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The Heavy Hitters: Heavy Hitters
by Troy Dostert
The self-titled debut from the Heavy Hitters, pianist Mike LeDonne's latest sextet, has the feel of a tribute album. However, unlike most recordings of that nature, there is no classic repertoire present, as all nine tracks are penned either by LeDonne or his colleague, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Instead, it is a tribute to a sound that LeDonne and partners are aiming for: in this case, that of the iconic Blue Note label's 1950s-60s period, when artists such as Freddie ...
read moreMelvin Rhyne: Boss Organ
by Chris May
Originally released on CD on the Criss Cross label in 1993, Hammond B3 organist Melvin Rhyne's Boss Organ is issued here for the first time on vinyl. Spanish archive label Elemental, under license from Criss Cross, has repackaged it as a double LP in a gatefold sleeve on 180-gram audiophile vinyl. It is a blinder. Not because Rhyne deals in surging, heavily amped block chords, a la Jimmy Smith, but because his style is utterly unlike that, ...
read moreSamara Joy: Linger Awhile
by Angelo Leonardi
Recensendo pochi mesi fa il disco d'esordio di Samara Joy le avevamo previsto un brillante futuro ma non pensavamo accadesse in tempi così rapidi. Reduce del successo ottenuto all'ultimo Umbria Jazz, la 22enne la vocalist afro-americana debutta ora con l'etichetta Verve e sarà impegnata in un tour fitto di date fino a dicembre (in ottobre toccherà anche Portogallo, Spagna, Francia e Germania ma non l'Italia). In Linger Awhile continua il sodalizio col notevole chitarrista ...
read moreSamara Joy: Samara Joy
by Angelo Leonardi
Samara Joy. Segnatevi il nome perché la giovanissima cantante di New York è destinata a un brillante futuro. Questo disco d'esordio—registrato nell'ottobre 2020 a 22 anni—conferma le doti per cui ha vinto il Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition del 2019. Samara Joy è un naturale talento dal timbro luminoso, che rinnova con grazia e freschezza i classici standard del suo repertorio. Ha splendide doti vocali ma non cerca di stupire con inutili forzature e rilegge la ...
read moreRay Gallon: Make Your Move
by Pierre Giroux
Although pianist Ray Gallon has been part of the jazz scene for many years, both as a player (with Ron Carter, Art Farmer, Grady Tate) and educator (City College Of New York), Make Your Move is his first release as a leader. Supported by a rhythm section of bassist David Wong and the impeccable drummer Kenny Washington, Gallon swaggers through a selection of his own compositions along with a couple of well-known standards. Starting off with ...
read moreIn The Moment
by David A. Orthmann
The trail of splendid hard bop influenced recordings extends well beyond the genre's heyday of the 1950s and '60s. A case in point is trumpeter John Swana's appropriately titled In The Moment. The 1996 release on the Criss Cross Jazz imprint merits the exalted status of its celebrated predecessors. Captured in a one-day studio session, despite the familiar stylistic lineage it sounds fresh, spontaneous and unsullied. A sextet of intrepid, strong-willed individuals fully commit themselves to a program of compelling ...
read moreJohn Swana: Bright Moments
by Victor L. Schermer
Simply put, this album is so listenable and stood out so noticeably among the many CDs I've been spinning for myself recently, that I thought All About Jazz readers ought to know about it. I first heard then trumpeter John Swana a decade or more ago when he jammed at pianist Tom Lawton's memorable long-term gig with the late great bassist Al Stauffer at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. I was awestruck by Swana's clarity, sustained non-vibrato tone, and ...
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