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Big Band Splash: Volume 5
by Jack Bowers
Although Swedish-born and --based saxophonist Jakob Norgren's orchestra has been making waves for several years, Volume 5 is only the second of its recordings to churn up the waters in this estuary. And churn them it does, even though Norgren's blend of R&B, soul, pop, blues and funk far outweighs the album's minimal jazz content.
Eyal Vilner Big Band: Hanukkah
by Jack Bowers
Although a goodly number of seasonal big-band albums have passed through these portals over the years, this is the first one to our recollection devoted to Hanukkah, the eight-day-long festival of lights that commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the time of a successful Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. As leader ...
Cory Weeds: Let's Groove: The Music of Earth Wind & Fire
by Jack Bowers
When last heard from, Canadian Cory Weeds was wielding a mean neo-swing tenor saxophone with the superb Jeff Hamilton trio on the albums Dreamsville and This Happy Madness. On Let's Groove: The Music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Weeds moves from tenor to alto (with no loss of merit) alongside tenor and fellow Canadian Steve Kaldestad, ...
Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge: Whispers on the Wind
by Jack Bowers
Chuck Owen's Florida-based and Grammy-nominated Jazz Surge is back in the saddle with another series of impressive musical portraits, Whispers on the Wind, whose genesis harkens back to Owen's childhood in windy Omaha, NE, and whose inspiration derives in part from the works of three contemporary authors: Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy and Stephen King (the last, ...
Jacques Lesure: For the Love of You
by Jack Bowers
For one to whom almost every well-strummed guitar sounds basically the same, an honest appraisal of any guitar-led group must begin with other earmarks such as group interplay, individual dexterity, choice of material and over-all level of musicianship. Happily, guitarist Jacques Lesure's latest recording, For the Love of You, scores high in every respect, making the ...
Mica Bethea: Stage 'N Studio
by Jack Bowers
When listening to the Mica Bethea Big Band's generally admirable two-CD set, Stage 'n Studio, the first thought is, “Why hasn't anyone done this before?" That query is immediately replaced by a second thought: “Perhaps someone has and we simply overlooked it." In either case, Bethea's decision to perform (basically) the same material in a recording ...
Keith Karns Big Band: An Eye on the Future
by Jack Bowers
It's hard to know in advance exactly what to expect from a big-band album whose title is An Eye on the Future. Luckily, the horizon as leader Keith Karns sees it is rhythmically persuasive, harmonically alluring, acknowledges an indispensable bond to the past and swings like crazy. On this album, it's a tomorrow that also sets ...
Joshua Rager Nonet: Jondo
by Jack Bowers
It's hard to decide what to make of this. Canadian-based composer / pianist Joshua Rager has assembled a splendid corps of musicians, nine in all (plus trumpeter Andy King on the three-part “Prodigal Son Suite"), to perform seven of the leader's original themes, one by Andre White and another by the Hollywood songwriting team of Al ...
The Dan Banks Quintet: Two in a Box
by Jack Bowers
On Two in a Box, British pianist Dan Banks' quintet revisits a Golden Age in jazz when hard bop was king and record labels like Prestige and Blue Note delivered the latest sounds to an astute and appreciative audience. Without mimicry, Banks reimagines the indomitable spirit of such masters as Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Bobby Timmons, ...
Garry Dial: Rediscovered Ellington
by Jack Bowers
Fans of Duke Ellington who think they've heard it all should prepare themselves for a most pleasant surprise: a treasure-trove of “rediscovered" songs composed or co-written by Ellington, several of which had never before been recorded, wonderfully performed by Germany's world-class WDR Big Band conducted by Rich DeRosa and featuring the prodigious talents of guests Garry ...
