Jazz Articles about Larry Koonse

About Larry Koonse

Album Review

Robyn Spangler: Robyn Spangler

Read "Robyn Spangler" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 18, 2026

Award-winning vocal stylist, songwriter, and actress Robyn Spangler is a fourth-generation performer whose deep musical roots trace back to an Indiana childhood of circus musicians, military band players, and a mother who sang in big bands. After taking piano lessons from former Steve Miller Band keyboardist Jim Peterman and fronting professional cover bands at age 17, Spangler moved to Los Angeles to study theater and music. She quickly built a diverse bi-coastal career working both behind the scenes and in ...

Album Review

Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz: Lado B Brazilian Project 2

Read "Lado B Brazilian Project 2" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
August 26, 2025

Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruíz have once again teamed up to explore the rich tapestry of Brazilian music in Lado B Brazilian Project 2. As a follow-up to their earlier exploration of this repertoire, this album sees the duo delve even deeper into Brazil's lyrical and melodic treasures, producing results that are both innovative and rooted in tradition. They have assembled a stellar band to perform Ruíz's arrangements, including two carry-overs from their first edition: guitarist Larry Koonse and bassist ...

Album Review

Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz: Lado B Brazilian Project 2

Read "Lado B Brazilian Project 2" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright

by Katchie Cartwright
August 17, 2025

In a time of disembodied digital-only releases, luxuriously well-crafted albums like Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruiz's Lado B Brazilian Project 2, with physical disk, album notes, lyric translations and evocative graphics, can really be the balm. The project was born in 2015 with the release of Lado B Brazilian Project (Self Produced), which received a Grammy nomination in 2016. The idea was to interpret what we might call Great Brazilian Songbook--classics by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, Dorival ...

Album Review

Marina Pacowski: New Jazz Standards, Volume 7

Read "New Jazz Standards, Volume 7" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 6, 2025

To those who know--really know--their breathtaking jazz trumpeters, Carl Saunders was definitely in a class by himself. Simply put, there was nothing Saunders could not do on the horn, from nailing seemingly insurmountable high notes to creating intricate and mind- blowing solos, all the while making it seem so effortless that many listeners thought he must have found and harnessed a secret weapon of which others were unaware. What many of his admirers did not know was ...

Album Review

Michelle Nicolle & Larry Koonse: The Silent Wish

Read "The Silent Wish" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
May 7, 2025

In The Silent Wish, Australian vocalist Michelle Nicolle collaborates with American guitar virtuoso Larry Koonse in a duo setting that removes all excess, revealing the essence of musical conversation. This recording is both daring and intimate, as it marks Nicolle's entry into a new chapter of vocal exploration, driven by a desire to awaken her creative senses and explore unfamiliar emotional terrain. The decision to work with Koonse proved inspired. Nicolle has been acknowledged for her ...

Album Review

Adrian Galante: Introducing Adrian Galante

Read "Introducing Adrian Galante" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 30, 2025

The late Phil Woods used to argue that of all the members of the woodwind family, the clarinet is by far the most difficult to manage, saying it was “designed by six guys who had never met one another." If Australian-born, New York-based clarinetist Adrian Galante has any problems with the instrument, they are in no way apparent on his debut album, Introducing Adrian Galante, wherein listeners are introduced to a talented and versatile young artist whose growth to date ...

Album Review

Liz Cole: I Want to Be Happy

Read "I Want to Be Happy" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
April 4, 2025

"Unfortunately, I became entangled in a variety of day jobs and set music on the backburner for a shameful number of years. Finally, I have realized that I don't want to work in an office." How often has some frustrated artist said just those words, or some variant? The music business is a tough one, and how many singers, pianists or other instrumentalist have harbored similar thoughts? Yes, everyone pays dues, but some pay more than others, and for a ...