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Jazz Articles about James Chirillo
Andy Farber and His Orchestra: Early Blue Evening
by Jack Bowers
Saxophonist Andy Farber's New York-based orchestra came together and cut its teeth as the onstage band for three hundred performances of After Midnight, a Broadway revue that paid tribute to Jazz Age nightclub luminaries from Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie to Harold Arlen, Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. As one might presume from the orchestra's provenance, echoes of Ellington and Basie can readily be discerned on its first recording since After Midnight closed in 2014--but Farber, who wrote ...
read moreJames Chirillo: Sultry Serenade
by C. Michael Bailey
Move. James Chirillo debuts as a leader with a superb guitar jazz disc. As soon as I would like to compare Mr. Chirillo to, say, a Joe Pass, a Herb Ellis, or a Charlie Byrd, I would just as soon say he was a Teddy Wilson on guitar. Urbane, that is how I would describe James Chirillo. He is more Oscar Peterson than Art Tatum and more Gene Harris than either. Chops to spare, Chirillo wastes no notes. He is ...
read moreMark Shane's X-Mas Allstars: What Would Santa Say?
by Ed Kopp
There's a dearth of new Christmas jazz releases this season, but here's one to stuff in your stocking. What Would Santa Say? is a very enjoyable collection of familiar holiday tunes done up in a swinging trad-jazz style.Mark Shane is a New York City pianist well known for his stride work. On these 14 holiday tunes he also demonstrates a thorough familiarity with Teddy Wilson's accessible approach to swing piano and a Louis Prima-like vocal style. Shane is ...
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