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David Sanborn: Only Everything
by Joel Roberts
Only Everything is alto saxophonist David Sanborn's second straight release paying homage to one of his greatest and earliest influences, Ray Charles. While some jazz purists may dismiss Sanborn as a slick TV personality and practitioner of smooth or pop jazz, he's always had firm roots in bluesy, R&B-based jazz, dating to his early days playing ...
Tessa Souter: Obsession
by Joel Roberts
New York-based, British-born Tessa Souter is a jazz singer with interests far outside the jazz world. On Obsession, Souter mostly shuns well-trodden standards and classic jazz fare in favor of a varied set of rock, pop and Brazilian tunes. With her rich contralto and crystal-clear diction, Souter delivers lyrics with a theatrical, but ...
Marc Copland: Solo and Duo
by Joel Roberts
Marc Copland Alone Pirouet 2009 Gary Peacock/Marc Copland Insight Pirouet 2009 There's a reason, perhaps, that Marc Copland doesn't get the acclaim he deserves as one of the masters of ...
Jeremy Pelt: Men of Honor
by Joel Roberts
The title of firebrand trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's Men of Honor refers to the members of his quintet who, like their leader here, are among the foremost 30-something neo-bop players in jazz today. The album is a follow-up to Pelt's acclaimed November (MAXJAZZ, 2008), which marked this all-acoustic quintet's debut, and came on the heels of a ...
Arturo O'Farrill: Risa Negra
by Joel Roberts
Pianist, composer and bandleader Arturo O'Farrill is Latin jazz royalty. The son of the legendary Chico O'Farrill, whose collaborations with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie helped create the genre (and whose best-known composition, “Manteca," is reason enough for his status as a jazz icon), Arturo has long been a major innovator in his own right, with ...
Wayne Escoffery: Uptown
by Joel Roberts
On Uptown, his fifth album as a leader, the impressive 34-year-old tenor saxophonist {Wayne Escoffery employs an old-fashioned soul jazz lineup of sax, Hammond B-3 organ, electric guitar and drums. But don't expect to hear the sort of bluesy “uptown" jams associated with classic soul jazz tenors like Gene Ammons, Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis or Stanley Turrentine. ...
Heath Brothers: Endurance
by Joel Roberts
Endurance is a fitting word to describe Jimmy and Albert “Tootie" Heath, the veteran mainstreamers whose new release is their first since the death of their brother Percy four years ago. Jimmy Heath, who just celebrated his 83rd birthday, remains a titan on the tenor saxophone (and occasionally the soprano), playing with the relaxed ...
Cyro Baptista's Banquet of the Spirits: Infinito
by Joel Roberts
Multi-talented percussionist Cyro Baptista may have the most dazzlingly eclectic resumé in contemporary music. He's performed and recorded with mainstream jazzers like Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis; downtown experimentalists like John Zorn and Laurie Anderson; pop icons like Sting and Paul Simon and major Brazilian stars like Milton Nascimento and Ivan Lins. And he may be ...
Johnny Varro: Two Legends of Jazz
by Joel Roberts
Though they're separated by nearly 30 years in age, veteran pianist Johnny Varro and clarinetist Ken Peplowski are a perfectly matched pair. Varro, born in Brooklyn in 1930, has been a leading proponent of small-group swing since the '50s, appearing over his long career with the likes of Pee Wee Russell, Buck Clayton and Eddie Condon. ...
Laurence Hobgood: When the Heart Dances
by Joel Roberts
Laurence Hobgood is one of those artists whose undeniable talents beg the question, “Why isn't he better known?" In Hobgood's case, part of the reason may be that he's spent most of the past decade and a half in a supportive role, as pianist and musical director for singer Kurt Elling--a pretty good gig, but one ...
