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Josh Kaufman
Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra: Ellington Masterworks
by Jack Bowers
When the topic of Duke Ellington's masterworks arises (rarely, it is true, but not implausibly so), the leading candidates usually comprise such popular standards as “Sophisticated Lady," “Mood Indigo," “Prelude to a Kiss" and “Satin Doll"--not one of which is included in the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra's chronicle of Ellington Masterworks, recorded live in April 2024 at MCG Jazz in Pittsburgh, PA. With more than a thousand of Ellington's compositions from which to choose, the SJMO and its ...
Continue ReadingMark Ortwein: It Was Time
by Jack Bowers
A byproduct of waiting as long as Mark Ortwein has to record one's first album as leader can be reaching too far and trying too hard to achieve perfection. That seems to be the case with It Was Time, wherein Ortwein's versatility is never in doubt--he plays nine instruments on the album--but his musical choices are too often below the norm. Whatever the reason or reasons, Ortwein planned the program to suit his taste and is answerable for the outcome. ...
Continue ReadingAmy Helm: What The Flood Leaves Behind
by Doug Collette
Amy Helm possesses all the inner direction, motivation and independence of her father, Levon, the drummer and vocalist for The Band. As evidence of those inherent character traits, she projects her personality with no traces of self-consciousness not only in her collaborations--Sisters of the Strawberry Moon's Solstice (New West Records, 2019), produced by the North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson-- but also her solo projects like What The Flood Leaves Behind. Her third effort to date is an elegant mix of ...
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