Mike Shapiro

Rose Mallett: Dreams Realized

by Richard J Salvucci
August 16, 2024

Rose Mallett has an intriguing story, and that history comes out in her singing. While she is a chameleon, channeling Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, she is also a powerhouse performer, witty and a born raconteur. One could think of a lot worse combinations in a jazz singer. Mallett seemingly knows how to work a room pretty well too. Born in Chicago, and growing up in Los Angeles, Mallett has a broad musical background that included ...

Mike Miller: Trust

by Jim Worsley
March 4, 2022

This record is more than a breath of fresh air. It is more like when you open the front door and that momentary rush of crisp wind blows in. Trust embraces that sensation and creates a limitless screen door of opportunity. Ten original and melodious compositions by Mike Miller seamlessly flow, and both sustain and cherish the feel of the moment for the duration. The magnitude of this project propelled Miller to assemble an elite group of musicians. ...

Yellowjackets: Altered State

by Jim Santella
May 17, 2005

Fusing South African rhythms with soothing R&B melodies, the Yellowjackets continue to put up a refreshing performance that's made to suit easy listening audiences. Their mellow harmony and relaxed rhythmic pulses belie a loyalty to leisure suits, platform shoes with awkward heels, and hangin' out at the disco. The band began in the late 1970s, when those things were in vogue. The core element in their performance has never left them.

Bob Mintzer employs the tenor saxophone for ...

Yellowjackets: Altered State

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 17, 2005

There's something distinctive about Yellowjackets' sound. It's contemporary in that the music is fresh and employs some modern conveniences--such as the electric bass and the EWI. Still, the way it's put together is old school--like the free-flowing style and the manipulation of time. And if that's not enough, there's a color or flavor to Bob Mintzer's sax and Russell Ferrante's piano that lets you know it's a 'Jackets tune. This distinctive approach is evident from the start of ...

Yellowjackets: Altered State

by John Kelman
March 16, 2005

Sometimes the best move a band can make is to go indie. Consider Yellowjackets, who have been imbued with unquestionable instrumental credibility since emerging in the early '80s. Over their 25-year career Yellowjackets have veered from torch carriers of the latter-day, more structured incarnations of Weather Report to a group in dangerous proximity to smooth jazz territory. In the process of racking up nearly twenty recordings, the group's technical prowess has never been in question, but some of its choices ...

Yellowjackets: Altered State

by C. Michael Bailey
March 15, 2005

Yellowjackets' music is steeped in the R&B/jazz tradition of the Jazz Crusaders, Junior Mance, Weather Report, and, of course Miles. Russell Ferrante always manages to slip a bit of church into his piano playing, a trend quickly picked up and absconded with by Bob Mintzer. Jimmy Haslip plays the most elastic bass since Victor Bailey, and Marcus Baylor must be the toast of the percussion town.

The band members all come together for Altered State in a brilliant ...