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Extended Analysis

At Fillmore East: The 1971 Fillmore Recordings

Read "At Fillmore East: The 1971 Fillmore Recordings" reviewed by Doug Collette


At least initially, the announcement of the release of additional recordings of the Allman Brothers Band at the famed (and now defunct) New York venue Fillmore East was cause for celebration. Upon closer inspection of the content and, in turn, its accurate placement in the context of the seminal Southern rock band's history, the joy dissipates considerably and, ultimately, leads the musiclover back to the original title At Fillmore East (Capricorn, 1971). Safe to say, it's invaluable for that reason ...

22
Extended Analysis

At Fillmore East: The 1971 Fillmore Recordings

Read "At Fillmore East: The 1971 Fillmore Recordings" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Nothing warms the heart cockles of a late-Baby Boomer more than a discussion of music, specifically that of his or her childhood. Baby Boomers are a boisterous and opinionated bunch regarding their music, fully justified in believing that the period between mid-1950s and mid-1970s was, in the words of VH1 Executive Director Bill Flanagan, a “Golden Age" in American Music. Restrict that conversation to the best live rock recordings and the dialog shifts to a high simmer, under pressure, threatening ...

506
Album Review

Sarah Vaughan: After Hours at the London House

Read "After Hours at the London House" reviewed by Samuel Chell


It's best not to assume you have this recording, even if you do. Vaughan recorded two albums entitled After Hours--one a 1961 Roulette session with bass and guitar accompaniment, the other this recently reissued 1958 Mercury recording featuring the legendary singer with her regular trio, joined by four guest musicians from the Count Basie band. Although not as well known, this latter recording is the better bet, if only because of the presence of Thad Jones and Frank Wess, along ...

283
Album Review

The Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition)

Read "The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition)" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


And the road goes on [and on] forever... What a cluster bang! Enough already! In my series of the Ten Greatest Live Rock Recordings of all time, I claimed that The Allman Brothers: The Fillmore Concerts, was the best of the best. I later rescinded that determination in favor of the Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus (The Deluxe Edition). (Universal Records is a real group of crafty Bastards!) I was prepared to reconsider because of Universal Chronicles/Mercury's ...

115
Album Review

Terry Gibbs: Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime

Read "Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Opening with a few bars of wild Bar Mitzvah dance music based on “Bei Mir Bist Du Shöen," this reissue of a long-ago album by vibraphonist Terry Gibbs is more Jazz than Klezmer, but still manages to keep listeners Hora-fied almost all the way through. Supported by the swing time rhythms of drummers Bobby Pike and Sol Gage, pianists Alice Hagood and Alan Logan and bassist Herman Wright, Gibbs mixes his crystaline klopping with the freer forms of trombonist Sam ...

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Album Review

Terry Gibbs: Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime

Read "Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime" reviewed by Elliott Simon


A klezmer band quickly transitions out of a vibe-based jazz quartet. Is this the latest in downtown fusion projects? No. It is the CD release of 1963's Terry Gibbs Plays Jewish Melodies in Jazztime. Terry is the remaining member of the Gibbs-Hampton-Jackson-Norvo “Big Four," whose collective work helped transform the vibraphone from a novelty into a serious jazz instrument.

Although this session is referenced as a fusion forerunner, the musicians for the most part keep swing and freygish in separate ...

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Album Review

Laura Fygi: Watch What Happens When Laura Fygi Meets Michel LeGrand

Read "Watch What Happens When Laura Fygi Meets Michel LeGrand" reviewed by Dave Hughes


Laura Fygi is one of the most under-recognized, best kept secrets of all female vocalists working today. Although she's nowhere near as jazzy as Ella or Sarah, or even her modern-day contemporaries Diane Schuur or Dianne Reeves, she still offers excellent interpretations, beautiful tone quality, and right-on-the-money intonation. This disc doesn't cover as wide a range, stylistically, as previous domestic releasesThe Lady Wants to KnoworBewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered; rather, it pays tribute to the repertoire of composer Michel ...

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Album Review

Leo Gandelman: Black Pearls

Read "Black Pearls" reviewed by Dave Hughes


Among the plethora of excellent saxophonists active in contemporary jazz today, Brasilian Leo Gandelman gets my vote for “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition." Performing primarily on tenor with occasional soprano, he offers a best-of-both-worlds combination of contemporary and traditional Brasilian rhythms and American contemporary jazz. For this program, he draws from a wealth of Brasilian composers including Milton Nascimento ("Clube da Esquina No. 2"), Djavan ("Faltando um Pedaco"), and Gilberto Gil ("Toda Menina Baiana'), plus some lesser-known but talented sources.

Most ...

255
Album Review

Laura Fygi: The Lady Wants to Know

Read "The Lady Wants to Know" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Like Marisa Monte, the beautiful Laura Fygi is one of the great pretenders to the Astrud Gilberto throne. “ The lady wants to know “ is a wonderful collection of bossa nova and movie classics which reminds me of the magic I felt in the sixties when I first heard this kind of music for the first time courtesy of the album “ Astrud Gilberto “.

Joining Laura on the album amongst others, are ' Toots ...


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