Results for "AAJ Staff"

The New Orleans Social Club - Sing Me Back Home (2005)

September 2, 2011

By Derrick Lord Faith is a difficult and complicated thing. If you understand that much you likely also realize that even the strongest faith is doomed to eventually be tested by hard times. When those tests come, questions follow: Have you learned from your challenges? Have you grown? Have you come to accept your limitations? Are ...

Moreland and Arbuckle - Just a Dream (Telarc, 2011)

September 2, 2011

Guitarist Aaron Moreland and singer and harmonica player Dustin Arbuckle remain true to their blues roots while adding some roots rock energy to the proceedings on their latest recording. Rounded out by bass and drums, the duo has an appealing sound, rough and Earthy, like early Captain Beefheart or The Black Keys. The do a great ...

Rich Halley's Quartet Goes Long and Strong on "Requiem for a Pit Viper"

September 2, 2011

Tenorist-band- leader-tunesmith Rich Halley turns in one his very best efforts on the new CD Requiem for A Pit Viper (Pine Eagle 003). It's Rich plus trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Chris Reed and drummer Carson Halley in a long set of originals with lots of room for solos. As is generally the case with Rich's band ...

Detroit's Annual Block Party

September 2, 2011

The forecast for the Twin Cities says scattered thunderstorms for Friday. That means a lot of finger-crossing, weather map pondering, and figuring out the best timing for our private plane departure for Detroit and the 32nd annual Detroit Jazz Festival, one of the largest in the world and the largest free jazz festival in North America. ...

Twin Cities Jazz Week in Review, August 26-September 1

September 2, 2011

Sometimes good ol' bop and swing are all you need to hear. And then, of course, sometimes that oddball, hard-to-define-but-really-cool event is the highlight of the week. Check out the Picnic Operetta from Mixed Precipitation if you feel your musical adventures are stagnating (see blog, September 1). Then again, finishing the week with Amina Figarova is ...

The Lead Sheet: Twin Cities Jazz, September 2-8

September 2, 2011

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good flying weather as I am heading back to the Detroit Jazz Festival for my fourth consecutive dose (9/2-5). But our transit is a 4-passenger plane. Last year at the very last minute we ditched the flight plan and drove. Fifteen hours including three hours plowing through Chicago holiday rush ...

Junior Wells, with Buddy Guy - Hoodoo Man Blues (1965, Reissue)

September 1, 2011

For Junior Wells, there was just something about working with Buddy Guy. On Hoodoo Man Blues, a spark-filled mid-1960s Chicago blues album, Wells stops on more than one occasion, while letting loose these flying shards of harmonica blasts, to issue a pleased grunt. So very in the moment, his vocals start with an unguarded joy, a ...

Jazz Around Town: As the Summer Wanes, There Still Some Jazz in Rochester

September 1, 2011

Thursday, September 1, 2011 Jazz & Wine Happy Hour with The Swooners @ Woodcliff Hotel & Spa, 5:30 pm The John Palocy Trio (Jazz Dawgs) @ Bistro 135, 6:30 pm Uptown Jazz Rochester with Whitney Marchelle, Andy Calabrese and John Montgomery @ The Grill at Strathallan, 7:00 pm Joe Santora Trio with Emily Kirchoff @ Michael's ...

New Clubs Featuring Jazz Open in Alton, Florissant

September 1, 2011

The St. Louis area in recent years has lost a number of bars and restaurants that regularly featured live jazz, so it's a welcome development to see two new jazz venues—one on each side of Mississippi—opening for business. Jazz on Broadway, located at 554 East Broadway in downtown Alton, IL was mentioned here briefly here in ...

The Jazz Session #306: Gilad Hekselman

September 1, 2011