Jazz Articles about Various Artists

Various Artists: Calle 54

by Jim Santella
July 1, 2001

This soundtrack comes from a full-length film dedicated to Latin jazz. Solo piano, jazz trios, and larger ensembles carry the tradition to an audience thirsty for knowledge. As the world gets smaller, the audience for this music grows in size. Jazz, with direct ties to Cuba, Brazil, The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Africa and Europe, makes a pleasurable soundtrack. It's new music for a new world. Director Fernando Trueba calls the film “a musical about music."

Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation ...

Various Artists: Blonde

by Jim Santella
June 1, 2001

The moody “Theme from Blonde," with Roy Hargrove's mellow trumpet in the spotlight, sets the stage for an album of relaxed swing and throwbacks to an earlier, comfortable period. Marilyn Monroe was a product of the big band era. It affected her tastes in music ... and other things. She later helped launch Playboy magazine. Now, a television mini-series based on the life of Monroe helps launch Concord's Playboy Jazz label. Patrick Williams' songs and arrangements depict a life of ...

Various Artists: Blonde

by Jim Santella
June 1, 2001

The moody “Theme from Blonde," with Roy Hargrove's mellow trumpet in the spotlight, sets the stage for an album of relaxed swing and throwbacks to an earlier, comfortable period. Marilyn Monroe was a product of the big band era. It affected her tastes in music ... and other things. She later helped launch Playboy magazine. Now, a television mini-series based on the life of Monroe helps launch Concord's Playboy Jazz label. Patrick Williams' songs and arrangements depict a life of ...

Various Artists: The Music of Eric von Essen, Volume II

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2001

In case you're not hip to the history of the Los Angeles jazz underground, this disc is a great opportunity to catch up. Eric von Essen, the late bassist and composer, played with a wide variety of memorable jazz artists--in addition to his more focused efforts with Nels Cline and the group Quartet Music. On The Music Of, a cornucopia of musicians get together to celebrate the man and his music. The tunes, all by von Essen, are presented in ...

Various Artists: The Legacy Lives On

by C. Michael Bailey
May 1, 2001

Former Crusaders drummer Stix Hooper assembles a starlight cast of characters for a stroll through some unlikely standards.

This collaborative release is interesting for what is missing— war-horse standards. The standards that are here are tastefully “different" from the standard fare (pardon the pun). Former Crusader's drummer Stix Hooper assembled this wild bunch for two discs worth of memorable music. To break to the chase, it is really the vocals that shine (though there are some instrumental exceptions. The absolute ...

Various Artists: Sketches of James: Selections from the James Taylor Songbook

by Dave Hughes
May 1, 2001

Various Artists tributes to noteworthy musicians, both living and deceased, seem to have grown in popularity in recent years. This one, feting the songs of James Taylor, was spearheaded by Tim Weston, who also brought us the Brian Wilson tribute Wouldn't It Be Lovely a couple years back. This collection is probably the most stylistically diverse of any I've heard. One might be hard-pressed to see much of a connection between the soft folk-rock style of Taylor and any of ...

Various Artists: Jazz: Live from New York

by David Adler
April 1, 2001

This Telarc sampler pulls together material recorded live in New York and previously released throughout the course of the 1990s. Most of the tracks feature old masters at a late point in their careers, and in remarkably good shape. Some — Al Grey, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry “Sweets" Edison, Mel Torme, and Stéphane Grappelli — would soon pass away. In that regard, one of the more remarkable tracks is “It Might As Well Be Spring," featuring James Moody on alto duking ...