Results for "AAJ Staff"

Hawkeye Jazz

July 6, 2011

There are many things that make me proud to be an Iowa Hawkeye. First, from a relatively young age, I always liked the University of Iowa's Herky the Hawk mascot. He wasn't politically controversial, he wasn't a wimpy sort of bird, and over the years he has survived redesign to keep him “hip." Then there's the ...

The Jazz Session #289: Jim Snidero

July 5, 2011

Interview: Betty Bennett (Part 1)

July 5, 2011

Back in May, in one of my Sunday “Oddball Album Covers of the Week" posts, I showcased two LPs featuring women stretched out on lawns. One was Nobody Else But Me, a 1955 album by vocalist Betty Bennett for Atlantic Records that was arranged by Andre Previn and Shorty Rogers. The point of my post was ...

One Track Mind: Rick Stone Trio, "Ballad for Very Sad and Very Tired Lotus Eaters" (2011)

July 5, 2011

Rick Stone picks more obvious standards elsewhere on his forthcoming release, Fractals. There is Victor Young's “Stella by Starlight," given a vampy album-opening 7/4 intro; and a lush take on Jerome Kern's “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." Stone even swings his way through a seven-and-a-half minute version of Jimmy Van Heusen's “Darn That Dream." But it ...

Something Else! Featured Artist: The Funky, Funky JB Horns

July 5, 2011

James Brown got all of the headlines, be they for his fancy moves, his fancier suits or his brushes with the law. But the JB Horns, those great groovers who provided the punctuation to every grunt, gasp and squeal, remain an underrated element to the legend. Maceo Parker, the muscular saxophonist, has perhaps had the most ...

Julia Hülsmann Trio - Imprint (2011)

July 5, 2011

German pianist Julia Hülsmann has made her mark with trio jazz fronted with a vocalist, either male or female, but had returned to the instrumental three when she signed up with ECM and recorded her first album with them, The End Of A Summer (2008). Now comes the follow-up three years later with Imprint. Hülsmann is ...

Michael Benedict and Bopitude (Planet Arts, 2011)

July 5, 2011

Taking some of the best jazz compositions of the mid 1950's to mid 1960s hard bop movement and placing them into a more modern context, drummer Michael Benedict leads an exciting band called Bopitude which consists of Bruce Barth on piano, Chris Pasin on trumpet, Brian Patneaude on saxophones and Mike Lawrence on bass. There is ...

Barcelona Holiday: Some Hip Piano Trio Music from Sperrazza-Sacks-Kamaguchi

July 5, 2011

If you dig a modern piano-bass-drums trio playing in a free-bop zone, Barcelona Holiday (Fresh Sound New Talent 373) will get you feeling happy. The session came about while Jacob Sacks (piano), Masa Kamaguchi (bass) and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) were gigging in Barcelona. They were obviously ready to record and Fresh Sound was there to give ...

STLJN Audio Archive: Oliver Nelson - Black, Brown and Beautiful

July 4, 2011

This week's StLJN Audio Archive post comes once again via the Flying Dutchman blog, which has preserved most of the output of that once vibrant, now defunct jazz imprint of the 1960s and 1970s. Saxophonist, arranger/composer and St. Louis native Oliver Nelson made a number of albums for Flying Dutchman, and today we feature Black, Brown ...

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: New Orleans Comes to St. Louis

July 4, 2011

From big names like Dr. John, the Neville Brothers and Harry Connick Jr. to lesser-known acts, New Orleans musicians usually seem to do well in St. Louis. Longtime readers may remember yr. humble editor's half-baked theory, advanced several times before in this space, that this is in part because ...