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Orgone: The Killion Floor
by Chris M. Slawecki
If there's something/ANYthing that you've liked in funk, soul or hip-hop during the last four decades, you'll find something you like on The Killion Floor, the first full-length release from this LA-based funk hip-hop ensemble. This is Orgone's rhythm and blues encyclopedia, an expansive (17 songs, 76 minutes) funk survey refracted through the hip-hop perspective that ...
Fabio Fonseca Trio: Opus Samba
by Chris M. Slawecki
Arnaldo DeSouteiro produced Opus Samba to feature Fonseca's funky Hammond B-3 organ in his trio with Pedro Leao (bass) and Mac William (drums). Though you won't hear any jazz standards on its set list or many harmonically adventurous jazz solos in its jams, the very musical way that Fonseca and friends blend together jazz, Brazilian, Latin ...
Sarah Brightman: Symphony
by Chris M. Slawecki
The vocal star of Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Requiem may be the former Mrs. Andrew Lloyd-Weber but this Symphony proves that Sarah Brightman will never leave epic melodrama too far behind. Brightman continues to satisfy both critics and her public by working through the crossroads of classic popular music, popular classical music, theatrical showtunes ...
Andy Bey: Ain't Necessarily So
by Chris M. Slawecki
The supple, nurturing hands and voice of pianist/vocalist Andy Bey generally dispenses most music in two flavors, either a ballad or a blues. This live recording during Bey's first headline appearance at the world famous jazz hotspot Birdland continues his series of albums with producer Herb Jordan, who like most listeners, remains amazed at Bey's subtle ...
James Blood Ulmer: Bad Blood in the City: The Piety Street Sessions
by Chris M. Slawecki
"Blood wrote these songs that are the essence of the blues," suggests producer and guitarist Vernon Reid. They're politically incorrect, they're sad and haunting, they're pissed off and on an existential level, they address the complicated concept that is America, which is something Blood's been dealing with since the beginning of his career." You ...
Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964
by Chris M. Slawecki
Confrontational, sprawling and historic, this resurrected March 1964 performance by one of his favorite bands--Johnny Coles (trumpet) and Clifford Jordan (saxophone) with favorite sons Dannie Richmond (drums), Jaki Byard (piano) and Eric Dolphy (reeds, flutes)--presents the muse of bassist Charles Mingus in all its terrible glory. Split here between two CDs, this performance begins ...
The Harlem Experiment: The Harlem Experiment
by Chris M. Slawecki
Volume three in Ropeadope's Experiment series follows similar musical experiments that represent Philadelphia (2001) and Detroit (2003). We look to Harlem as ground zero for all that is modern day 'American' music," explains co-producer (and Ropeadope founder) Andy Hurwitz. Whether you call it jazz, R&B, hip-hop or rock, all of it passed through the neighborhood's gates."
Club d'Elf: Perhapsody Live 10.12.06
by Chris M. Slawecki
A floating ensemble in every best sense of the word, Club d'Elf is tethered to bassist Mike Rivard and the more or less house rhythm section from Rivard's extended residency at the Lizard Lounge, a progressive if not experimental music club in Boston. After releasing numerous live albums--the best laboratory for their mainly improvised, genre-munching music--they ...
Johnny Blas: Indestructible Spirit
by Chris M. Slawecki
"This album differs in style, it has more of a funky jazz beat with a twist of Latin, suggests Johnny Blas. Kind of a throwback to the '70s sound. Indestructible Spirit also represents rebirth for Latin percussionist Blas, who leads a brand new band and even performs on saxophone. Oaklands Mambo opens the set ...
One Look Back
by Chris M. Slawecki
Every year seems to confront me with a few titles from the year just ended that I really wanted to write about but somehow never did. Sometimes, like this time, it's more than a few titles. I'm sure we'll discover some amazing music this coming year, but there's nothing wrong with just one quick look back ...


