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Esther Phillips: Performance
by Dan Bilawsky
The decades-long battle with drug addiction, which ultimately led to her untimely demise, contributed to vocalist Esther Phillips' status as a tragic second-tier figure in the larger annals of popular music history, but her music itself was often a triumph of soul-stirring ecstasy. By the time Phillips arrived at CTI's sister label, Kudu Records, her early ...
Yotam: Brasil
by Dan Bilawsky
A single letter separates the English and Portuguese spellings of the world's fifth largest country, but that letter distinguishes between an outsider's view and the way that an insider takes it all in. Brazil is for tourists, but Brasil is for those initiated in the musical ways of this South American land of wonder. While Israeli ...
Josh Nelson: Discoveries
by Dan Bilawsky
Nothing fuels the creative impulses like the art of discovery. A new chord voicing can unlock a door to a different world, and different rhythmic permutations can prove to be an endless source of inspiration, but discovering these things and utilizing them to good effect are two different things. Few artists can see the world through ...
Ellis Marsalis: A New Orleans Christmas Carol
by Dan Bilawsky
Christmas music doesn't usually come into stores, radios and homes until Thanksgiving time but, in a year when snow covered the East Coast before Halloween, early arrivals seem to be the norm. Guitarist Doug Munro delivered a Django Reinhardt-styled set of holiday classics on A Very Gypsy Christmas (GotMusic, 2011) in September; pianist Geri Allen tackled ...
Duduka Da Fonseca Trio: Plays Toninho Horta
by Dan Bilawsky
A disproportionate number of Brazilian-focused albums centered on one composer's work have been devoted to exploring the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, but he's hardly the only composer from that locale deserving of the tribute treatment. Countless others have become ambassadors who spread the wonders of Brazil through their music, and nobody is more qualified to ...
Christian McBride: Conversations With Christian
by Dan Bilawsky
Plenty of ink has been spilled by those espousing their opinions on the art of the trio, but the duo format doesn't get its due nearly as often--either in print or on record. The trio format allows for various permutations in musical interaction, but pairing two artists together is all about direct, head-to-head conversation, and bassist ...
Rene Marie: Black Lace Freudian Slip
by Dan Bilawsky
Budding jazz instrumentalists are often told that they need to find their own voice but, ironically, those who use their actual voices are often expected to adhere to the sonic standards of those who came before. Fans and press who value originality in jazz instrumentalists wring their hands in frustration when more John Coltrane clones come ...
Bill O'Connell: Triple Play Plus Three
by Dan Bilawsky
Pianist Bill O'Connell's Triple Play (Savant, 2008) turned traditional notions of piano trio instrumentation on their head, and this album is a logical outgrowth and expansion of that particular project. While that outing had a consistent three man line-up that married O'Connell's piano with conga drummer/percussionist Richie Flores' engaging rhythm work and the fine flute playing ...
Michael Pedicin: Ballads...Searching For Peace
by Dan Bilawsky
Ballads are often consumed as one of many items on a musical tasting menu, but they can also serve as a satisfying meal on their own, when prepared by the right chef. On Ballads...Searching For Peace, tenor saxophonist Michael Pedicin serves up seven satisfying songs from the softer side of jazz, while also paying tribute to ...
Lonnie Smith and Johnny Hammond: Organ Explorers Of The Kudu Kind
by Dan Bilawsky
When the 40th Anniversary celebration of Creed Taylor's CTI Records began, the focus fell on the label's flagship artists and classic albums, but the final wave of releases shines a light on some neglected works that are only now seeing their first U.S. release on CD. The four CDs that bring this celebration to an end--which ...
