Recording News

Dave Douglas Brass Ecstacy - United Front: Live at Newport (Greenleaf, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
April 19, 2011

Trumpeter, cornetist and composer Dave Douglas is a man who wears many hats: leader of multiple bands, this one being called Brass Ecstasy consisting of Douglas on trumpet, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Luis Bonilla on trombone, Marcus Rojas on tuba and Nasheet Waits on drums.

With the music recorded live, it has a festive and fun feel, at one hand harkening back to the brass bands that gave birth to jazz, and the modern jazz that Douglas always looks ...

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Forgotten Series: David Torn - Tripping Over God (1995)

Source: Something Else!
April 19, 2011

by Tom Johnson David Torn's Tripping Over God is an album that has defied description since the day I bought it in 1995. With only a vague knowledge of the man as a member of David Sylvian's band for the Secrets Of The Beehive album, I happened upon a listening station at the local Tower Records offering the chance to hear the album. Mesmerised within a moment of pressing play, I quickly grabbed a copy. I couldn’t possibly be the ...

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Carla Bley and Her Remarkable Big Band - Appearing Nightly (2008)

Source: Something Else!
April 19, 2011

by Mark Saleski There are two things that can be counted on when cracking open a new Carla Bley Big Band record: 1. many, many interesting and twisty passages of musical architecture and 2. volume. Oh yes, the horn section is enormous and it's powerful. I've made jokes about Bley's hair being shaped by the sheer force of that moving air. Don’t mistake this as a cheap joke at Bley’s expense. Go ahead and check out records like The Very ...

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Jordan Piper's "Colors"

Source: Michael Ricci
April 19, 2011

Pianist and award-winning composer Jordan Piper is releasing his first album of original music, entitled Colors on May 1st. Described as having “melodically rich solos," by Zan Stewart of the NJ Star Ledger, Jordan has honed his playing and writing over the past few years of working steadily around the New York area and abroad. Known for his understated style and effortless groove, Jordan has played with bands and accompanied countless singers at venues such as The Blue Note NYC, ...

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"What Could Be"- The New Release for the N. Glenn Davis Trio Featuring Mark Soskin and Peter Dominguez

Source: Michael Ricci
April 18, 2011

Drummer and composer N. Glenn Davis leads this swinging trio of talented veteran jazz musicians for his third release as a leader. This recording continues the classic tradition of the piano trio performing creative music that will appeal to listeners on many levels. Featured here are three new original compositions by N. Glenn Davis and three compositions by stellar NYC pianist Mark Soskin (14 years with Sonny Rollins). Also featured on the CD are three classics tunes, “The Dolphin" by ...

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Colin Vallon Trio "Rruga"

Source: Sound Insights by Doug Payne
April 18, 2011

French jazz pianist Colin Vallon's ECM debut is the third disc under his own name, following Les Ombres in 2004 and a disc on the Hatology label, Ailleurs in 2007. Needless to say, an appearance on ECM gives this trio a certain credibility—or cache (more on that later)—and an international presence the previous discs have not offered. The album's ECM-ish title is Albanian for 'path,' 'road' or 'journey,' an absolutely apt description of the trek this trio takes, despite however ...

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Third International, Featuring King Crimson's Ian McDonald - Beautiful Accident (2011)

Source: Something Else!
April 18, 2011

This is a different kind of blues record, one with a joltingly modern menace. The Third International's Beautiful Accident brilliantly updates a time-weathered genre by focusing on texture as much as lyrical content. In fact, sometimes the words are simply enveloped by the rising rabble of crunchy R&B riffs, prog-rock influenced song structures and pounding rhythms. That starts with the spooky shamble of “The Timekeeper's Waltz." With its echoing, loony-bin beat and a chorus of smeared instruments, the track sounds ...

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Steely Dan Sunday: "Midnite Cruiser" (1972)

Source: Something Else!
April 18, 2011

Posted by S. Victor Aaron Aside from the pre-Can't Buy A Thrill promo single “Dallas," here's the only Steely Dan song drummer Jim Hodder sang lead on. It wasn't the first and only time he took the lead mic on a recording, though: his prior band Bead Game make one record a couple of years earlier and he was the primary vocalist on all the tracks. His middle pitched-nasally warble is a bit of a contrast to Donald Fagen's higher ...

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