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Ricky Alexander: Just Found Joy
by Nicholas F. Mondello
The odd picture on the cover of Ricky Alexander's Just Found Joy is neither a takeaway from The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966) album cover, nor a play on the GOAT acronym. Actually, the album art was photographed at the Store Barns Farm in Downstate New York. This is a superb album of a dozen (less one original) older classic hits played by traditional jazz adepts--if not GOATS--who excel performing in this genre. “People Will Say ...
Continue ReadingThe New Wonders: Steppin' Out
by Nicholas F. Mondello
There's something effervescent and addictive about the music of the late 1920s. Perhaps it is the fact that technological advancements allow for superior sound quality of the music of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven, Bix Beiderbecke and Sidney Bechet. Reinforcement from period entertainment such as “Boardwalk Empire," (HBO, 2010-14) “The Great Gatsby," (Warner Brothers, 2013) et al, has opened new ears to the classic stylings. With Steppin' Out, cornetist Mike Davis and his cadre of cats offer a ...
Continue ReadingThe New Wonders: The New Wonders
by Nicholas F. Mondello
In the vast array of jazz styles, if there is one segment which rises phoenix-like over time, it is the music of the first third of the Twentieth Century, the era which saw Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, and other individuals and bands ignite popularity. With “the New Wonders," NY-based cornetist, vocalist, arranger and ardent student of that early jazz era Mike Davis has pulled together some of New York's finest trad players in a romp and stomp collection ...
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