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Grant Geissman: Blooz
by Richard J Salvucci
There are several ways of judging the success of a recording. Perhaps a hearing makes the listener, if a musician, want to sit in and jam. That is a good sign. Then there is the “sit still test." For many, the direct, emotional and physical connection between music and brain leaves them simply hanging out, absence of motion impossible, sitting still not an option. Grant Geissman's Blooz happily passes both tests. Turn the volume up and a blues party comes ...
Continue ReadingKathy Ingraham: Everlasting Cool
by Richard J Salvucci
If you have a lovely mezzo-soprano voice, lots of chops, a feel for selling a song, a talent for storytelling, and some sense of why tradition is what it is, you end up with Kathy Ingraham. Ms. Ingraham is also not afraid of the big no-no, singing standards (and, lo and behold, their verses too), although she has been known to write her own material too. Whatever the case, she is a treat to listen to and, with a nonpareil ...
Continue ReadingAlbare & Co.: Freedom
by Jack Bowers
"Jazz is the voice of freedom," says Israeli-born guitarist & composer Albare, “and it will never be silenced." To that end, Albare has assembled a world-class sextet to perform seven of his sunny, swing-based compositions, two others co-written with pianist Phil Turcio and Turcio's graceful “Shimmozle." The session begins, appropriately enough, with Albare's open-hearted “Freedom," which introduces fellow front-liner Randy Brecker on trumpet. Soprano saxophonist Ada Rovatti (who also plays splendid alto and tenor saxophones) makes her ...
Continue ReadingDaniela Soledade: Pretty World
by Edward Blanco
Brazilian singer and composer Daniela Soledade presents her sophomore release Pretty World continuing a family tradition of exploration into light bossa nova music. Recognized as a proponent for a new bossa nova sound, her unique hushed-styled vocals distinguish this singer from the other vocalists of the genre. Born in Rio de Janeiro where the album was recorded, Soledade co-wrote two originals ("Beijo No Arpoador" and “Nothing Compares") with guitarist and producer Nate Najar and sings lyrics in English and Portuguese. ...
Continue ReadingEric Goletz: A New Light
by Richard J Salvucci
Eric Goletz is a virtuoso trombonist who also writes and arranges. On first hearing, his core band may put some in mind of Chase, Bill Chase's high-flying group that featured both vocals and technically demanding trumpet. Goletz has something similar going on. The music opens with “Prelude: Before the Light" and “A New Light," with a stinging solo by guitarist Henry Heinitsch. Goletz, it may be observed, is the logical outcome of jazz-rock and funk meets brass ...
Continue ReadingEric Goletz: A New Light
by Jack Bowers
Trombonist Eric Goletz, an in-demand studio musician and sideman in New York City for three decades, released his first album as leader of his own ensemble in March 2021, and quickly followed with the second, A New Light, wherein his core octet is bolstered by three trumpets, half a dozen horns and a five-member string section. Among his more well-known teammates are trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Jim Ridl, keyboardist Allen Farnham and drummer Steve Johns. Goletz' musical ...
Continue ReadingLukasz Pawlik: Long Distance Connections
by Jim Worsley
This is fusion of the highest order, the type of project that is easy to get excited about. The complexities of Polish composer, pianist, cellist and arranger Lukasz Pawlik's compositions soar to new heights on his second album as a leader. Enlisting gold-star talent from both home and abroad, this amounts to about a fifty-fifty configuration of prominent musicians from the United States and Poland. Fusion legends trumpeter Randy Brecker and electric guitarist Mike Stern unite with Polish heavyweights tenor ...
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