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Jeff Ciampa: Signs of Life
by Dave Hughes
On his new CD, guitarist Jeff Ciampo exhibits not onlySigns of Life, but also signs of creativity, fluid and expressive playing, and excellent compositional skills. While at first listen, the music has much the same sonic ambiance of many other contemporary guitar combo releases (guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, plus occasional sax), it soon becomes ...
Albert Calvo: Pass It On
by Dave Hughes
Australian guitarist Albert Calvo's CDPass It Onbegins with three tunes that fit right in with the current contempo genre. However, a better picture of Calvo's individual talents begins to emerge with cut 4; "Insights" features Calvo improvising thoughtfully on nylon-string acoustic guitar over a background sea of sustained synthesizer chords. Next, "Virtual Samba" rolls ...
Jango: Dreamtown
by Dave Hughes
Jango's new release,Dreamland, seems to have a split personality, with both halves positioned for the current "smooth jazz" format. The even numbered tunes are vocals, stylistically akin to late-70s/early-80s top forty pop tunes. "City of the 2nd Chance," "Dreamtown" and "Golden Fool" reflect an obvious Steely Dan influence, the cover "How Long (Has This Been Going ...
Manny Oquendo & Libre: Ahora
by Dave Hughes
First of all, let me admit a bias. As a trombonist, there are few sounds more beautiful to my ears than an ensemble of trombones. Combine this with another passion, the seductive throbbing of cuban percussion, and you have a combination that's tough to beat. Manny Oquendo and Libre live up to this potential on their ...
Phil Perry: One Heart One Love
by Dave Hughes
Phil Perry has spent much of his career amassing a long list of credits as a background singer or a "sideman" vocalist (extensive work with Lee Ritenour, for example). He's released albums under his own name before, but hasn't quite made it into the "household name" category. His latest offering,One Heart One Love, should ...
Phil Sheeran: Orchid
by Dave Hughes
Guitarist Phil Sheeran's latest,Orchid, on his own Passage label, is a varied, well-rounded program of contemporary stylings. Keyboardist Gregg Karukas shares the producing and arranging duties, as well as the rhythm track programming on three cuts (the rest have live rhythm section). The album opens with the bluesy title cut; near the end of ...
David Frazier: A Touch of Blues
by Dave Hughes
Guitarist David Frazier offersA Touch of Blues, as well as touches of many related genres, in a nicely balanced program of half originals, half covers. Some tunes, such as the opener "Apache" and the Santana/Coster standard "Europa" exhibit the touch of blues, with soulful, yearning guitar explorations. "Blues for Joe (Pass)" is more ...
Paquito D'Rivera: 100 Years of Latin Love Songs
by Dave Hughes
This CD is wonderful! In addition to being an exquisite listening experience, it also serves as a textbook (textdisc?) for gaining an understanding and appreciation for the various styles of Latin music that have developed throughout the century. The format is ten songs, each selected from a different country, and each from a different decade (see ...
Theo Jorgensmann Quartett: Ta Eko Mo
by Dave Hughes
This is a non-traditional quartet (the leader on clarinet, plus vibes, double bass, and drums/percussion) playing very non-traditional music. It's quite free-form and avant-garde. Except for the fact that there is plenty of improvization contained herein, it really bears little connection to jazz. Those who favor such traditional concepts as a melody, a recognizable ...
Kerry Strayer Septet: Jeru Blue: A Tribute to Gerry Mulligan
by Dave Hughes
Kansas City baritone saxophonist and educator Kerry Strayer has put together an excellent straight-ahead jazz outing that serves both as a worthy tribute to the late Gerry Mulligan (unquestionably the most influencial baritone saxophonist in jazz), as well as a good introduction to his own talents. Eight of the nine tunes are Strayer's arrangements of Mulligan ...
