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Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Open House
by David Rickert
The best organ jazz records fuse elements of gospel, blues, and soul together with the atmosphere of a jam session, as if a bunch of friends got together one night to toss a few back and play some tunes. Johnny “Hammond" Smith certainly has the right idea on the first of the sessions on this two-fer ...
Eleonora Eubel: Full Moon
by David Rickert
Some of the most original and vibrant jazz played today comes not from New York or Chicago but rather from a much warmer climate: Latin America. Musicians such as pianist Adrian Iaies and guitarist Guillermo Bazzola are taking the idioms of America's so-called classical music and infusing it with new life via a Latin sensibility, creating ...
Johnny Lytle Trios: Got That Feeling/Moon Child
by David Rickert
Back in the early sixties a group consisting of Larry Young, Bobby Hutcherson, and Grant Green recorded a series of outstanding sessions that both extended the vocabulary and enriched the possibilities of the jazz organ combo. Part of this was the unusual addition of vibes in a spot normally occupied by a sax, but to a ...
Etta Jones: Hollar
by David Rickert
Etta Jones is one of many singers who find it hard to escape the large shadow cast by songbirds like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, but still manage to create music filled with verve, grace, and sophistication. Hollar is an odd title for a record as subdued and mannered as this one is; Jones is much ...
Charlie Byrd: Blues Sonata
by David Rickert
Mention the word “Bird" and Charlie Parker immediately comes to mind with Donald Byrd soon to follow. Charlie Byrd, on the other hand, is not an artist that immediately comes to mind. Byrd first made his mark with Stan Getz on Jazz Samba, a record which unfairly obscures his work as a solo artist. He has ...
Barry Harris Quintet: Newer Than New
by David Rickert
Barry Harris was always considered one of the elder statesmen of the Detroit scene, even though he was only in his thirties when he made his mark. Armed with a piano style based on the advances of Bud Powell, Harris dedicated his life to filling the vacuum left by the waning light of the bebop giants ...
Bud Powell: Jazz Giant
by David Rickert
If Oscar Peterson's piano style is like a painter creating a landscape out of swirls and dabs of colorful paint, Bud Powell's approach is more like a sculptor working with a slab of black marble. Powell too is influenced by Tatum, but only as filtered through Monk; whereas Peterson always seemed driven to create perfect renditions ...
Joe Pass: Virtuoso
by David Rickert
A true virtuoso weds rich artistic sensibility with a mastery of the instrument the artist chooses to express it. Therefore, Art Tatum was a true virtuoso, whereas Miles Davis wasn't, he had artistic expression in spades, but his technique on the instrument was limited. It takes a lot of confidence (or gall) to label yourself a ...
Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross: Sing A Song of Basie
by David Rickert
Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross are pioneers of a unique singing style called vocalese, which involves replacing instrumental jazz with sung lines and invented lyrics. The method was first used by artists such as King Pleasure, who with a rhythm section backing him added lyrics to a Charlie Parker solo in a version that Parker hated. Lambert, ...
Oscar Peterson: On the Town
by David Rickert
Oscar Peterson is one of the musicians responsible for bringing jazz to a wider audience, and it's easy to understand why from listening to any of his instantly appealing records. He took the knuckle-busting runs of Art Tatum and wedded them to the delicate approach of Nat King Cole in a series of accomplished trio recordings, ...
