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Judy Wexler: No Wonder
by Pierre Giroux
Judy Wexler's release No Wonder is a portrait in vocal jazz artistry, underscored by thoughtful arrangements from pianist and arranger Jeff Colella and a luminous supporting cast of Los Angeles A-list musicians including multi-instrumentalists Danny Janklow, and Bob Sheppard, trumpeter Jay Jennings guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist Gabe Davis and drummer Steve Hass. The twelve-tune track list is a refreshingly curated program of standards that steer away from the overly familiar, instead embracing the “hipper" corners of the ...
Continue ReadingJudy Wexler: No Wonder
by Dan Bilawsky
Judy Wexler imbues every song she touches with a sense of realism, wonder and depth that's ever so rare. An inimitable artist, this celebrated singer adds volumes to each story she encounters, be it a post-millennial jazz tune, '60s counterculture anthem, glimmering Brazilian jewel or any number of other finds. In the case of No Wonder--Wexler's seventh album, arriving two decades after her debut--she demonstrates her gifts with a marked emphasis on standards. Longtime collaborator/pianist Jeff Colella's ...
Continue ReadingSnarky Puppy: Empire Central
by Angelo Leonardi
A diciotto anni dalla nascita, gli Snarky Puppy sono tornati a Dallas —luogo d'origine della formazione— per registrare un nuovo album scegliendo l'approccio preferito: quel “live in the studio" con pubblico in sala che ha caratterizzato le loro opere migliori. Quindi otto notti alla Deep Ellum Art Company per mettere a punto 16 nuovi brani, ora pubblicati in doppio album, in triplo vinile. Il disco privilegia il ritorno ai valori musicali originari: una fusion ...
Continue ReadingJudy Wexler: Back to the Garden
by Richard J Salvucci
Man, if you can pick a tougher project to sell to an aging Boomer than Judy Wexler's Back to the Garden, then you will have to say what it might be. For a lot of the Swinging and Breathing Elderly, this music is intensely personal. Not just where were you, or who were you with? But what were you doing? And most of all, why? Not everyone was a protester or a demonstrator, much less a hippie. Not everyone made ...
Continue ReadingJudy Wexler: Back to the Garden
by Nicholas F. Mondello
A glance at the tracks on this album might make one think that it is a well-selected gathering of '60s message tunes from compilation stalwart, Rhino Records. That not being the case, rest assured that Back to the Garden presents those iconic Pop selections so incredibly re- imagined that what we experience could easily be considered “new selections." Judy Wexler--petite in stature, but tremendously talented and agile in artistry--and her cadre of LA's best, delivers her finest performance ...
Continue ReadingSnarky Puppy: Immigrance
by Josh Deakin
Three years after their last release, Snarky Puppy's thirteenth studio album Immigrance makes a statement as a standard for jazz fusion that all modern artists should take note of. The opening track, “Chonks," sets the tone of the record with a fierce drum fill from Larnell Lewis which is reminiscent of reggae tones, an aesthetic which Snarky Puppy enjoy teasing on occasion. The record keeps pace as it weaves together the collection of songs which gives the illusion ...
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