Jazz Articles about Steve Hawk

About Steve Hawk

Album Review

Frank Lamphere: Frank Songs, My Way: Frank Lamphere Sings Sinatra

Read "Frank Songs, My Way: Frank Lamphere Sings Sinatra" reviewed by David Bondelevitch

by David Bondelevitch
March 10, 2026

"Now that's original... How'd he ever come up with that one?" These words open the press material for Frank Songs, My Way: Frank Lamphere Sings Sinatra, and it is a solid question, with so many albums of Frank Sinatra covers. It would be tough to top Tony Bennett's Perfectly Frank (Columbia Records, 1992). Performers who cover other performers tend to make two mistakes. First, they often pick the obvious songs, which have probably been covered many times, ...

Album Review

David Caffey Jazz Orchestra: At the Edge of Spring

Read "At the Edge of Spring" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 13, 2025

With his album, At the Edge of Spring, composer and arranger David Caffey and his Colorado-based Jazz Orchestra not only defy the widely-held belief that big bands are dead, they emphatically blow that axium out of the water. This is an ensemble with no discernible weaknesses, as proficient and powerful as any that have come before it or are likely to follow. To verify that impression, you need only couple your ears with an open mind. As ...

Album Review

Jeff Benedict Big Band: The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful

Read "The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 30, 2021

As saxophonist Jeff Benedict is a professor emeritus of music at California State University-Los Angeles, he shouldn't be overly concerned if an impartial observer should decide to grade the southern California-based Jeff Benedict Big Band's second album, The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful. After careful listening, herewith is the report card. Brass and reeds: A. Rhythm section: A. Cohesion: A. Swing quotient: A. Soloists: A. Choice of material: A. Arrangements: A. Album title: A+. In ...