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Diego Figueiredo: I Love Samba
by Jack Bowers
One upside to Brazilian-born guitarist Diego Figueiredo's latest album, I Love Samba, is that the title says it all. In case you are unfamiliar with Figueiredo, you should know that he not only loves samba, he also plays samba--quite well--and has entertained audiences in more than sixty countries around the world doing exactly that. And while he is only in his mid-forties, I Love Samba brings the number of CDs Figueiredo has under his belt as leader of his own ...
Continue ReadingZhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra: Scenery in My Story
by Jack Bowers
Zhengtao Pan, born in Shanghai, China, less than twenty-five years ago, was already well-known as a designer of video games when he chose to move to Boston, MA, to study jazz composition at the Berklee College of Music. Scenery In My Story is Pan's debut recording as leader of his Jazz Orchestra, and as its title suggests, the music is personal and thematic, tracing in solicitous terms Pan's impactful voyage from Shanghai to Boston. Intimate, yes, but ...
Continue ReadingYosi Levy: Acoustic Project II: The Duo
by Dave Linn
Yosi Levy was born in Israel and began playing guitar at the age of 12. After a mandatory stint in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), he began working professionally in clubs around Israel. In the early 1980s, he decided to move to New York City and study classical guitar at the prestigious Mannes College of Music in New York. Toward the end of his 5+ year stint there, Levy established a connection with saxophonist Dave Liebman and with Liebman, recorded ...
Continue ReadingDida Pelled: A Missing Shade Of Blue
by Dan Bilawsky
In a way, A Missing Shade Of Blue is a throwback to an earlier era, when Grant Green, “Brother" Jack McDuff, Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, and numerous others were bringing the guitar and organ together to create beautiful music for the people. Yet this record doesn't necessarily fit with the work of those artists. Why, you ask? Well, for one, we live in a different time. But the era isn't necessarily the crux of the matter. The scope of ...
Continue ReadingYotam Silberstein: Universos
by Fiona Ord-Shrimpton
Universos is a trio album featuring Yotam Silberstein on guitar, accordionist and pianist Vitor Goncalves, with drummer Daniel Dor, plus special guests. It is a balance of Silberstein co-ordinating joyful Latin wellbeing and moderated contentment, an acknowledgment of the wonderful and exalted beings and moments that make him, and us, grateful to be alive. Never boring, Universos is accessible, erudite and easy-going and a great album to support good vibes during festivities of all kinds. As mood makers go, Universos ...
Continue ReadingItai Kriss & Telavana At The Jazz Room
by Mark Sullivan
Itai Kriss & Telavana The Jazz Room Charlotte, NC October 14, 2022 Flutist/composer Itai Kriss brought his world music fusion to the Jazz Room to inaugurate its 17th concert season. The set opened with a new, unrecorded tune with the Cuban groove that characterizes most of Kriss' music. Kriss and trumpeter Wayne Tucker had the first of many exciting solos trading fours, in Latin jazz style, and pianist Alon Yavnai played an especially rhythmic solo. ...
Continue ReadingTeymur Phell: Master Volume
by Geno Thackara
This crackling debut from Teymur Phell is a hearty, eclectic and loud funk-fusion party. He sets the tone right away with “Zero to Sixty"--a title that's actually a bit misleading since it kicks off already at sixty mph—and shows that he knows his way around a bass, and also has plenty of use for one with six strings, thank you very much. This jaunt as leader follows years of live and session work; he has clearly taken a lot away ...
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