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Chris Keefe: Opening
by Geannine Reid
Chris Keefe may be new to the jazz recording scene as a leader, but his debut album, aptly titled Opening (Zugzwangbebop Records, 2023), reflects his lifetime commitment to the intricate art of jazz. With an academic background from the New England Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music and performance credits alongside Joe LaBarbera and Antonio Sanchez, ...
Bernie Senensky: Moment to Moment
by Pierre Giroux
Bernie Senensky is a nuanced and adaptable pianist. Throughout his career he has shown an unparalleled improvisational approach to the material he chooses that crosses borders and generations. In this current release, entitled Moment to Moment, the music comes from two performance opportunities, from 2001 and 2020, and is anchored simultaneously historically and from the future. ...
Seth Kibel: Clown with a Stick
by Jack Bowers
A stick? Most definitely. A clown? Most definitely not. Seth Kibel is far more virtuoso than court jester, especially on his main axe, the clarinet (sometimes referred to as a liquorice stick), as he proves time and again on this inclusive and thoroughly delightful album. Okay, so the music is for the most ...
The Las Vegas Boneheads: Sixty and Still Cookin'
by Jack Bowers
There aren't many albums a listener might care to revisit again immediately after an initial spin. This is one of them. The Las Vegas Boneheads, a trombone-and-rhythm nonet formed by Abe Nole in 1962, marked their sixtieth(!) anniversary by recording Sixty and Still Cookin', an album that more than lives up to its name while presenting ...
Birth of the Cool at 75: A Philadelphia Premiere at the Clef Club
by Victor L. Schermer
Orchestra 2001 Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts Birth of the Cool: A Philly Premiere, 75 Years Later Philadelphia, PA March 29, 2023 The advanced publicity for this exciting historically-based concert must have hit the pleasure centers of many fans, as it sold out on the second ...
New Releases Plus Jazz Master Sheila Jordan Celebrates Another Solar Journey
by Mary Foster Conklin
This broadcast presents new releases from from Kate Hamann, Vanessa Racci, Sam Taylor, The Ostara Project, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Kris Allen, plus a new single from Abbie Finn, with birthday shoutouts to lyricist Marilyn Bergman, Jazz Master Sheila Jordan, Cynthia Hilts, Nioka Workman, Cindy Blackman, Marianne Solivan, Jen Hodge and Johnny Mercer among others. Thanks for ...
Shawn Purcell: 180
by Jack Bowers
Guitarist Shawn Purcell's latest CD, 180, is all about swinging; Purcell's trio (Pat Bianchi on Hammond B3 organ, Jason Tiemann on drums) nestles squarely into the groove on the double-quick opener, “Cat and Mouse," which sets an upbeat tone for the album as a whole. The rhythm seldom flags on Purcell's sunny compositions ...
Nica Carrington: Times Like These
by Pierre Giroux
Intrepid may be the best word to use to describe the singer Nica Carrington's self-produced debut album. Not many months before recording it, Nica, who had been taking voice lessons, came across the highly regarded Los Angeles based pianist, arranger, and jazz voice instructor John Proulx, who thought that she showed such promise that he was ...
Alex Bird: You Are the Light and the Way
by Chris M. Slawecki
You Are the Light and the Way presents an interesting challenge for a writer. Twelve new songs by Canadian vocalist Alex Bird (lyrics and music) and keyboardist Ewan Farncombe (music and arrangements) consistently sound like new “songbook classics"--in several places, as if Harry Connick Jr. magically composed music with Johnny Mercer. Bird, Farncombe and the Jazz ...
Bird Songs, Tripping Fantásia, Real Harmony & Klezmer-Hop
by Chris M. Slawecki
Alex Bird & the Jazz Mavericks You Are the Light and the Way Self-Produced 2021 You Are the Light and the Way presents an interesting challenge for a writer. Twelve new songs by Canadian vocalist Alex Bird (lyrics and music) and keyboardist Ewan Farncombe (music and ...
