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Terry Gibbs Legacy Band: The Terry Gibbs Songbook
by Jack Bowers
Legacy Band? At age ninety-eight, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs--the last remaining member of a legendary group of jazz musicians who defined the big-band era in America and helped expand and sharpen the music's vocabulary--hasn't finished writing his own legacy, which is why this album is subtitled The Terry Gibbs Songbook." Although best known as a player, Gibbs, as it turns out, is a splendid composer as well, and wrote every one of the album's fifteen songs, adding lyrics ...
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by Edward Blanco
At age 92 years old, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs was still a musical force when he recorded 92 Years Young Jammin' at the Gibbs House (Whaling City Sound, 2017). His son, drummer Gerry Gibbs, paid homage to him with Songs from My Father (Whaling City Sound, 2021) with the Thrasher Dream Trio band. As for this recording for his father, Gerry Gibbs says, Recording this record with my Pops will always be so memorable because it will be his last work." ...
read moreTom Ranier: This Way
by Hrayr Attarian
Multi-instrumentalist Tom Rainer is a genre-defying artist who has a uniquely accessible style with a cinematic approach to orchestration. The enjoyable This Way is made up of several of his own compositions as well as a few covers, all of which Rainer and his quartet interpret with sophistication and elegance. The funky title track, for instance, features Rainer leading from the piano with a clean and crisp cascade of notes. Overdubbed woodwinds add a soulful touch to the ...
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by Dan McClenaghan
The versatile multi-instrumentalist Tom Ranier has enjoyed a busy career, playing pop styles, electronic music and jazz. Prolific as a collaboratorTerry Gibbs, George Coleman, Placido Domingohe also boasts a grounding in classical music. This Way features Rainier playing mostly his own compositions on piano, synthesizers, saxophones and clarinets, with some help from his friends, guitarist Thom Rotella, bassist Trey Henry and drummer Ralph Humphrey. On this, his first recording under his own name since Bright Idea (Primrose Lane, ...
read moreBrian Scanlon: Brain Scan
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Woodwind artist Brian Scanlon has established himself as one of the most respected of the go-to players working the L.A. studio scene. His offerings in the Grammy®-winning “Big Phat Band" have lent plenty to that unit's success. In the intriguingly named Brain Scan, Scanlon moves out into the leader's spotlight with a superb nine-cut effort featuring some superlative solo and killer small ensemble work. Eight of the diversely-grooved cuts are Scanlon originals, many of which are contemporized ...
read moreTom Ranier/Glenn Cashman Sextet: Bright Idea
by John Barron
The Tom Ranier/Glenn Cashman Sextet is an all-star group of some of the most in-demand jazz musicians on the Southern California scene. Ranier, whose sideman credits include Buddy DeFranco and Kenny Burrell, is one of the west coast's top jazz and studio pianists. Cashman is a renowned tenor saxophonist who divides his time between teaching in upstate New York and playing gigs around Los Angeles. Bright Idea continues in the same hard-driving, progressive fashion as the group's previous release, Blue ...
read moreTom Ranier & Glenn Cashman: Blue in Green
by Jim Santella
Saxophonist Glenn Cashman owns a warm tone that comes with a crystal clear persuasion. As he converses with pianist Tom Ranier on this program of standards and originals, you can feel the ease with which the two artists communicate. In music, as well as with person-to-person communication, tone can make a difference between understanding and missing the point. Cashman's warm tone comes with a full body and seamless phrases that allow him to connect his ideas to the piano's perceived ...
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