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Everything Old is Blue Again: Hank Mobley, McCoy Tyner, Grant Green and Horace Silver

by C. Andrew Hovan
If you are a Blue Note fan, you undoubtedly know that over the course of their 75th anniversary year Blue Note has been reissuing important titles from the catalog at a rate of about five albums per month. It is really a fast-paced program that will appeal to folks on many levels. Some might be starting ...
Something Smoky and Something Blue

by C. Andrew Hovan
With Vincent Herring's alto providing the clarion call that ushers in the troops for a quicksilver performance entitled Elation," it became clear that the analog warmth of this particular vinyl release possessed a tangible charm that was undeniable. So while this reviewer had previously reviewed Herring's The Uptown Shuffle as heard in the CD format and ...
Walt Weiskopf: Overdrive

by C. Andrew Hovan
Since making his first two records on the independent Iris label back in the early '90s, Walt Weiskopf has staked a claim as one of the most advanced and iconic tenor saxophonists in jazz. However, even as he went on to record one great record after another for Criss Cross beginning in 1993, Weiskopf remained under ...
Jimmy Cobb: The Original Mob

by C. Andrew Hovan
As the Smoke Sessions list of titles continues to grow, so too do we get to check out some of the country's greatest drummer. The much in-demand Joe Farnsworth has been featured on the label's releases by Harold Mabern and David Hazeltine. Furthermore, one of the most recent titles is a headlining date for the legendary ...
Louis Hayes: Return of the Jazz Communicators

by C. Andrew Hovan
Much like what has happened with Smalls Records, the cottage industry that Smoke jazz club started when they debuted their own record label last fall has continued to grow into a viable commodity. So too, there is common ground to the look and feel of each release, even as the color scheme and the music itself ...
35th Annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland

by C. Andrew Hovan
Playhouse Square Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio June 26-28, 2014 For the first time in 35 years, Cuyahoga Community College's annual jazz festival received a major makeover via the shift from a two week event in April to a three day happening in June. Also key to this paradigm shift ...
Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival 2014

by C. Andrew Hovan
Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival 2014 Cultural District Pittsburgh, PA June 20-22, 2014 With its modest beginnings back in 2011, the Pittsburgh JazzLive International Festival had nothing but an uphill battle in terms of sustaining a free jazz festival. It took a billion dollar endowment to keep North America's largest free ...
Roland Kirk: The Limelight/Verve Albums

by C. Andrew Hovan
Several years ago when this writer was looking for rarities to include in the column Jazz From the Vinyl Junkyard, the chances for the medium to make a huge comeback seemed to be slim at best. Fast forward and it seems that vinyl is the new black, with efforts to market it to a fresh and ...
Smoke Sessions: A Threesome from Herring, Jackson, & Hazeltine

by C. Andrew Hovan
With the launch of their own label at the start of 2014, Smoke Jazz Club widened their circle by committing to tape performances by some of New York's finest musicians and dispersing this music via downloads and discs. A decidedly bare bones operation, the in-house production team has done a great job of capturing the ambiance ...
Harold Mabern: Right On Time

by C. Andrew Hovan
It's always cool when you get in on the ground floor of something new and exciting. That's how it feels to have spent time delving into the music being documented by a new jazz label. Since 1998, Smoke has been one of the most happening places in Manhattan to take in some live jazz. A bit ...