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Cathy Segal-Garcia: Social Anthems - Volume 2
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Los Angeles-based Renaissance woman Cathy Segal-Garcia is well-known as an innovator, trailblazer and an artist who sets her own artistic paths. As a vocalist, composer/arranger, broadcaster, educator and more, she has never shied away from risk. Social Anthems, Vol. 2 follows the first volume which also was a production with socially conscious themed material. With this effort she sends up eight tracks comprised of well-known selections and originals, all with that same orientation. “In Your Eyes" leaves ...
Continue ReadingClark Gibson: Counterclock
by Pierre Giroux
Saxophonist Clark Gibson's Counterclock demonstrates the synergy that can be generated by an outstanding group of performers, including trumpeter Sean Jones, trombonist Michael Dease, Hammond B-3 organist Pat Bianchi, vibraphonist Nick Mancini and drummer extraordinaire Lewis Nash. While pushing the boundaries, the set list, with one exception, is made up of original compositions by Gibson and Mancini. The opener, “Conflict," captures Gibson's emotive alto saxophone work as he is pushed along by Nash's drumming and Bianchi's ...
Continue ReadingAdrianne Duncan: Gemini
by Dan McClenaghan
It started out for Adrianne Duncan with classical piano. Then—as it happens so often—she fell in with a jazz crowd. On her Gemini, the vocalist/pianist/composer proves herself an adept and compelling artist in the jazz genre, one who isn't afraid to take some chances. And she has a way with words, penning lyrics in an off-the-beaten-path style on three of her songs—one offering is an instrumental—while throwing in Sting's “Roxanne" as a closer, a familiar tune than isn't initially recognizable, ...
Continue ReadingKenny Kotwitz & the L.A. Jazz Quintet: When Lights Are Low
by Jack Bowers
Imagine the following conversation: “Hi, my name is Kenny Kotwitz. I'm an accordionist and I want to record a centennial tribute to Art van Damme. Would you care to join me?" Okay, it probably didn't go down quite like that but the premise, in these days of rap, heavy metal, acid rock, new wave, bubblegum pop, crass and outrageous behavior and whatever else it takes to incite the music market, is no less improbable. Braving the odds, not only did ...
Continue ReadingCathy Segal-Garcia: The Jazz Chamber
by Jerome Wilson
On this album, Cathy Segal-Garcia, a vocalist and educator on the Los Angeles jazz scene, comes up with something special, working with a chamber orchestra and a group of jazz musicians to produce a wide-ranging program that veers from lush romanticism to complex jazz-funk. On much of the disc, Segal-Garcia's thick, classically formal voice, combined with a full string section, presents a lilting hybrid of jazz and light classical music. On first hearing it sounds a bit too ...
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