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University Of Kentucky Mega-Sax Ensemble: Stinkin' Up The Place
by Jim Santella
This follow-up to the Mega-Sax Sea Breeze recording We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rhythm Section features creative improvised solo and ensemble work from the younger generation. Miles Osland, Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Kentucky, turns out a motivated group of improvisers year after year. Bryan Murray wails and moans ...
Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra: Ellington Celebration
by Jim Santella
Repertory ensembles perform a vital function in our society. They help us to retain the true art of our culture instead of falling prey to periodic fads and daily hype. True, their work is not brand-new or leading edge; but it’s certainly fresh, unique, and always welcome. The selections on Ellington Celebration were transcribed meticulously and ...
Lee Konitz: Another Shade Of Blue
by Jim Santella
Another Shade Of Blue is the second release garnered from this trio’s Los Angeles performance recorded in concert by Blue Note at The Jazz Bakery. Unlike Alone Together, this one presents their mellower side, featuring a slow walking blues, several ballads, and one cool improvised standard. A little melodic change here, an inverted phrase there, alter ...
Kenny Burrell: 12-15-78
by Jim Santella
The Kenny Burrell Trio recorded Live At The Village Vanguard and Kenny Burrell In New York on December 15, 1978; hence, the title for this two-disc reissue. It doesn’t get much better for those who appreciate a guitar trio performing mainstream jazz. Burrell combines a great respect for the lyrical with harmonic chorded lines and a ...
Larry Roy/Stefan Bauer: Summer's Embrace
by Jim Santella
Like a breath of fresh air, guitarist Larry Roy and vibraphonist Stefan Bauer bring something new to the modern mainstream arena. Their natural timbres overlap and invite characteristic melodies from various world cultures, which the duo folds into one project. The addition of various exotic drums, harmonica, oboe, and soprano saxophone rework the tried-and-true hard bop ...
Stefon Harris: Black Action Figure
by Jim Santella
Action is the keyword when most jazz vibraphonists take the stage. With eighty percent of the program his own material, and surrounded by a stellar cast, Stefon Harris has followed up his debut with a project that merely extends his introduction to the jazz world. A modern mainstream session from the twenty-something young lion, Harris’ sophomore ...
Tom Harrell: Time's Mirror
by Jim Santella
Trumpeter Tom Harrell employs a big band on his latest album. While hard bop stands alone as his major field in today’s jazz community, Harrell’s roots trace through the big bands of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman before he joined Horace Silver in 1973. While all the arrangements are Harrell’s, most of them were drawn up ...
Tom Taylor: The Crossing
by Jim Santella
Remember the impact Mason Williams’ instrumental hit “Classical Gas" had on 1960s audiences? Elegant, early classical timbres mixed with the rock generation’s beat, and produced something we all appreciated. Tom Taylor’s tone poems come out of a 17th-century baroque style, but with electric bass, a drummer, guitars, and a natural sound from vibraharp. Without the motor, ...
James Darren: This One's From The Heart
by Jim Santella
With a top-notch big band right out of the Count Basie tradition, singer James Darren croons with Frank Sinatra’s phrasing and a natural timbre ideally suited for entertaining the masses. Reprising last season’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character Vic Fontaine, Darren swings with charm and credibility. Aren’t all singers actors? Singing comes naturally to the ...
Ingrid Jensen: Higher Grounds
by Jim Santella
Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen was finishing up at the Berklee College of Music in Boston at about the same time Art Blakey left us. His music lives on, of course, and Jensen is one of the benefactors. Now over thirty, the trumpeter is an exponent of the high regard for round tone quality espoused by Woody Shaw, ...
