Home » Search Center » Results: CD/LP/Track Review
Results for "CD/LP/Track Review"
Sara Gazarek and Josh Nelson: Dream In The Blue
by Dan Bilawsky
The success of a story often hinges on the art of the telling. Listen to vocalist Sara Gazarek with pianist Josh Nelson and you immediately see that to be true. These two use ripples of inflection to elicit tidal waves of emotion, uncover new wrinkles in the oldest of thematic fabrics, paint scenes and/or inhabit characters ...
Chris Cain: King of the Blues
by Jack Bowers
Presumably, the title of singer / guitarist Chris Cain's new CD, King of the Blues, refers not to Cain himself but to one of his idols, the legendary bluesman B.B. King, who passed away in May 2015. Cain, who was born and raised in San Jose, CA, attended his first B.B. King concert at age three, ...
Myriad3: Moons
by Dave Wayne
Myriad3's third release, Moons follows very much in the vein of their first two, Tell (Alma Records, 2012) and The Where (Alma Records, 2014), yet there are subtle differences both in instrumentation and their approach to their material. In short, a lot of growth is evident when one compares Moons to its predecessors. Tell, recorded a ...
Camille-Alban Spreng: Odil - Something
by Geno Thackara
With an intuitive rhythmic malleability worthy of a drummer, Camille-Alban Spreng is the kind of pianist who enjoys playing fast and loose with meter as much as melody. The compositions on Odil -Something center around motifs that are intricate yet propulsive, which his quartet handily dashes off with easy flair. They can sound like a classic ...
Chiara Liuzzi: Floating... Visions of Billie Holiday
by Neri Pollastri
In occasione del centenario della nascita, il 2015, si sono sprecati gli omaggi a Billie Holiday, uno dei mostri sacri della musica jazz (e non solo). Con tutto il rispetto, gran parte di questi hanno fatalmente peccato di agiografia: speso non disprezzabili, erano di fatto davvero solo degli omaggi," aggiungendo poco (e frequentemente qualcosa togliendo) a ...
Arthur Blythe: Lenox Avenue Breakdown / In The Tradition / Illusions / Blythe Spirit
by Jakob Baekgaard
Jazz-reissues are important because they help to write and rewrite jazz-history. Through reissues, the prominence of an artist is maintained and the canon is confirmed, but it can also be questioned and corrected. A double-disc from the excellent reissue label, BGO, brings four key records from leader and alto saxophonist, Arthur Blythe, back into circulation. The ...
Steffen Kuehn: Leap Of Faith
by Dan Bilawsky
Leap Of Faith is the fourth album from Grammy-winning trumpeter Steffen Kuehn, but it's the first record to truly represent and showcase every aspect of his artistry. He produced the album, he was involved in the mixing process, he wrote eight of the ten compositions featured within, and his horn playing is central to the success ...
Doug MacDonald: Just for Fun
by Jack Bowers
While there are no household names on guitarist Doug MacDonald's new 2-CD set, Just for Fun (alto saxophonist Lanny Morgan or perhaps drummer Roy McCurdy may come closest), the sidemen he has chosen for a lively concert date billed as a jazz marathon" are more than likely among the more accomplished jazz musicians you've seldom or ...
Charlotte Jazz Orchestra: Uptown Down
by Jack Bowers
Uptown Down is the second album by the Charlotte (NC) Jazz Orchestra, a credibly proficient ensemble for a city that size. Unlike its earlier, in-house endeavor, this one is intended for public consumption; also unlike its sequestered debut, the CJO has chosen this time to intersperse its half-dozen instrumentals with vocals by Renee Ebalarosa. Is that ...
Nick Fraser Quartet: Starer
by Glenn Astarita
Canadian drummer Nick Fraser follows up his trio CD Too Many Continents (Clean Feed, 2015) featuring pianist Kris Davis and saxophonist Tony Malaby with this quartet date also featuring Malaby, consummated by cellist Andrew Downing and bassist Rob Clutton. Hence, the leader imparts an atypical vista, contoured by his scrappy or terse drumming, where structural song-forms ...

