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Let's Give Thanks for the DVD
by Jack Bowers
As there isn't much to report--well, nothing, actually--about big bands this month, I'll use the space to say a few words in praise of the DVD. Yes, I know there aren't a whole lot of jazz DVDs on the market, especially big band videos, but there are a few, and I'm grateful for every one of ...
Frank Portolese: Plectrum Jazz Guitar Solos
by C. Michael Bailey
Solo jazz guitar is a harsh and unforgiving lover. The piano provides a more complete performance experience as a solo instrument for technical reasons, though this same completeness can be achieved on guitar by a precious few, talented enough to achieve such artistic parity. Add to this the stipulation that a plectrum (guitar pick) be used ...
Ray Brown’s Great Big Band: Kayak
by Robert J. Robbins
Not to be confused with the late, legendary bassist of the same name, San Francisco-based bandleader/arranger Ray Brown, an ex-trumpeter with the Stan Kenton and Full Faith and Credit big bands, drives his own nineteen-piece ensemble populated by the Bay Area's A-list musicians. Brown, whose percussionist father pioneered jazz education in the public schools of Long ...
Johanna Grussner: Come Rain Or Come Shine
by Chris Mosey
Her clear-as-a-bell vocals, assured phrasing and near perfect grasp of English put Johanna Grüssner right at the top of the current crop of Scandinavian female jazz singers. Come Rain Or Come Shine is her third solo album and best yet: a gently swinging, highly enjoyable mix of straight jazz and Brazilian samba, performed with supreme professionalism. ...
Riverwalk Jazz Johnny Mercer tribute this week
Johnny Mercer liked to say, “Writing music takes more talent, but writing lyrics takes more courage." If this is true, then Johnny Mercer's body of work—some 1,000 songs—is pure heroism. This week, vocalists Carol Woods, Stephanie Nakasian and Rebecca Kilgore join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band on stage at The Landing in San Antonio to salute ...
Eli Degibri: Israeli Song
by Dan Bilawsky
Eli DegibriIsraeli SongAnzic Records2010 If jazz buffs were approached at the start of the 1990s and asked to list some top-flight Israeli jazz musicians, plenty of them wouldn't be able to utter a single name. That just goes to show how much the times have changed. In ...
Eric Zinman: The Piano as Endangered Species
by Brian Wrentham
For over twenty years, pianist/composer Eric Zinman has been crafting his own approach to his instrument, since meeting trumpeter Bill Dixon in the '80s. He views himself as an ensemble player, who plays to include; in addition to his own writing, his trio disc, Eric Zinman Ensemble (Cadence, 2006), features short pieces by John Voigt, Laurence ...
George Kahn: Secrets from the Jazz Ghetto
by Edward Blanco
West Coast jazz pianist George Kahn revisits past successes on Secrets From The Jazz Ghetto selecting some of his best compositions from five of his previous six albums for this compilation recording. This seventh outing contains 26 pieces covering a range of styles from contemporary to bebop, and from Bossa Nova to Latin and Cool jazz. ...
Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong
By Daniel Kassell Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong Terry Teachout Hardcover; 496 pages ISBN: 978-0-15-101089-9 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2010 Terry Teachout explained in the Afterward that he's the first jazz bassist to produce a fully researched biography prepared recently ...
Roni Ben-Hur: Fortuna
by Andrew Velez
This is a worthy follow-up to Roni Ben-Hur's Smile (Motema, 2009), on which he was memorably paired with fellow guitarist Gene Bertoncini. The Israeli-born composer and arranger is teamed here with three stalwarts, the late pianist Ronnie Mathews, percussionist Steve Kroon and drummer Lewis Nash. This is the same rhythm section Ben-Hur used for the album ...
