Recording News

Ellis Marsalis - A New Orleans Christmas Carol (2011)

Source: Something Else!
December 7, 2011

An expanded version of a 2002 Yuletide project, A New Orleans Christmas Carol impressively expands the original collaboration with Marsalis' son Jason (on drums and vibes), bassist Bill Huntington and vocalist Cynthia Liggins Thomas. The result is a tour-de-force for the often under-exposed patriarch of the Marsalis jazz family, and a seasonal record of sumptuous charm. Marsalis deftly shifts from the elegiac “O Tannenbaum" (associated now forever, it seems, with Charlie Brown) to a funky second-line rendition of “Little Drummer ...

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Paul McCartney - The Love We Make (2011)

Source: Something Else!
December 7, 2011

Paul McCartney, sitting in a plane waiting to return to his native England, saw the smoke rising from the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. The son of a volunteer firefighter during the German Blitz of World War II, McCartney was moved to assemble an all-star concert in honor of New York City's surviving first responders and the families of those who perished at the World Trade Center. The forthcoming behind-the-scenes DVD The Love We Make, set for release today ...

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"Joining Forces" New Recording From Drori Mondlak & Karolina Strassmayer - Klaro!

Source: Drori Mondlak
December 6, 2011

Karolina Strassmayer & Drori Mondlak | Joining Forces Karolina's passion for the saxophone began in her native village in the heart of the Austrian Alps. A thirst for adventure brought her to New York City, where she garnered a stellar reputation as a jazz saxophonist performing with Duke Ellington Orchestra, Chico Hamilton and many others. In 2004, Karolina became the first woman to join the world-renowned Grammy award winning WDR Big Band Cologne. In the present she divides her time ...

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New York-based guitarist Sakai spices bossa nova with '60s Japanese pop, blues, and folk on new CD

Source: Lauren Rogers
December 6, 2011

Guitarist Sakai opts for a different take on a well-worn musical genre on his recently released album, Gradation—Bossa Nova No Kaze. Instead of offering a familiar take on Brazilian jazz, Sakai strings it with threads of '60s Japanese pop and folk. The result is a record that will rejuvenate jaded fans of bossa nova while reeling in casual listeners with its carefree, spicy hybrid of Latin American and Asian cultures.

Sakai's guitar style is light and breezy, suitable for the ...

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Ferit Odman - Autumn in New York (2011)

Source: Something Else!
December 6, 2011

There's something at once familiar, and entirely brand new, about Turkish drummer Ferit Odman's just-released Autumn In New York. Taking his cue from jazz drumming and bandleading legend Art Blakey, Odman investigates a series of tunes associated with the Blakey band, and even includes former members of the Jazz Messengers collective. Odman, however, performs with a carefully wrought sensitivity that the hard-hitting Blakey rarely allowed for himself. This gives Autumn In New York a touch of the edgy bop intensity ...

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Dick Collins: Hidden Treasure

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 6, 2011

Trumpeter Dick Collins had a gorgeous sound in the '50s. Like trumpeters Don Fagerquist and Doug Mettome, Dick had a lyrical quality to his playing that was part brass, part vocalist. Dick's note choices on solos often roamed in just the right places, punctuating distinctly as he ran up and down chords. And Dick always managed to end his solos exactly where you'd hope he would. Much of Dick's playing hours were spent in the bands of Woody Herman and Les ...

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Jim Manley Releases Brass Poison Too

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
December 6, 2011

St. Louis trumpeter Jim Manley has released his new album Brass Poison Too as a download at the iTunes store. As the name suggests, the album (pictured) is a followup to Manley's previous release Brass Poison, and features a similar instrumental lineup, with Manley on trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone plus a ten-piece band, playing new arrangements of some familiar material plus three of Manley's original compositions. “I think the tunes, playing, arrangements and production on this CD exceeds anything ...

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Recent Listening: The Brubeck Birthday Box

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
December 6, 2011

The Dave Brubeck Quartet: The Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1955-1967 Dave Brubeck turns 91 tomorrow, December 6, and Columbia Records is releasing a CD box containing all 19 of the Columbia albums that his quartet recorded in the studio. The earliest, Brubeck Time, was released in 1955 but recorded in the fall of 1954, three years after Brubeck and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond formed the quartet. The last, Anything Goes: Brubeck Plays Cole Porter, was released in 1967 a few ...

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