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Results for "Chris M. Slawecki"
Ithamara Koorax: Brazilian Butterfly
by Chris M. Slawecki
Except for two ballads--the cosmopolitan “Carinhoso with her Brazilian jazz fusion compatriots Azymuth, and Herbie Hancock's title track--Ithamara Koorax's ninth album is her most adventurous release. It seems constructed to honor legendary Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim and her husband/bandleader/percussionist Airto. This Brazilian Butterfly soars and flutters while multiple percussionists (often as many as four on the ...
Dionne Warwick: My Friends and Me
by Chris M. Slawecki
Primarily known as the soft, supple voice in front of so many classics written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Warwick here enters the popular “Duets arena by revisiting most of that catalog in the company of other female artists. It took more than “Wishin' and Hopin' to transform this concept into a worthwhile listen (though ...
The Holmes Brothers: State of Grace
by Chris M. Slawecki
Wendell Holmes plays guitar, piano and sings, and Sherman Holmes plays bass and sings. When Popsy Dixon joins on drums and vocals, this trio transforms into the Holmes Brothers, the Blues Foundation's 2005 Band of the Year. Their three-part harmonies are honeyed country gospel, but their front-stoop funk and dark, broken-hearted tales are pure country blues.
Ruth Naomi Floyd: Root to the Fruit
by Chris M. Slawecki
Along with her sidework with instrumentalists Charles Fambrough, Uri Caine and other jazzmen of note, composer/vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd gives voice to her own muse through her own label, Contour Records. Her fifth release continues her longstanding collaboration with pianist James Weidman, known for his accompaniment for vocalists Abbey Lincoln and Cassandra Wilson. It also features ...
Thiago de Mello & Dexter Payne: Another Feeling
by Chris M. Slawecki
Have you ever walked alone through a quiet beautiful woodland and stepped into an open space full of nothing but warm and growing brightness, and felt like nature was a cathedral and you were seated in its front row? Another Feeling sounds just like that: completely, naturally, immaculate and beautiful. Dexter Payne on clarinet ...
The Rooftop: A Live Shot
by Chris M. Slawecki
A musical message of hope sent from a city built on an island to a city stranded in water, A Live Shot documents a New York City performance by rising East Coast neo-soul stars, a benefit concert for New Orleans musicians recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Guitarist Christian Ver Halen wrote or co-wrote all the ...
Radio Citizen: Berlin Serengeti
by Chris M. Slawecki
Berlin's Niko Schabel knows what German techno-music pioneers Kraftwerk began demonstrating all those years ago: if people program them right, even machines got soul. A multi-instrumentalist and producer who leads a jazz quartet and plays with The Last Poets and other groups, Schabel weaves together the electronic jungle of Berlin Serengeti from samples, loops ...
Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion: Mozart Meets Cuba
by Chris M. Slawecki
Few musical marriages can seem more oddly matched than a German classical/chamber trio with an Afro-Cuban percussion ensemble. Yet Mozart Meets Cuba presents astonishing work: Latin explorations of Mozart's timeless melodies that are true to the fire and passion, and to the almost mathematic precision, of Afro-Cuban and classical perspectives. Mozart's compositions remain refined and austerely ...
Club d'Elf: Now I Understand
by Chris M. Slawecki
About eight years ago, composer/bassist Mike Rivard began leading a “floating residency in Cambridge, Massachusetts, organized around the rhythm section, which pulsed behind a kaleidoscope of horn, keyboard, percussion and guitar players. After seven live releases, Rivard has finally shepherded his “ever-changing performance ensemble into its first studio album. No fewer than 25 musicians ...
Don Byron: Do The Boomerang: The Music Of Junior Walker
by Chris M. Slawecki
Through previous recordings in honor of Sly Stone, Igor Stravinsky, Henry Mancini and other influences on his highly individualized muse, Don Byron has demonstrated a great feeling for tributes. His sixth Blue Note release honors Autry DeWalt, who blew as “Junior Walker a string of saxophone/organ hurricanes that contributed mightily to the rock-soul wing of Motown ...
