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The Jazz Mandolin Project: Xenoblast
by Jim Santella
Jamie Masefield’s string jazz trio swings through a package of interesting themes that range from folk history to ride-cymbal-mainstream-jazz and on to blazing hot, electronic, backbeat jazz-rock. His compositions feature lovely melodies that adhere to specific impressions. These mental pictures become focal points for group improvisation and repetitious jam sessions. Masefield’s vivid imagery leaves no doubt ...
Andy Narell: Fire In The Engine Room
by Jim Santella
Like his two recent albums with The Caribbean Project, Andy Narell’s latest brings gentle tropic breezes and smooth dance rhythms into your living room. Including a one-minute video of the Skiffle Bunch Steel Orchestra at last year’s Trinidad Panorama, this enhanced CD works either on a MAC or PC. An annual “battle of the bands" contest, ...
Gary Burton: Libertango
by Jim Santella
Subtitled The Music Of Astor Piazzolla, Gary Burton’s latest tango project underscores the role of harmony in that classic Argentine style, fusing folk and improvised music passages shoulder to shoulder. His four-mallet approach pays homage by interpreting a set of Piazzolla’s compositions alongside members of the composer-bandoneonist’s touring band. Classical timbres from violin, piano and double ...
Louis Armstrong: Love Songs
by Jim Santella
Louis Armstrong’s career covered many separate chapters and cemented a solid influential framework around just about every jazzman that followed. Columbia’s ballad compilation features several facets of that career and captures “Pops" in his prime. Recorded from 1929-61 (most are from 1930 and 1955 sessions), the program teams Armstrong with Lawrence Brown, J.C. Higginbotham, and later ...
Kevin Clark: New Orleans Trumpet
by Jim Santella
Whose New Orleans trumpet does the title of Kevin Clark’s recording indicate? Buddy Bolden? That one could be heard from miles away. Louis Armstrong? That one contained a tone and phrasing that influenced nearly everyone who followed. Louie Prima? Al Hirt? They brought the trad jazz trumpet sound to audiences all around the world. Preservation Hall? ...
Jesse Davis: Second Nature
by Jim Santella
In Robert Altman’s 1996 film Kansas City, Jesse Davis is a member of the band at a fictional Hey Hey Club where Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins battle it out for satisfaction. In the subsequent video and tour, he’s paired with fellow alto saxophonist David “Fathead" Newman, playing mostly post-bop passages and adding excitement to the ...
Darrell Grant: Smokin' Java
by Jim Santella
What do you do in a coffeehouse besides sip cappuccino and nibble on some tasty kind of baked dessert product? Darrell Grant knows. He's written a short story to go along with his fourth album. The story, somewhat autobiographical, tells of a musician who's moved away from the hustle and bustle of the big city to ...
Donald Byrd & Pepper Adams: The Complete Blue Note Donald Byrd/Pepper Adams Sessions
by Jim Santella
Donald Byrd and Pepper Adams began their jazz careers under similar circumstances at about the same time. Two years of military service, a musical education, and experience with established leaders prepared the trail. From Detroit, both found themselves in the center of New York’s late 1950s hard bop jazz scene. That fertile era produced some of ...
John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, John Patitucci: The Hudson Project
by Jim Santella
Recorded live at The Manhattan Center in New York on October 17, 1998 and produced by Rob Walls & Paul Siegel for Hudson Music, Ltd., under exclusive license to Stretch Records, Inc., this innovative quartet comes together with a wallop. Each of the foursome is an experienced leader, and each artist meets the criteria of Chick ...
Eliane Elias: Everything I Love
by Jim Santella
Her light singing voice and light piano touch go hand in hand. Always clear and vibrant, pianist Eliane Elias creates modern mainstream quality every time out. This one is a love letter that she's put together to honor those who have inspired her. The pianist mentions Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Dizzy Gillespie, but there are ...
