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David Ricard Big Band: Holiday Swingin'
by Jack Bowers
Much like last year's Holidays with a Bang!, bassist David Ricard's new big-band album, Holiday Swingin,' does precisely that, seldom pausing for a deep breath while charging through a litany of fourteen seasonal themes both old and new. If much of it seems vaguely familiar, that could be because Ricard has recycled no fewer than nine ...
Doug Mosher / John Estes: Southern Lights
by Jack Bowers
After listening to Southern Lights, a series of extremely low-key tone poems by tenor saxophonist Doug Mosher and bassist John Estes, two questions spontaneously arise: first, where is the audience for an album that glides gently along on an unflagging current of somnolence? (the term “smooth jazz" springs to mind, but even that genre produces an ...
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: Big Band Holidays
by Jack Bowers
The holiday season has its ups and downs on Big Band Holidays, recorded live over two Decembers (2013-14) by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which is without a doubt one of the finest big bands money can buy. Even though the most recent number on the album ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") was recorded ...
The 14 Jazz Orchestra: Nothing Hard Is Ever Easy
by Jack Bowers
The 14 Jazz Orchestra, based in south Florida, is comprised of thirteen accomplished sidemen (all alumni of the University of Miami) and arranger / conductor Dan Bonsanti. On its debut recording, Nothing Hard Is Ever Easy, the ensemble cast its net wide to gather in compositions by Billy Strayhorn, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Charlie Parker, Chick ...
Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra: Joyful Jazz
by Jack Bowers
One way in which to launch an appraisal of this outstanding seasonal album, the first ever by the world-class Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, is to check out its candid--and uncommonly accurate--title. Joyful? Most definitely. Jazz? Without a doubt. For five years, the orchestra's annual holiday celebration has been a welcome tradition for families in the greater Pittsburgh ...
Russ Lorenson: In The Holiday Spirit
by Jack Bowers
It's clear from the outset that San Francisco-based singer Russ Lorenson and the admirable Kelly Park Big Band are definitely In the Holiday Spirit on Lorenson's sparkling new CD, a few measures of which are all but certain to lend that same seasonal feeling of happiness and generosity to almost any listener. Lorenson, a clear-voiced tenor, ...
Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra: Prime Time
by Jack Bowers
Composer / arranger Alan Baylock seems to have a penchant for time. Prime Time is the Baylock Jazz Orchestra's third album, following Two Seconds to Midnight (2003) and Eastern Standard Time (2008). This time (no pun intended), Baylock, who doubles as chief arranger for the U.S. Air Force's premier jazz ensemble, the Airmen of Note, has ...
Lou Volpe: Remembering Ol' Blue Eyes
by Jack Bowers
Ol' Blue Eyes, of course, is the late Frank Sinatra, arguably the greatest interpreter of popular American music who ever lived. Guitarist Lou Volpe (who doesn't sing) remembers Sinatra on this entertaining assortment of thirteen tunes associated with the Chairman of the Board (and leader of the Rat Pack) plus a special tribute, “Europa," which closes ...
Jakob Norgren Jazz Orchestra: Pathfinding
by Jack Bowers
Although he has been a fixture on the Swedish jazz scene for some years now, Jakob Norgren is more closely associated with soul, blues, funk and R&B than with contemporary big-band jazz. That perception may change with the release of Pathfinding, the debut recording by Norgren's impressive Jazz Orchestra, on which he proves to be a ...
Bruce Lofgren's Jazz Pirates: Wind and Sand
by Jack Bowers
Batten the hatches and shiver the timbers--guitarist Bruce Lofgren's Los Angeles-based Jazz Pirates are climbing aboard with their fourth album for Night Bird Records and Lofgren's eighth as leader of his own ensemble. While these buccaneers aren't really after gold or silver (although a little of that wouldn't hurt), they do fancy that some of their ...
