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Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

by Mike Jurkovic
Homing in on the electric, ancestral vibe of Rudy Van Gelder's house of musical myth and magic in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, the Heavy Hitters, spearheaded by journeyman pianist Mike LeDonne and well-traveled saxophonist, Eric Alexander, approach this eponymous debut with a ballsy, brassy, big sounding blueprint which carries through the entire recording. In ...
Mike LeDonne: The Heavy Hitters

by Pierre Giroux
There was a period back in the middle years of the 20th Century and beyond when All-Star Groups were quite common, including the Buck Clayton All-Stars, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, and Gene Harris and the Phillip Morris Superband among several other similar aggregations. In today's musical environment, this kind of coming together of high profile musicians ...
The Heavy Hitters: The Heavy Hitters

by Jack Bowers
The Heavy Hitters. Hyperbole? A matter of fact? Or simply the name given by co-leaders Mike LeDonne and Eric Alexander to their newly minted sextet. The third statement is true--but so is the second. From pianist LeDonne and tenor saxophonist Alexander to fellow front-liners Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) and Vincent Herring (alto sax) and the Washingtons, Peter ...
The Heavy Hitters: Heavy Hitters

by Troy Dostert
The self-titled debut from the Heavy Hitters, pianist Mike LeDonne's latest sextet, has the feel of a tribute album. However, unlike most recordings of that nature, there is no classic repertoire present, as all nine tracks are penned either by LeDonne or his colleague, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. Instead, it is a tribute to a sound ...
Jazz Musician of the Day: Cedar Walton

All About Jazz is celebrating Cedar Walton's birthday today! For over 25 years, pianist Cedar Walton has enjoyed an up-tempo career, which never seems to slow down. Maintaining a non-stop itinerary, Walton has accompanied a litany of Jazz greats while also fronting his own successful groups. Born January 17, 1934 in Dallas, Texas, Walton set his ...
Dmitry Baevsky: Kids' Time

by David A. Orthmann
Dmitry Baevsky is a jazzman in his middle years, a period when many players consolidate youthful influences and put their stamp on the rarefied practices of the mid- to-late 20th century. The alto saxophonist has recorded for several labels, and travels widely as a leader and sideman; to his credit, he continues to give the impression ...
Howard University Jazz Ensemble: HUJE 2022

by Jack Bowers
Recordings by the superb Howard University Jazz Ensemble have been surfacing like clockwork each year since shortly after the orchestra was formed in 1975 by its first (and only) music director, Fred Irby III. Sometimes the albums have overall themes, while others (such as this one) are dedicated to one or more of the university's distinguished ...
Houston Person: Reminiscing at Rudy's

by Jack Bowers
The Rudy's" in the title of tenor saxophonist Houston Person's album, Reminiscing at Rudy's, is not a nightclub or other such venue but the New Jersey studio of celebrated recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder who died in 2016. As befits reminiscing, the bulk of the album's numbers are tender ballads, every one of which lands squarely ...
Xhosa Cole: Ibeji

by Karl Ackermann
Few places on the global jazz scene are enjoying the enthusiastic resurgence of the genre more than the UK. Names that are becoming more familiarBinker Golding, Nubya Garcia, Idris Rahman, Shabaka Hutchings and othershave triggered something of a youth movement. Emerging in that group is yet another top-notch saxophonist, Xhosa Cole. Cole's sophomore release, Ibeji is ...
Emmet Cohen: Uptown In Orbit

by Mike Jurkovic
Pianist/composer/educator/impresario Emmet Cohen has proven himself time and time again to be one of the guiding lights of 21st century jazz. And he may have/could have single-handedly saved our collective sanity and jazz's continued rise and relevance when, in the face of a world plague, he began streaming Live From Emmet's Place from his apartment in ...