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Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington 1969: All-Star White House Tribute
by Jim Santella
A big band with Gerry Mulligan and Milt Hinton at the bottom, Paul Desmond and Clark Terry at the top, and an all-star cast in the middle makes this previously unissued session quite special. At the end, Duke Ellington sits down at the piano and performs a solo improvisation that he dedicated to Mrs. Pat Nixon. ...
Various Artists: CTI: The Master Collection
by Jim Santella
More reissues from the CTI catalog are due out next month, and this 2-CD overview gives one a pretty good idea of what's going on. Saucy and hip, Creed Taylor's label provided many adventures over the years. The 1970s were undeniably different. Hairstyles, hemlines and sparkling wardrobe colors combined with new electronic keyboards, guitars and basses ...
Billy Bang: Vietnam: The Aftermath
by Jim Santella
The CD itself is painted olive drab. The cover features other shades of green in faded photographs. The music moves evenly with a peaceful country air. Dirges, dances, ceremonial rites, a little dramatic counterpoint, and swinging anthems take on surreal qualities through Billy Bang's compositions. It's been a long time, but those memories linger. ...
Mingus Big Band: Tonight At Noon: Three Or Four Shades Of Love
by Jim Santella
Reinterpreting the compositions of Charles Mingus means planning ahead of time what Mingus created spontaneously in front of an audience. With his control-the-bass-line-rhythm, and with some vocal cheerleading, he'd have his band give its audience a thrilling performance every night out. The big bands capture that feeling in its entirety, and display it clearly and crisply; ...
Francisco Aguabella: Cubacan
by Jim Santella
Recorded earlier this year, Francisco Aguabella's latest Afro-Cuban session features an adventurous and unsung pianist, several exciting trumpeters, two lyrical trombonists, two classic woodwind aces and a solid cast of percussion. The arrangements, particularly that of Mike Turre, set the band off in a different direction. Old standards and fresh new originals are brought out into ...
Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii: Clouds
by Jim Santella
Creative improvised music leaves impressions with us that we translate from our past experiences. A storm sequence or a summer breeze can be as obvious in music as it is on an artist's canvas or through a photographer's lens. Trumpeter Natsuki Tamura and pianist Satoko Fujii improvise six sketches on this session with a ...
The University Of Mary Jazz Ensemble: The University Of Mary Jazz Ensemble
by Jim Santella
Special guest Bob Montgomery gives this student big band a mellow flavor with an emphasis on clear harmony. It's not the piercing electronics and pulsating rhythms that many college and university big bands espouse. Instead, trumpeter Montgomery and Jazz Studies director Scott Prebys have chosen to bring out the mellow kind of big band sound taught ...
David Hazeltine: The Classic Trio Meets Eric Alexander
by Jim Santella
Audio samples from this mainstream quartet recording are available at David Hazeltine's web site . Straight ahead and always keeping the tradition alive, the pianist's trio complements Eric Alexander and adds sparkling interlude passages of its own. A healthy mix of originals and popular songs gives the session variety. Remember Jimmy Webb's “Didn't We"? Who can ...
Jessica Williams: This Side Up
by Jim Santella
As she interprets Rahsaan Roland Kirk's “Theme for the Eulipians," Jessica Williams swaggers with the same attitude its composer possessed. A swinging blues feeling runs through her session, but the pianist's clearly defined keyboard technique takes her along a delicate path. The right hand paints light watercolor pastels that contain lightning streaks of contrast. Her left ...
Bobby Shew, Gary Foster and Friends: Play The Music Of Reed Kotler
by Jim Santella
It's a refreshing, straight-ahead quintet that interprets these songs by San Francisco Bay area composer Reed Kotler. All five members of the quintet solo throughout this 2-CD set; but it's the distinctive, front line work of Bobby Shew and Gary Foster that thrills. Shew provided the musical arrangements. As his schedule reveals, the trumpeter is noted ...
