible hard-swinging version of “Mr. Walker" featuring Kyle Koehler on the Hammond B3 organ reminiscent of Montgomery collaborations with organist Melvin Rhyne. Byron “Wookie" Landham on drums rounds out Cherry's quartet as vibraphonist Monte Croft sits this tune out. Cherry's elegantly lyrical and deeply soulful approach here is a homage and salute to Cherry's past ...
Continue ReadingBrian Charette: Jackpot
by Pierre Giroux
In the tradition of some great Hammond organ players of the past, such as Jack McDuff, Melvin Rhyne, Don Patterson, Larry Young and Jimmy Smith, one leading practitioner on this instrument, Brian Charette, wanted to write some swinging and soulful bebop tunes which would honor the memory of these past greats. The musicians Charette chose to travel on this journey were steeped in this genre, tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds, funky guitarist Ed Cherry and the swinging drummer Bill Stewart. To ...
Continue ReadingAlternative Guitar Summit: Honoring Pat Martino, Volume 1
by Jack Bowers
Each year the Alternative Guitar Summit, led by Joel Harrison, presents a concert to honor a living jazz composer/guitarist. That wasn't possible in 2021, however, as venues in and around New York City were shuttered tight by the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, it was clear that the chosen honoree, the great Pat Martino, was gravely ill and might not have another year to live. With that in mind, members of the Summit took their guitars straight to a studio to record ...
Continue ReadingEd Cherry: Soul Tree
by C. Andrew Hovan
If there were a reward given for the most consistently underappreciated guitarist with the longest staying power, it would have to go to Ed Cherry. Most known for his fifteen-year stint with Dizzy Gillespie back in the '80s and '90s, Cherry has been constantly active, but criminally undocumented as a leader throughout most of his career. Soul Tree is only his fifth album under his own name, but let's hope that Cherry has found a home with Posi-Tone that will ...
Continue ReadingEd Cherry: Soul Tree
by David A. Orthmann
Like any jazz recording worth its salt, Ed Cherry's Soul Tree, his second release for the Posi-Tone imprint, impresses on more than one level. Cherry's interpretations of often performed jazz standards--Mal Waldron's “Soul Eyes," Dave Brubeck's “In Your Own Sweet Way," Horace Silver's “Peace," among others--are exceptionally well drawn and stand up nicely in comparison to other versions. The disc's ten tracks include two of the leader's original compositions. For the most part Cherry keeps things relatively simple, illuminating the ...
Continue ReadingEd Cherry: It's All Good
by Dan Bilawsky
Guitarist Ed Cherry is best known for his lengthy, decade-plus tenure with trumpet titan Dizzy Gillespie, but his work with another heavyweight of a different ilk--organist Big John Patton--is a more obvious influence on It's All Good. Cherry played the important role of Patton's guitar-playing foil during some of the legend's '90s comeback sessions and he acquired a deep understanding of the organ group dynamic through osmosis during this period. Patton's '90s work dealt with some outlying ...
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