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Louis Armstrong: Storyville Masters of Jazz: Louis Armstrong
by Greg Thomas
Was Louis Armstrong more an entertainer or artist? The dichotomy suggested by this question won't be resolved by this disc because it's a matter of perspective, like particles and waves in physics. Although liner notes author Mike Hennessey claims that he was “an entertainer first, a brilliantly gifted jazzman second, Armstrong made it ...
Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano: Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano: Complete Recordings
by Greg Thomas
This recording, a fine addition to Charlie Parker's oeuvre, documents Lennie Tristano's extensions of the bebop idiom. Considered by some to be more of a cult figure with a small school of followers than a recognized major innovator of jazz, Tristano's contributions may now be viewed at in a better light. Parker's seminal place in the ...
Gary Smulyan: Hidden Treasures
by Greg Thomas
Hidden Treasures smokes from the very first cut. Joined here by bassist Christian McBride and drummer Billy Drummond, Gary Smulyan makes a major statement with every new release. He eschewed smaltz for hard swing on Gary Smulyan with Strings. On Blues Suite he played fiery baritone sax with a brass section. He led a straight-ahead, take-no-prisoners ...
Ramsey Lewis: Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis: Showcase
by Greg Thomas
Jazz is virtually nonexistent on network television. Pianist and broadcaster Ramsey Lewis has addressed this vacuum with the PBS program Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis. This Showcase CD/DVD set serves as a sampler of performances from the series. The end result is a patchwork of genres. Benny Golson captivates on the classic ...
Joe Wilder: A True Living Legend
by Greg Thomas
Joe Wilder, a true living legend of the trumpet, is at long last getting what fellow brass great Roy Eldridge used to call “his screen credits . After 60+ years of superlative support work in big bands, Broadway pit orchestras and commercials, Wilder is finally headlining his own quartet at the Village Vanguard. ...
Milt Jackson: Soul Pioneers / Tommy Flanagan: The Cats
by Greg Thomas
Milt Jackson Soul Pioneers: The Milt Jackson Quartet featuring Horace Silver Concord Music Group 2004 From the opening tag of the first tune on this 1955 recording, one relaxes on the axis of the steel vibes of Milt Jackson, joined by his Modern Jazz Quartet mates Percy Heath ...
Norman Simmons: In Private / Houston Person: All Soul
by Greg Thomas
Norman Simmons In Private HighNote 2005 Norman Simmons has been one of the most talented accompanying pianists for over fifty years, arranging and playing with instrumentalists Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw Davis, Ramsey Lewis, and singers Dakota Station, Ernestine Anderson, Carmen McRae, and Joe Williams, among many others. This recording, ...
Wynton Marsalis: Live at the House of Tribes
by Greg Thomas
The most exhilarating live date by Marsalis since his mammoth seven-CD release Live at the Village Vanguard in 1999, Live at the House of Tribes is a brilliant blowing session captured in 2002 at a tiny club in New York's Lower East Side that he frequents with a small group every winter. The ...
Cheryl Bentyne: Let Me Off Uptown
by Greg Thomas
Away from the multi-Grammy winning Manhattan Transfer, soprano Cheryl Bentyne has taken this opportunity to put together a fine tribute to the under-appreciated Anita O'Day. The caliber of musicianship is top-notch, with Bill Holman conducting the “Mighty Little Big Horns, a group of first-rate Los Angeles musicians, among them Pete Christlieb, a robust ...
Toots Thielemans: Do Not Leave Me
by Greg Thomas
This digitally remastered release of Do Not Leave Me is a must hear for collectors and fans alike. Toots Thielemans' sound and approach to jazz improvisation on harmonica strongly appeal to both heart and mind, and this 1987 recording amply shows why. A supple, driving rhythm section featuring pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Marc ...
