Jazz Articles about Various Artists

Various Artists: This is Smooth Jazz

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1999

Yet another stellar smoothie collection from Instinct Jazz brings you the silky sounds of Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, Brian Bromberg, and more. This is the music of smooth evenings with young ladies like the one on the cover of this disc, and, smooth fans, glass and babies' bottoms never had it so good.

A minor quibble, that does not detract from the velvet danceable sheen of this music: this collection comes with helpful profiles of each of the artists, but ...

Various Artists: The Jones Boys

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

It sounds silly at first: “Get this – everyone in the band is a Jones!" You laugh, but not long -- this is some serious jam. The rhythm lays an easy groove; the horns (sometimes one, sometimes three) shout with power and strut like mad. It sounds like a working group, and it should: many were regulars for Period Records, and most were bandmates at Basie. Get acquainted with overlooked talent, and hear a young star as he’s starting to ...

Various Artists: Jazz that Swings

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

At present, no one can touch 32jazz for compilations: drawn from a deep catalog, they are always well-packaged and always entertaining. What’s different this time is the subject: instead of a style ( Bebop ) or a mood ( Jazz for the Quiet Times ), this one covers a concept. And a pretty broad one: defining “swing" is about as easy as defining “jazz". So let’s clear the table: we hear no big bands, and no zoot-suited youngsters doing jump ...

Various Artists: The Savoy Story: Volume One- Jazz

by C. Andrew Hovan
December 1, 1999

You truly need a score card to keep up with the distribution end of the Savoy label over the past five to ten years or so. Going as far back as this reviewer can remember, Muse was reissuing the catalog on vinyl and then CD, usually with re-done covers. A bit further down the road, things changed and Denon Japan got a hold of the inventory and the direction they took, not surprisingly, was one of facsimile reissues with original ...

Various Artists: Knitting on the Roof

by AAJ Staff
December 1, 1999

Lately klezmer has become all the rage. Whether this is due to the influence of John Zorn or the spirit of rediscovery that accompanied the swing revival remains unclear. But hey, why not celebrate with a various artists tribute to Fiddler on the Roof? That's what our friends at the Knitting Factory have done. Two remarkable things stand out on this record: there are a thousand ways to approach Jewish music; and a tribute doesn't have to be particularly serious. ...

Various Artists: 10 New Smooth Jazz Releases from Instinct Jazz

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1999

Just when you think the music can't get any slicker, or groovier, or smoother, Instinct Jazz does it again. Smoothie jazz fans, get on your dancing shoes and lower the lights; it just doesn't get any smoother than these ten.

Bill Sharpe,State of the Heart, Instinct 426

Keyboard sharpie extraordinaire Bill Sharpe lets the rhythm take you high on eight originals plus two from fellow keyboard wiz Don Grusin. The grooves are jumping but as smooth as they can be, ...

various artists: Prestige 50th Anniversary Special Commemorative Editions

by Robert Spencer
November 1, 1999

Fantasy Records is holding a Prestige Records 50th Anniversary celebration, and we are the beneficiaries in these ten Special Commemorative Editions of Prestige classic recordings. They share the virtues of the Prestige label itself: without an overkill of effusive retrospective essays and hypercool packaging, they put the emphasis on the music itself - which is where it should be. These ten towering discs, themselves products of Prestige founder Bob Weinstock's no-nonsense, no-frills approach, represent jazz at its finest: great jazz ...