Recording News

Vocalist/Lyricist Lorraine Feather's New CD "Ages" Set for February 2010 Release

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations
December 12, 2009

Ages, the follow-up to lyricist/vocalist Lorraine Feather's acclaimed 2008 release Language, debuts on February 9, 2010. Language received numerous rave reviews and rose to #1 on the JazzWeek radio airplay chart. Media coverage reached a peak when NPR's Susan Stamberg interviewed Lorraine on the Weekend Edition program. The music on Feather's new release is by Russell Ferrante [Yellowjackets], Shelly Berg, Eddie Arkin, Bela Fleck, and Dick Hyman, who all guest as musicians (some of the tracks also incorporate unusual percussion ...

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The Newest Picks: Carla Bley, Miles Davis, Chris Potter/Steve Wilson/Terrell Stafford, Woody Herman

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
December 12, 2009

In the center column, slightly south, you will find the latest Rifftides recommendations in Doug's Picks. We suggest two new CDs, an imperishable 50-year-old recording, a DVD of a blistering big band and a book held over from last time because reading hours have been few and far between around here lately and I'm not going to pretend I've read something I haven't.

Enjoy.

Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, The Partyka Brass Quintet, Carla's Christmas Carols (Watt). Bley arranges ...

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The Late, Great Nina Simone Celebrated on New CD

Source: Michael Ricci
December 11, 2009

Her name is synonymous with the passion, talent and raw emotion that she put into every note she sang and played--and now the “High Priestess of Soul", Nina Simone, is being celebrated on a new CD. Compiled by her former husband, Andy Stroud, the CD features never before heard tracks by Nina, duets with her friends, tracks by family and even a recording of Simone learning French. This newest CD embraces the amazing art and passion of Simone who composed ...

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Matthieu Donarier Trio - Live Forms

Source: Michael Ricci
December 11, 2009

By Jean-Marc Gelin

Matthieu Donarier plays with the usual suspects on his second album, following on from Optic Topic which was highly praised by critics when released in 2004. This new live album, recorded at Saint Nazaire and Angers, France, testifies to the increasing intimacy between the three musicians who have been playing together since their school days. It is with this trio (despite his other bands with Daniel Humair, Alban Darche and Patrick Caratini) that Matthieu Donarier demonstrates his ...

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Gregg Rolie's "Rain Dance" CD Receives Rave Reviews

Source: Glass Onyon PR - Keith James
December 11, 2009

Houston, TX -- Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Gregg Rolie, best known for his vocals and keyboard work with legendary music groups Santana and Journey, has caused a flurry of excitement amongst the music press with the release of his latest CD Rain Dance. This live CD captures Gregg and his all-star band performing at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in 2007. The music press and fans alike have been raving about the new CD and have even compared ...

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The Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya-Yas Out: 40th Anniversary Ed.

Source: JamBase
December 11, 2009

By: Ron Hart

The fall of 1969 was without question one of the most pivotal periods in the career of The Rolling Stones, highlighted by the Thanksgiving release of one of their three best albums, Let it Bleed, and the winding down of a tour through North America in support of that album's predecessor, 1968's Beggars Banquet - a trek universally hailed as one of THE legendary tours in rock history, albeit one that was derailed by the tragedy at ...

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Little Walter: The Chess Masters

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 11, 2009

The harmonica is an instrument that doesn't turn up often in jazz. When it does, the instrument typically is played in a polished, mannered style. Jazz chromatic harmonica masters include Toots Thielemans, Jerry Adler, Ron Kalina, Julian Jackson and Hendrik Meurkens. Past legends include Larry Adler and Jerry Murad. But deep down, the harmonica is most naturally a blues instrument, and no one played it quite the way Little Walter did. In the 1950s, Little Walter turned what had been ...

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Woody Herman: Columbia Years

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 10, 2009

The big band era didn't end with the rise of bebop in 1944. Bands simply figured out how to adapt to the new music's language and soldiered on. For big bands, this language shift meant a need for musicians familiar with the idiom and arrangers who could put the new concepts on paper. Charts had to be less dance focused and more performance driven. In this new era, star soloists had bigger roles to play and greater room to express ...

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