Recording News

1,000 Jazz Albums You Should Hear Before You Die (661-670)

Source: Groove Notes
July 12, 2010

For those of you who have been following along with the list, you know that we add twenty albums each week. We are going to tweak things a bit for the remainder of the list, adding anywhere from 5 to ten albums at a time, but posting the lists a bit more frequently. Additionally, we will have links next to each album, so that if you find an album interesting, you can click on the link and buy it.

Here ...

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Recent Listening: Dr. Lonnie Smith

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
July 12, 2010

Dr. Lonnie Smith, Spiral (Palmetto). Smith is a doctor in the same way that Captain Beefheart is a captain, but I'm willing to concede him the title because he knows how to make you feel good. Of the generation of post-bop organists who followed Jimmy Smith, he survived his near-namesake Lonnie Liston Smith, Don Patterson, Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove" Holmes, Shirley Scott, Jack McDuff and Jimmy Smith himself. At 68, he carries on the tradition employing the Hammond B-3 not ...

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Aruan Ortiz Featuring Antione Roney - Alameda (2010)

Source: Something Else!
July 12, 2010

By PicoWallace Roney's live album that bowed last spring is a good record for several reasons, first and foremost because of the trumpet player's dexterity on the brass horn. In our brief review of If Only For One Night, I didn't have room to say much about the contributions of his band, but it should be noted that Mr. Roney doesn't haul around a bunch of slouches with him when he performs live. For one, his keyboardist is ...

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Quickies: New Release Roundup 2010, Vol. 6 (Fusion-Only Edition)

Source: Something Else!
July 12, 2010

Larry and Tak's new record is taking Japan by storm; can it do the same in the U.S.?By PicoThe five new albums below were chosen for a Quickies together mainly because they're fusion-type records. Beyond that, they are also by artists who I've followed for a while or used to follow and I'm just interested to find out what they've been up to these days.The first three I go all the way back with ...

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Jason Roebke - In the Interval (Self-Released)

Source: Master of a Small House
July 12, 2010

Bassist Jason Roebke is an enviably busy musician. Projects and gigs are deservedly plentiful these days, often in the company of Chicago and New York-based colleagues like Mike Reed, Keefe Jackson and Nate Wooley. In light of the flurry of activity of the past few years it's easy to forget that he's been plying his craft for well over a decade. Most of his current docket aligns with jazz-related contexts. As an outlet for his interests somewhat removed from those ...

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Sun Ra Arkestra - Sunrise in Different Dimensions (Hatology)

Source: Master of a Small House
July 12, 2010

The solitary entry by the Saturnian in the Swiss label's catalog, this set earns its third pressing on compact disc with this newly-minted hatOLOGY edition. It's singular in several other senses as well. Culled by producer Werner X. Uehlinger from the band's first night stand at Willisau in the winter of 1980, the track list skews toward the standards that were a regular part of the band's repertoire, but infrequent inclusions on record. Space chants and Ra originals commonly took ...

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Studio One and the Ska Scene

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 12, 2010

Whenever I tell someone I dig reggae, I typically get a quizzical look followed by, “Isn't reggae pretty much the same thing over and over again?" Not quite, since one could pretty much say the same thing about the blues, swing or bebop. As we know, each of these genres is just a category in which highly individual and inventive efforts are served up. Like r&b and the blues, reggae is singular music that features different complex rhythm patterns, subtle ...

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The Quintet Featuring Aruan Ortiz Live at the Cornelia Street Cafe on July 16!

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
July 12, 2010

"Ortiz and his quartet explore a broad landscape of musical styles, performance techniques, and compositional strategies on Alameda, an inspired collection of diverse pieces." --Chip Boaz, The Latin Jazz Corner

“Mr. Ortiz, a young Cuban pianist with a modern jazz pedigree, leads a promising ensemble..." --Nate Chinen, New York Times

“Jazz fans applaud, and novices mark your calendars. Aruán Ortiz, critically acclaimed Cuban pianist is a 'must see,'"--The New York Post

“Utterly refreshing"--The Village Voice

The QuintetFeaturing Aruan Ortiz ...

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