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Ryan DeWeese
Mina Choi: Stories
by Jack Bowers
Who could have guessed that the next wave of world-class big-band composers and arrangers would wash ashore in the U.S. after starting its journey in faraway Asia? In 2024 alone, many composers with roots in the Far East have nourished their credentials with impressive and well- received big-band recordings. Those whose names spring to mind include Jihye Lee, Hyeseon Hong, Noel Okimoto and Zhengtao Pan, a list that has now grown by one with the addition of pianist and composer ...
Continue ReadingMark Masters Ensemble: Sam Rivers 100
by Dan McClenaghan
The Mark Masters Ensemble released Porgy and Bess Redefined! (Capri Records) in 2005. The music was taken from the George Gershwin/DuBose Heyward English-language opera, which was first performed in 1935. Masters' take on the classic was brilliantly expressed by the ensemble, who dug into his adventurous charts with freedom mixed with respect for the familiar and often-covered (most notably by the Miles Davis/Gil Evans teaming) original. It was a breakout effort for Masters. Billy Harper was there on tenor sax, ...
Continue ReadingMark Masters: Sam Rivers 100
by Jack Bowers
Sam Rivers 100 is the first of two homages recorded in 2023-24 by arranger Mark Masters and his blue chip southern California-based ensemble. This one pays tribute to the music of the late saxophonist Sam Rivers on the hundredth anniversary of his birth; the second, Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance! salutes the music of tenor saxophonist Billy Harper who is the ensemble's guest soloist on both albums. Rivers, who died in December 2011, was an early bebopper who ...
Continue ReadingLia Booth & Jason "Spicy G" Goldman: There's Only One
by Edward Blanco
Southern California-based saxophonist, songwriter and award-winning producer Jason “Spicy G" Goldman, presents There's Only One, an engaging encore performance to his previously well-received album Hypnotized (2020, Self-Produced). This offering provides a selection of re-imagined standards supported by a core septet, plus the addition of violins and cello on selected tracks, that manages to produce a large ensemble sound affirming the axiom “the little big band that could." Complementing the music here is Goldman's collaboration with the vibrant young vocalist Lia ...
Continue ReadingAlexis Cole: Sky Blossom/Songs from My Tour of Duty
by Jack Bowers
Alexis Cole is an excellent singer, an opinion endorsed by recent high-profile gigs at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center and with the Boston Pops and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Even so, she is nearly upstaged on Sky Blossom by Scott Arcangel's superlative arrangements (plus one each by Chris Walden and Mike Reifenberg) and the marvelous big band(s) lending their support. The Tour of Duty earmarked in the album's title refers to Cole's seven- year assignment (2009-15) as vocalist with ...
Continue ReadingJason "Spicy G" Goldman: Hypnotized
by Edward Blanco
An award-winning producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, educator and multi-instrumentalist, Jason Goldman (aka “Spicy G") presents the EP Hypnotized, delivering another enchanting masterpiece production of music from The Great American Songbook. Best known for his collaboration with Michael Bublé, Goldman's credits extend to writing and arranging for the likes of David Foster, Herbie Hancock and Meghan Trainor as well as performing with Terence Blanchard, Michael Feinstein and jazz giant Wayne Shorter.On this project, Goldman takes a new look at ...
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Downstairs Blues Upstairs
From: Sam Rivers 100By Ryan DeWeese
Secret Garden
From: StoriesBy Ryan DeWeese
