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Kiki Valera: Vacilón Santiaguero
by Richard J Salvucci
In Cuban Spanish (and, for sure, there is no generic Spanish in Latin America), vacilón means, well, one hell of a good time. And that is what you can expect from this punchy collection, a great time a la Santiago de Cuba, the capital of one of Cuba's southeastern provinces. It is the land of Bacardí rum and the origins of the 1959 Revolution. A Cuban patriot will tell you about the naval battle of Santiago de Cuba, which more ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf: Heartland Radio
by Angelo Leonardi
Nel 2022 Remy Le Boeuf s'è trasferito da New York a Denver per dirigere il dipartimento “Jazz and Commercial Studies" presso la Lamont School of Music della locale università. La colonna sonora di quel lungo viaggio in autostrada è stata la musica delle radio che alternavano pop, rock, rhythm & blues, country, dance ed altro. “Non c'è molto jazz in mezzo al Paese" ha ricordato l'orchestratore e sassofonista ma la musica di quest'album (che riflette le emozioni di quell'itinerario) ...
Continue ReadingKiki Valera: Vacilón Santiaguero
by Paul Rauch
Son Cubano, the music and dance from the hill country of eastern Cuba, may be a mystery to some readers of these pages. Though the form is rooted in both Spanish and Bantu traditions, its modern day practitioners, embodied and popularized by the music of Buena Vista Social Club, have broadened the music's view. In the United States, particularly in this case, the Pacific Northwest, there are pockets of enthusiasm for Latin music of all sorts. Yet upon attending a ...
Continue ReadingRemy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows: Heartland Radio
by Dan Bilawsky
This ear-grabbing date from Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows--the band's third release, following its eponymous debut (in 2019) and Architecture of Storms (SoundSpore Records, 2021)--is a sonic mirror, reflecting the multihyphenate leader's recent travels in both life and sound. Influenced by an odyssey across inland America, sights encountered along the way, and the adventitious, airwaves-dictated soundtrack to the journey, Heartland Radio offers up a striking portrait of a Promethean artist with an unfettered imagination. Opening on ...
Continue ReadingBrian Woodruff Sextet: A Centering Peace
by Jerome Wilson
The title of this release by drummer Brian Woodruff suggests a set of meditative, spiritually-focused jazz by his long-standing sextet. While that may be the underlying theme of the disc but only a couple of tracks have that actual sound. The others go off in several different directions. The album is dedicated to Woodruff's spiritual advisor, Monsignor Edward Straub, and the title track was written to celebrate his 75th birthday and his 50th Anniversary in the priesthood. It ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus, Fred Hersch, Drew Gress, Billy Hart: For Now
by Angelo Leonardi
Due anni dopo il sontuoso progetto orchestrale pubblicato nell'album Generations (Blueland 2018) il compositore e multistrumentista allievo di Bob Brookmeyer, è tornato a incidere con un piccolo organico, aperto a suggestioni cameristiche (con l'aggiunta di un quartetto d'archi) o di taglio neo-bop (con il trombettista Michael Rodriguez). Quand'era adolescente Brian Landrus era una testa calda, il peggiore della scuola, sempre pronto a picchiarsi coi coetanei. Poi il jazz l'ha molto cambiato e risulta difficile crederlo oggi, di ...
Continue ReadingBrian Landrus: For Now
by Doug Hall
Low-register reed specialist and multi-instrumentalist and composer Brian Landrus confronted a difficult period in his life and used adversity to inspire a passionate declaration in song on his 2020 release For Now (BlueLand Records). He took advice from the late valve-trombonist, composer and educator Bob Brookmeyer, “book a recording session before you have the music composed—then you have a goal." Alternating between the baritone saxophone and the bass clarinet, Landrus creates wonderful lower-range tones and compositions with instruments ...
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