Recording News

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Recording

Sonny Stitt: Roost Sessions

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
March 30, 2010

You either love Sonny Stitt or you're completely unfamiliar with the saxophonist. And if you're as crazy about Stitt, as I am, then you know it's almost impossible to collect his records. There are simply too many of them. When I was a kid back in the 1970s, I worked in a record store in New York and received a decent discount on LPs. After hearing Stitt's You Talk That Talk (1971) with tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons, I went nuts. ...

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Recording

Pat Metheny - Orchestrion (2010)

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

By Pico I've been following Pat Metheny's career since the late seventies but it's only occurred to me very gradually what a major, important force in music he really is. Note I said “music" and not “jazz," because his breadth and depth of the understanding of music of nearly every form, and the degree to which he can take something so inextricably complex and make it sound simple, fresh and appealing is unsurpassed by any other living being. ...

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Recording

Harry Allen Two-Fer! New York State of Mind and Ehud Asherie's Modern Life

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

By Pico Not long ago we lauded the old school approach of saxophonist Eric Alexander, but even Alexander sounds rather leading edge compared to another tenorman just two years his senior, Harry Allen.The son of a big band drummer, Allen was exposed to jazz literally from the time he was born. After graduating from Rutgers with a music degree, he pursued a career as a tenor saxophonist. But unlike virtually every other saxophonist of his and ...

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Recording

Quickies: New Release Roundup 2010, Vol. 2

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

Could this be Nonesuch Records' The Low Anthem of 2010? By Pico Earlier in the week we presented the first installment of a dozen feebly minted records of random styles I thought might be a little noteworthy. Today comes the second half of these new releases. Some of this Whitman's sampler of music has a creamy middle, others are a little nutty, but everything I've listened to in this batch has been sweet. But ...

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Recording

Quickies: New Release Roundup 2010, Vol. 1

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

The hottest band in the land just might be the Drive-By Truckers By Pico Funny how it seems I have plenty of time to listen to new music and precious little to write about. There's about 9GBs of albums in my iPod rotation and I'm familiar with a good majority of it. And I want to tell the whole danged world about each and every one of them in the form of full-fledged reviews. But alas, ...

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Recording

The Wee Trio - Capitol Diner Vol. 2 Animal Style (2010)

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

By Pico “The world's most vicious vibes-led threesome"That was the big impression I was left with from the self-described “post-punk jazz trio with vibraphone," aka the Wee Trio, back when they released their debut record in the late summer of 2008. Capitol Diner Vol. 1 was hell-bent on busting up long-held conventions about how a vibe-led group was supposed to sound like, much as Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Ian Anderson had done for the formally lithe ...

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Recording

Samuel Torres - Yaounde (2010)

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

By PicoSamuel Torres' life journey from a boy with dreams of being a full-time musician, to becoming a full-time musician, to becoming a successful one, takes another turn with the release last week of his second album, Yaounde. Born and raised by a hard working a supportive single mother in Bogot, Columbia, Torres' perseverance as a percussionist paid off as he became in demand in his native country, becoming proficient on styles ranging from jazz, salsa and pop ...

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Recording

Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow (2010)

Source: Something Else!
March 30, 2010

By Pico It was about a year and a half ago when we studied trumpeter Christian Scott's exciting new live document Live At Newport. This was a record I felt was a perfect manifestation of a unique and allusive style of jazz he has come up with, one that is loose, open, and nods toward present-day rock all while remaining respectful of jazz tradition. Despite the hybrid origins of his music, it sounds pure and authentic. It rewards ...

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