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Various Artists: The Harlem Experiment
by Chris May
On the face of it, The Harlem Experiment sounds like a winner. A multi-generational, multi-cultural cast of A list players--including singer Taj Mahal, trumpeter Steven Bernstein, reed player Don Byron, drummer Steve Berrios and bassist Ruben Rodriguez--revisiting a dozen or so soul, funk, Latin, jazz and pop cuts with heavy New York associations, and with the project produced by Aaron Levinson for the hip Ropeadope label. The idea, a good one, was to mix up musicians and genres, in true ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Viva Carlos!
by Woodrow Wilkins
If Carlos Santana isn't the best electric guitarist of all time, he's easily one of the most revered. From classic rock songs like “Black Magic Woman and “Europa to more recent collaborations with pop singers like Rob Thomas ("Smooth ) and Michelle Branch ("The Game of Love ), Santana is perhaps the most recognized name in the world of electric guitar. A Santana fan, guitarist/producer Jeff Richman culls an impressive lineup of rock, pop, blues and jazz ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Free Zone Appleby 2006
by John Eyles
In Memory of Paul Rutherford (1940-2007)
The Sunday afternoon free improvisation sessions at the annual Appleby Festival always set a high standard. This line-up for 2006 raised particularly high expectations, and it doesn't disappoint.
With the untimely death in August 2007 of trombonist Paul Rutherford--a giant of the music and a true gentleman also--this release acquired added poignancy and significance. Here, Rutherford appears as part of a quartet, two trios and a duo. On the quartet, with Evan ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin': Celebrating 15 Years of The Rhythm Room
by Charlie B. Dahan
Does it get any hotter than the average temperature in Phoenix (Arizona) in mid-August? Well, yes, if you enter the four walls of the Rhythm Room. Blue Witch Record has released House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin'--a fourteen-song compilation of live cuts from the last fifteen years produced by the club's owner and harmonica player, Bob Corritone. I wish I could tell you more about the club or the nights of each performance, but the packaging of this ...
Continue ReadingSarane Ferret, Django Reinhardt & Others: Gypsy Jazz
by Chris May
Sarane Ferret, Django Reinhardt & Others Gypsy Jazz Proper Records 2007
This wonderful 4CD collection of Gypsy jazz--an Aladdin's Cave of rarities, curiosities and lesser known virtuosi of the genre--covers the first twenty or so years of the music's history. Disc one starts in 1934, with future Quintette Du Hot Club De France stars guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli's first recording session together, and disc four ends in 1956, with two gems ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Freeway Jam: To Beck and Back - A Tribute
by John Kelman
Of the guitarists who emerged from the seminal British pop group The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck was always the intrepid risk-taker. Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page would go on to greater fame and fortune, while Beck's career has been consistent only in its inconsistency. Freeway Jam: To Beck and Back - A Tribute is the inevitable tribute spearheaded by guitarist Jeff Richman--who claims Beck as his “all time favorite guitarist --the brains behind other Tone Center tributes including Visions of an ...
Continue ReadingVarious Artists: Freedom Of The City 2006
by Nic Jones
The Freedom Of The City Festival has taken place annually in London, England for a number of years now and Emanem have been on hand on a number of occasions to get some of the music down for posterity. If the evidence on offer here is anything to go by it's nothing but a worthwhile endeavor.
The musicians performing here come from places as far apart as Spain and New Zealand which, if nothing else, is evidence of how widely ...
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