Results for "Billy Drummond"

Skip Grasso: Becoming

by Jack Bowers
March 2, 2023

If guitarist Skip Grasso's name was not so prominently displayed on the album cover, a listener would be hard-pressed to ascertain that Becoming was his gig. Yes, Grasso does bring a lot to the table, but no more than pianist Anthony Pocetti, bassist Harvie S or drummer Billy Drummond who together round out Grasso's impressive quartet. ...

Skip Grasso

Born: December 19, 1965

Skip Grasso is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in Baltimore, Maryland.  He has performed in a wide variety of musical settings from solo guitar to big bands throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. His 2021 release Jagged Spaces with the Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble reached #31 on the JazzWeek chart. This recording of all original music featured four of his compositions including the title track. Following the success of Jagged Spaces, Skip was awarded the 2022 Pathways to Jazz Grant. In 2023, Skip released his debut recording as a leader Becoming which showcases him as both a guitarist and composer. The critically acclaimed recording introduced eight diverse originals in collaboration with Anthony Pocetti on piano, organ and electric piano, bassist Harvie S, and drummer Billy Drummond. Reaching #42 on JazzWeek chart, Becoming spent sixteen weeks in the top 100. As a sideman, Skip recorded The Don Junker Big Band’s Junkyard Dog, and The Hank Levy Alumni Band’s An Odd-Time Was Had By All. He has performed with such artists as Randy Brecker and The Lakewood Jazz Ensemble Big Band, singer Ethel Ennis, and saxophonists Chris Vadala, and Claire Daley.

A Few More of My Favorite 2022 Jazz Things, Part 1

by Ludovico Granvassu
January 28, 2023

Twelve months have gone by so fast, and so much has happened... At the beginning of the year we were still under various degrees of lockdown or social distancing, now we have a war, weather patterns and a financial situation that are crazier than ever. One positive thread through these months, however, has been the relentless ...

Lotus Blossom Days

By Vicki Burns

Label: ViBu Jazz
Released: 2022
Track listing: If You Never Fall In Love With Me/Del Sasser Close Your Eyes Love Spell Lotus Blossom Days Bittersweet Watch Out/ The Sidewinder A Long Way To Go/ Equinox It's Over Now/ Well You Needn't You Don't Have To Believe This Time The Dream's On Me Siren Song Out Of This World

Just The Contrafacts

Label: Cellar Records
Released: 2022
Track listing: Spare Change; More Please; What Did You Did To Me? Corpus And Spirit; Lover?I Hardly Know Her; What Is This Thing Called?;Not So Easy To Love

Valse Sinistre

By Billy Drummond

Label: Cellar Records
Released: 2022
Track listing: Little Melonae; Never Ends; Valse Sinistre; Laura; Frankenstein; Changes for Trane & Monk; Clara’s Room; Reconfirmed; Lawra.

A Silver Set, A Bit of Brubeck + Recent Releases

by David Brown
October 18, 2022

This week, a welcome adventure in music! Jazz is Dead, A bluesy Horace Silver set, a bit of Brubeck (pre-classic quartet) plus recent releases form Daniel Carter, Billy Drummond, Sasha Berliner, Walt Weiskopf, and more. Playlist Thelonious Monk “Esistrophy (Theme)" from Live at the It Club-Complete (Columbia) 00:30 Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge ...

Detroit Jazz Festival 2022: The 43rd Edition Returns to a Live Audience

by Paul Rauch
September 22, 2022

Detroit Jazz FestivalHart Plaza and Campus Martius jny:Detroit, MI September 2-5, 2022 The main lobby of the Detroit Marriott at Renaissance Center was abuzz with greetings and joyful conversation. You could feel the ardent positivity in the room as well as you could feel the near ninety-degree heat and accompanying steady ...

Joey DeFrancesco, Jaimie Branch & Natalia M. King

by Joe Dimino
September 11, 2022

We start the 768th Episode of Neon Jazz with the explosive jazz and blues singer Natalia M. King. She was born in Brooklyn and came into her own in France. She is a force and following her, we dig into another musician that left the states for France in Sidney Bechet. There is a new trove ...

André Minvielle, Jimetta Rose, Simone Prattico, Basher & Other New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
September 3, 2022

The life affirming power of the human voice, from the modern spirituality of Jimetta Rose & Voices of Creation to the irreverent and crazy eclecticism of André Minvielle, or the haunting elegance of Piers Faccini with Simone Prattico, opens a wide ranging set which is then closed with another tribute to Frank Kimbrough. Happy ...