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Jazz Articles about Shelly Berg
Lorraine Feather's Language Turns A Witty Phrase
by Ken Dryden
I got to know Lorraine Feather through reviewing several of her CDs, amazed by her gifts as a lyricist and singer, who was equally at home with witty songs and tender ballads. I first met Lorraine when she was performing at the late lamented Manhattan club Danny's Skylight Room with pianist Shelly Berg. We would chat during IAJE conferences and I was delighted when she invited me to write the liner notes for this CD. This release stands the test ...
read moreChris Walden: Missa Iubileum Aureum: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass
by Jack Bowers
First things first: there is no doubt that Chris Walden's reverential Missa Iubileum Aureum ("Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass") is beautifully written and wonderfully performed by the LMR Jazz Orchestra, St. Dominick's Schola Cantorum and cantors Kurt Elling and Tierney Sutton. Is it jazz? That is another question, one not so easily answered. While there are elements of jazz, they are incidental and generally overshadowed by the more doctrinal aspects of what is essentially an homage to devotion and piety. And ...
read moreVarious Artists: Ella 100 Live at the Apollo
by Jim Worsley
To be taken back in time within the scope of a period piece movie has long been a staple. Some journeys feel much more real than others, but the concept is commonplace. Venturing into the past with only the audio of a CD or record is, as they might have said back in 1934, “a whole different kettle of fish." A live audience first laid eyes and ears on this 100th birthday celebration honoring the sensational Ella Fitzgerald (born on ...
read moreShelly Berg and David Finck: The Deep
by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
So it happens that pianist Shelly Berg and bassist David Finck were hired by Chesky Records to play on a Livingston Taylor album. After they finished that session, with the high-end audiophile equipment still in place, David Chesky suggested the two stay and make a duo album themselves. And so they did, virtually on the spot. Since Berg and Finck play so well together, and know a lot of tunes, it was easy to come up with a ...
read moreKen Peplowski: Noir Blue
by AAJ Italy Staff
Ken Peplowski con questo disco sa come comunicare emozioni all'ascoltatore in quanto, come giustamente viene notato nelle note di copertina, “è ispirato" e non perchè deve fare qualcosa per essere presente sul mercato discografico a tutti i costi. Noir Blue costituisce una prova insolita, rivolta ad ascoltatori piuttosto smaliziati, che oltre agli standards di Ray Noble, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn e Hoagy Carmichael offre anche un original come “Little Dogs," brano senza un preciso centro tonale ed ispirato ad Ornette ...
read moreKen Peplowski: Noir Blue
by Martin Longley
In his liner notes, saxophonist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski reveals that after hitting fifty, he had no desire to make albums that are going through the motions of record company requirements. Not that such bodies are lately in a position to demand anything. He now intends to make recordings when the inspiration is strong and when the circumstances align in an encouraging fashion. A major part of this disc's genesis seems to be the rapport that Peplowski shares with pianist Shelly Berg. ...
read moreKen Peplowski: Noir Blue
by Raul d'Gama Rose
Ken Peplowski has much to say; not in the sense that he jabbers incessantly, as many men with horns (and embouchures for hire) sometimes do. However, in erudite and leaping ululations, and in warm, wafting glissandos he sings of the gaiety and sadness of life. This he does through clarinet or tenor saxophone, depending on the echo and longevity he wishes his harmonic monologues to have. An old soul, with a spectacular perspective on the past, Peplowski lives in a ...
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