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Eldad Tarmu: Tarmu Jazz Quartet
by Jack Bowers
The vibraphone is not often heard on the jazz scene these days, which makes this new album by the Tarmu Jazz Quartet even more welcome than it might have been at a time when Red Norvo, Lionel Hampton, Terry Gibbs, Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader, Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson, Gary McFarland and their ilk were riding high. Los Angeles-born Eldad Tarmu, who leads the quartet, has his own approach to the instrument, softer and less frenzied than Hampton or Gibbs, leaning ...
read moreVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Richard J Salvucci
Who knew “Del Sasser" had lyrics? Part of the joy of listening to new recordings is finding such things out. And Vicki Burns does a convincing job of it. In this intriguing compilation of standards--yes, musicians can record from the Great American Songbook (GAS) without disgracing themselves, no matter what anyone says--bop heads and originals, Vicki Burns acquits herself admirably. She is solid evidence that the singer makes the song, rather than the other way around. ...
read moreVicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Jeff Winbush
Whatever else can be said about jazz, there is little disagreement that it is best experienced in a live setting. Listening to Vicki Burns' Lotus Blossom Days is as close to a front-row seat in a New York nightclub as many of us are likely to get in these times of high fuel costs and crowded airports. Burns is not attempting to blow the roof off with vocal gyrations and tricks. She never oversings as she tries to ...
read moreSam Bevan / Bryan Bowman / Mas Koga / Grant Levin: Hawkeye
by Bruce Lindsay
Hawkeye is the first release by a fine young quartet of musician, and a beautifully varied, eloquently played and intensely involving set of original compositions. The group, formed by bassist Sam Bevan and drummer Bryan Bowman, is based around the San Francisco area and brings together some young but talented players. Pianist Grant Levin and Japanese saxophonist/flautist Mas Koga complete the quartet. All four men contribute compositions to the album, also bringing their own ideas to the arrangements, leading to ...
read moreSam Bevan: The Fine Line
by Matt Merewitz
If anything, Bay Area bassist Sam Bevan's debut instrumental album is appropriate for cold Sunday afternoons and rainy weekdays at work. Funk lite here, ambient guitar there... perhaps a brief swinging passage. For better or worse, the ever-so-familiar distorted guitar echoes are the foundation of The Fine Line, reflecting the unmistakable influence of Bill Frisell. Not surprising from a twenty-something jazz bassist. It seems this is the soundtrack of today's educated jazz musician. Very composed forms interspersed with a shuffle ...
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