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Fernando Holz: Minh' Alma Nua (My Nude Soul)
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by Dan McClenaghan
The phrase “smooth as silk" comes to mind on an initial listen to Brazilian-Bostonian Fernando Holz's Minh' Alma Nua (My Nude Soul). His vocal style, like that of fellow countryman Milton Nascimento, flows like a cool stream of crystalline water in front of an always crisp rhythm section, augmented by the lush harmonics of a string ...
Jay Lou: Spellings
by Fred Edmonds
Spellings, the Afro-jazz renewal. Jay Lou's opus is a ride in the heart of good music, the kind we expect from a contemporary African artist: mature, smooth, harmonious and delicately mixed. This album is original in that it uses a guitar lead on African rhythms, which is seldom the case. The guitar, moving ...
The Dan Thomas Quintet: City Scope
by Jack Bowers
City Scope is the debut album as leader for Dan Thomas, a Canadian-born saxophonist who now lives in Kansas City, MO. His talents as player and composer are lavishly praised in the liner notes by friend and colleague Bobby Watson, whose influence is readily apparent in Thomas’s music, especially in his approach to the alto sax, ...
High Plains Drifter: 13 Cents
by Stephen Richardson
High Plains Drifter burst forth onto the jam scene like an elephant busting a nut across the Serengeti. This is a solid, concise and well produced debut. High Plains Drifter is led by the funk inflected guitar of the media savvy Jay Cleary, once part of hard working Aaron MacDonald Band. Mixing jam grooves with wild ...
Rob Reid: The Beaches Sessions
by Stephen Richardson
Rob Reid makes his instrumental guitar debut with the introspective The Beaches Sessions. Reid's guitar work has previous been associated with Pierre Chaisson's Riverside and Cape Breton Gospel w/ Pierre Chaisson of Grace Unlimited Music. The setting found Reid serving up a platter jazzy/rock inflected guitar lines just like fresh hot cakes. Always the searching soul, ...
Elaine Hoffman Watts: I Remember Klezmer: The Art of Klezmer Drumming
by Elliott Simon
Most musicians who continue to redefine klezmer don’t really remember it, however legendary drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts, as her new CD proclaims, certainly does. The klezmer she remembers, and that serves as her inspiration, is the Philadelphia sound defined by her father and accomplished xylophonist/percussionist Jacob Hoffman of “Jakie Jazz ‘Em Up” fame. A “true” klezmer ...
John Alexander: You Need 'Dis
by Jack Bowers
As its saucy title implies, North Carolina-based saxophonist John Alexander and his colleagues are into some serious post-boppin’ on this self-produced album, which showcases ten of Alexander’s engaging compositions. Alexander, who plays flute (“La Danseuse Triste,” “Lights of Madeira“) as well as tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, is of course featured prominently throughout, but the soloist ...
Garlicks: Mutant Standards
by Mark F. Turner
The Luxembourg jazz group Garlicks gives a modern spin on the standard jazz repertoire. The name of their 1991 debut release, Mutant Standards, may sound far-fetched—yet it is actually appropriately titled. Familiar jazz standards are recomposed into contemporary creations that are strange yet easily identifiable. But what sets this recording apart from others is exceptional musicianship ...
The Fabulous Studio Band: Still Swingin' After All These Years/Plays Capitol Jazz
by Jack Bowers
The Fabulous Studio Band, formed in 1953 and based in California’s San Joaquin Valley, is devoted to keeping alive music from the swing and big band eras. These albums, recorded four years apart ( Still Swingin’ in 1996, Capitol Jazz in 2000), accentuate charts from the Glenn Miller and Count Basie libraries with a handful representing ...
Zvonimir Tot: Travels and Dreams
by Rich Friedman
What makes jazz so vibrant is its sponge-like ability to incorporate different styles and cultural perspectives. On Travels and Dreams guitarist and composer Zvonimir Tot, who now calls Chicago home, skillfully mines his Eastern European roots and virtuoso technique to produce an especially appealing mix of ballads, bop, funk, bossa nova and bluesy originals. A team ...
