Jazz Articles about Henry Franklin

About Henry Franklin

Album Review

Bobby Bradford and Friends: Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite

Read "Stealin' Home: Jackie Robinson Suite" reviewed by Chuck Koton

by Chuck Koton
August 8, 2022

Born in Mississippi in 1934 and raised in Dallas, Texas, cornet master and composer Bobby Bradford knows racism and segregation. When asked if Texas was completely segregated, Bradford said, “If there's a word stronger than 'completely,' that was Texas." In spite of the hate and discrimination of everyday life in the Jim Crow South, Bradford and his family were tuned in to events around the country that impacted African Americans. They “got the news from the outside world" from Black ...

Album Review

Daggerboard & The Skipper: Daggerboard And the Skipper

Read "Daggerboard And the Skipper" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
March 16, 2022

For those who think they can tell an album's sound by its cover, think again in the case of Daggerboard and The Skipper. That cover art seems to have come from the walls of an inner sanctum of a Pre-Columbian pyramid. So what kind of music will that be? It is hard to find information on this release. Daggerboard seems to consist of the workings of percussionist/songwriter Gregory Howe and trumpeter/flugelhornist/songwriter Erik Jekabson, of Throttle Elevator Music fame, ...

Album Review

Thisbe Vos: Under Your Spell

Read "Under Your Spell" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
May 7, 2013

A Southern California Girl with a love of standards and romantic music, Thisbe Vos is not your typical female vocalist performing Louis Prima/ Keely Smith duets in a jazz band. Born in the Netherlands, Vos began exploring music by playing the harp and doing musical theatre and only after joining the British swing band, The Jive Aces, did she begin to embrace the style of love songs, ballads and swing that are the focus of her music. Her debut album ...

Album Review

Thisbe Vos: Under Your Spell

Read "Under Your Spell" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 24, 2013

First, there is that name...Thisbe Vos. It is not merely exotic; it is something much more than that, something mythic. Dutch-born, living the dream in America's land of Milk and Honey--LA--Vos, by her looks, voice, repertoire, composing...demands attention, and gets it without ever raising her voice. Her debut, two years percolating, Under Your Spell is a fully realized throwback that doesn't sound a day over the rainbow. Made up of five standards and six smacking, swinging originals, Under Your Spell ...

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Album Review

Henry Franklin: Music to the 5th Power

Read "Music to the 5th Power" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
July 3, 2007

The jazz quintet has long held a distinctive fascination for the world of straight-ahead performance. An improvising front line and a solid rhythm section can bring five sterling musicians together with unpredictable results. On Music to the 5th Power, bassist Henry Franklin's quintet travels the mainstream with spontaneity and an uplifting cry.Guitarist Mark Waggoner, saxophonist George Harper and pianist Gary Matsumoto bring plenty of spirit to the unit's front line, while Franklin and drummer Donald Dean color the ...

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Album Review

Henry Franklin: All God's Children

Read "All God's Children" reviewed by Ollie Bivens

by Ollie Bivens
November 30, 2005

Los Angeles native son bassist Henry “The Skipper" Franklin is perhaps best known for his association with the albums released by the short-lived but influential Black Jazz record label out of Philadelphia in the '70s. He has also played with Freddie Hubbard, Archie Shepp, and the late Horace Tapscott. His new album on his own label is a continuation of a strand of jazz music that arose in the mid to late '60s. Characterized by modal music ...