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ScoLoHoFo: Oh!
by Jim Santella
With Oh!, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Al Foster provide a firm look at the state of straight-ahead jazz. Each of the four leaders contributes equally as performer, composer, and arranger. The result simmers consistently with a buoyant spirit which inspires celebration. We can certainly toast the quartet’s anniversaries: ScoLoHoFo was formed in the ...
Stefon Harris: The Grand Unification Theory
by Jim Santella
Writing from a physical as well as philosophical viewpoint, Stefon Harris has developed his suite for 12 jazz artists into an exciting adventure about life and death, and what goes on in between. It's all there: the big bang theory, the pleasures of life, the inevitable tragedies, mourning, afterlife, rebirth, and tribute. The leader's vibraphone and ...
The Fred Hersch Trio: Live At The Village Vanguard
by Jim Santella
Any live performance by Fred Hersch can be a real treat. His intensity and momentum carry the day, and everybody comes away from the affair with a sense of accomplishment. “What’d you do this weekend?” ”I went out to see Fred Hersch Saturday night.” 'Nuff said. It’s something to tell ...
Jane Bunnett: Cuban Odyssey
by Jim Santella
Traditional Cuban music and upbeat modern jazz go together like ice and water: one serves the other’s purpose in turn, while their union stands apart as a natural wonder. And where would we be without ice water? Jane Bunnett’s Cuban adventure takes her on a journey outside the city limits of Havana to places ...
Jacky Terrasson: Smile
by Jim Santella
Each of the ten albums that Jacky Terrasson has issued since he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition in 1993 has grown logically out of its predecessor. Smile moves forward from À Paris to encompass an eclectic program where jazz standards are mixed with pop songs. It’s the kind of program one might find ...
Scott Oakley Trio: Jazz For The Holidays
by Jim Santella
Straight-ahead jazz should be creative enough to fire the imagination with music above and beyond the tried and true formula that’s brought to us year in and year out. And yet the tradition must be maintained. These holiday songs simply cannot be turned into playthings for the avant-gardist to toy with. Scott Oakley and his two ...
Billy Eckstine: The Legendary Big Band
by Jim Santella
Legends have brought us to where we are today in modern music. When the classic sounds from 1944-1947 echo through the room, we recall innovators such as Billy Eckstine, who helped shape the second half of a century of jazz. Through the big bands of Earl Hines, Eckstine, and Dizzy Gillespie passed a significant number of ...
Tom Kubis Big Band: A Jazz Musician's Christmas
by Jim Santella
One of this era's finest big band arrangers also leads his own orchestra in Southern California. Loaded with talent and blessed with superb charts, Tom Kubis's band has assembled for an hour of holiday cheer in a session that both meets traditional expectations and provides a fresh look at the holiday season. Guests Pete ...
Dan McMillion Jazz Orchestra: Up Your Brass
by Jim Santella
Maybe it’s the combination of baritone saxophone with piercing brass. Or maybe it’s the array of fine soloists who each have something genuine to offer. Most likely, it’s the capable, high-soaring trumpet of leader Dan McMillion that makes this big band album so appealing. Their sound is superb, and the arrangements come from noted experts in ...
The Skip Heller Quartet: Homegoing
by Jim Santella
Skip Heller's organ combo brightens the day with its saucy freshness and pert attitude. Eclectic in nature, the group interprets blues, pop soundtracks and mainstream jazz classics. It's timeless music with a timeless flavor. Heller emerged in Philadelphia in the mid-eighties, but his music, much of it original, comes from an earlier era. Shirley Scott, Groove ...
