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Steve Gadd, Eddie Gomez, Ronnie Cuber, WDR Big Band: Center Stage
by Jack Bowers
Mixed emotions must underline this review. Center Stage, featuring bassist Eddie Gomez, drummer Steve Gadd and baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber with Germany's superb WDR Big Band conducted by Michael Abene, was recorded in Cologne in January and February 2022. Sadly, Ronnie Cuber passed away in October, shortly after the album was released. If ...
Boney James: Detour
by Jeff Winbush
The thing about a new Boney James album is that it is the same old Boney James album. James has skillfully found his niche as a musician and doggone if he's going to stray far from it. Detour is the saxophonist's 18th album as a leader, but the formula (and the songs) remain the same. Start ...
Esbjorn Svensson: HOME.S.
by Geno Thackara
We've had a few from-the-vaults recordings worth celebrating since Esbjorn Svensson's sudden passing in mid-2008, but this long-belated discovery is a quiet surprise the music world could not have expected. There was the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.)'s final completed album Leucocyte (ACT Music) that same year, later followed by the equally exploratory 301 (ACT, 2012) which ...
Tito Carrillo: Urbanessence
by Jack Bowers
Urbanessence, the second album as leader from Chicago-area trumpeter, composer and educator Tito Carrillo, is a rhythmic showcase for ten of his buoyant original compositions, all of which embody his love of BAM (Black American Music) and the lyric legacy of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Peru. Carrillo, a bold and burnished improviser ...
Dave Liebman: Trust And Honesty
by Chris May
Dave Liebman's Trust And Honesty is the third release in Newvelle Records' limited edition audiophile-vinyl autumn 2022 Renewal Collection. It follows Elan Mehler's There Is A Dance and Michael Blake's Combobulate, both previously reviewed on these pages. Liebman's album is an unassuming little gem. It takes a master musician to take a selection ...
Yu Nishiyama Big Band: A Lotus In The Mud
by Angelo Leonardi
Una giovane e talentuosa bandleader aggiorna la tradizione delle grandi orchestratrici del Sol Levante, da Toshiko Akiyoshi a Miho Hazama. La musica presente nel debutto di Yu Nishiyama va oltre un puntuale modern mainstream per big band ma colpisce per la fantasiosa scrittura, caratterizzata da percorsi ricchi di svolte, tra aristocratici contrasti timbrici, poderosi ensemble e ...
Lucian Ban: Ways of Disappearing
by Stefano Merighi
Il pianista romeno Lucian Banche vive e lavora da oltre vent'anni a New Yorksostiene di avere come punto di riferimento per il solo piano un vecchio disco di Sun Ra, Monorails and Satellite. Forse però la nettezza del suo tocco possente che plasma accordi sia onirici che concreti riporta più all'arte di Ran Blake e, spesso, ...
Paolo Angeli: Rade
by Ian Patterson
Sardinia is never far from Paolo Angeli's heart and mind. In a storied career, the Italian guitarist has often drawn inspiration from his island's landscapes, soundscapes, culture and history, notably on albums such as S'û (ReR Megacorp, 2015) and Jar'a (ReR Megacorp, 2021). Even on 22.22 Free Radiohead (ReR Megacorp, 2019), his highly original tribute to ...
Chad Fowler: Alien Skin
by Mike Jurkovic
Just from the paperwork alone, it was duly expected that Alien Skin would be unruly, raw, and cathartic. That is just the nature of the beast. That is just the way the big man planned it. But even with all that said, no one (including the players) saw Alien Skin coming down the runway.
Richard Williams: Hollywood Christmas
by Richard J Salvucci
Ready or not, Christmas music is on the way. And this is Christmas music, old school. Do you remember The Andy Williams Christmas Album? Then, as the old joke goes, there may be fire in the hearth, but snow on the roof, because that was 1963, at least the first version. This recording, for ...

