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JD Allen: Barracoon
To describe JD Allen's Barracoon as a great record would give a false impression--though it is in fact a fantastic record. It would be demeaning to only refer to the piece as a great exemplar of post-bop production. This record is more important than that; not only is it significant in terms of Allen's artistic development, but the project also contributes to a larger historical framework. Barracoon frames Allen as a leader, a storyteller, and a historian. ...
read moreBill O'Connell and The Afro Caribbean Ensemble: Wind Off The Hudson
Bill O'Connell has had plenty to say with his piano in recent times, basically knocking out a session a year for the Savant imprint. And with an exploration within the solo format, a trip with an augmented trio, and ventures promoting a medium-sized conglomerate of heavy-hitters, he's certainly traversed quite an expanse there. But, as Wind Off The Hudson clearly shows, he's still got room grow. The Afro Caribbean Ensemble--his largest on-record gathering of late, and a ...
read moreJim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt: Jubilation!
The complete title of this splendid album by alto saxophonist Jim Snidero and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's New York-based quintet is Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley. In other words, honoring the life and music of one of the jazz world's most illustrious altos, a consummate artist (and showman) who ranks alongside Bird, Stitt, Pepper, Konitz, Desmond, Woods, McLean and Nelson as undisputed alto giants and pacesetters of the bop and post-bop eras. As there was only one Cannonball Adderley ...
read moreJD Allen: Love Stone
Beneath this tough tenor's exterior rests the most tender of spirits. If you need evidence, just spend some time with Love Stone. After carving out his rightful place at the apex with a series of brilliant piano-less trio outings focused on pithy originals, saxophonist JD Allen recently felt the winds of change in his horn and his habits. He reached a conclusion that originality may sit not in the song's architect but in its possessor, and he ...
read moreJim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt: Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley
Jim Snidero and Jeremy Pelt celebrate the late, great alto saxophonist Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley. On this release, the band pays homage to the artist's classic quintet, as Pelt's meaty tone rekindles the aura of trumpeter Nat Adderley. The tunes--largely composed by Julian or Nat--capture a portion of the original quintet's setlist, with the festivities enriched by Snidero and Pelt's personal imprints. Pelt and Snidero each contribute a piece that morphs into the Adderley legacy and soundscape, as the ...
read moreGiacomo Gates: What Time Is It?
2:02.75. That might have been what longshot “Giacomo" (at 50-1) took to win the Kentucky Derby back in 2005. However, it will take longer--just short of an hour--to realize that this thoroughbred Giacomo rides home a winner with What Time Is It?. Hold the oats and roses and grab the ear buds. Giacomo Gates, the consummate Hipster's Hipster, carries the Bop-Scat-Vocalese torch superbly here--one carried previously by greats Babs Gonzales, King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson, Oscar Brown, Jr. ...
read moreGiacomo Gates: What Time Is It?
What is it that separates a “jazz singer" from the wannabes? While many people are known as or call themselves jazz singers, only a handful truly merit the name. Giacomo Gates, whose latest album What Time Is It? is his seventh (and fourth for Savant Records), is one of the chosen few. Why? Well, as the saying goes, if you have to ask . . . The fact is, Gates has a pleasant baritone voice but not ...
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