Bob Degen

like 2

Kris Adams: Away

by Richard J Salvucci
September 30, 2025

Troubled times, unsettled times, uncertain times, all produce a certain sort of music. It may be--as in the case of Away--music of loss. In this case, it is mostly music written by guitarist-composer Michael O'Neil. O'Neil is admittedly not well known. Yet in this soulful, translucent recording, a few musicians, one of whom knew O'Neill, provide a look into the man's heart, and into the equally disturbed time in which we live. The vehicle is a ...

like 217

Charlie Mariano: Deep In A Dream

by Jim Santella
April 4, 2003

Charlie Mariano’s album of straight-ahead, romantic ballads couldn’t have come at a better time. His quartet delivers a timeless message that serves as medicine for whatever ails ya.

The saxophonist has chosen eight songs deserving wider recognition in this day and age. He’s added one original, “Dew Drops,” in which the traditional spirit of Japan’s ancestors ambles ceremoniously into the room. Its effect on the listener crosses all cultural boundaries. No matter their ancestry, ceremonial priests garner the ...

like 233

Charlie Mariano: Deep In A Dream

by AAJ Staff
April 2, 2003

A long and winding road led Charlie Mariano to this inspired record of romantic ballads. For the last 50 years he has traveled through swing, big band, bop, fusion, and more adventurous material; he lived and worked in the US, Japan, Europe, India, and Malaysia; and, not surprisingly, he has amassed a list of collaborators a mile long. No need to provide that list here. Mariano is his own man by now.

All that exploration leads him to ...