Home » Search Center » Results: Mike Eckroth
Results for "Mike Eckroth"
Kenny Shanker: Action City
by Bruce Lindsay
Saxophonist Kenny Shanker was eight years post-graduation before recording his debut album, Steppin' Up, which took another two years to get its 2011 release on Posi-tone records. So admirers of the New York based musician could be forgiven for not expecting album number two quite so soon. But here it is, Action City: released just 17 ...
Bill Warfield Big Band: Trumpet Story
by Jack Bowers
Trumpeters Bill Warfield and Randy Brecker have been friends for twenty years; it's high time they joined forces in a recording studio and began making beautiful music together. On Trumpet Story, Warfield's big-band homage to trumpeters and other musicians who have influenced him through the years, six-time Grammy Award winner Brecker solos on eight of ten ...
Jazz With Dominican Accents and Flavours Back in South Florida
In October 2012, Landestoy Enterprises presented a completely new and exiting concept from the Dominican Republic: The South Florida Dominican Jazz Fest. A multicultural event that brought to Florida the best Jazz currently being made by musicians in the Dominican Republic as well as Dominicans living abroad. At this event, Miami witnessed the Jazz proposals from ...
In Tune or Not in Tune... That Is the Question
by Jack Bowers
Suppose a month goes by, you have a column to publish, but nothing has happened that's worth writing about. What do you do then? Read on, as the question is about to be answered. A while back there was a discussion at a Stan Kenton web site (Kentonia) about musicians or groups of ...
Greg Diamond: Conduit
by Edward Blanco
New York guitarist Greg Diamond follows up his well-received debut, Dancando Com Ale (Self Produced, 2008), with the equally impressive Conduit--a session of contemporary modern jazz infused with Latin rhythms and elements of jazz-rock fusion, funk, bebop and a touch of the blues. The music is a hodgepodge of different influences, melding nicely into one superb ...
Josh Levinson: Chauncey Street
by Hrayr Attarian
In Chauncey Street Brooklyn-based trumpeter/educator, Josh Levinson and his sextet return to the tight camaraderie, inventive soloing and captivating themes that characterized the Blue Note sound of the 1950s and '60s.That Levinson is greatly influenced by Freddie Hubbard is evident throughout, the record even containing the intricate and memorable “For Freddie." On this and ...
Kenny Shanker: Steppin' Up
by Dan Bilawsky
Alto Saxophonist Kenny Shanker is proof that an artist's direction isn't always reflected in their tonal personality. Shanker possesses a sleek-and-sweet tone that has served him well on dates with big name ghost band, like the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, as well as smooth-leaning pianist David Benoit, but his own music operates ...
Kenny Shanker: Steppin' Up
by Bruce Lindsay
Kenny Shanker has worked extensively since graduating from the Manhattan School of Music in 2001, playing with the New World Symphony, and the Tommy Dorsey and Nelson Riddle Orchestras, among others. The young alto saxophonist recorded his debut album as leader, Steppin' Up, in April 2009 but it's taken almost two-and-a-half years for it to be ...
Travis Sullivan: New Directions
by Glenn Astarita
New Directions could signify a paradigm shift for alto saxophonist Travis Sullivan's eighteen-piece Björkestra, a unit dedicated to performing arrangements of Icelandic pop vocalist Björk. Sullivan goes back to his fundamental mainstream jazz roots on the lyrically rich New Directions, assembled with memorable comps and sterling interplay from his quartet. Sullivan's vocal-like tonalities and muscular alto ...
Travis Sullivan: New Directions
by Bruce Lindsay
Travis Sullivan's New Directions, his Posi-Tone debut, is a rewarding trip through a mix of strong, self-penned, tunes and an unusual combination of covers. The saxophonist leads his quartet with style, emphasizing musicality and emotional engagement over displays of technique, and creating a sparkly collection that emphatically establishes his talents as a composer as well as ...
