Many jazz musicians have mined the music of other cultures and countries for new ideas. Many of the most successful combinations have come from importing the music of warmer climates--Afro-Cuban and bossa nova to name but two. Monty Alexander has always done the reverse: a native of Jamaica who played straight-ahead jazz in the ...

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Article: Album Review

JC Stylles: Exhilaration And Other States

Read "Exhilaration And Other States" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
July 17, 2011

The photos that adorn the cover and back panel of guitarist JC Stylles Exhilaration And Other States make Stylles look like a cross between a '50s rockabilly musician and a Brian Setzer wannabe, but his music has nothing to do with either one. The Australian-born and New York-based guitarist deals in burning organ trio swing, with ...

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Article: Album Review

Monty Alexander: Harlem-Kingson Express: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola

Read "Harlem-Kingson Express: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola" reviewed by Larry Taylor

by Larry Taylor
July 14, 2011

Pianist Monty Alexander has always worn his Jamaican heart on his sleeve, incorporated his country's good time music with jazz for over 50 years. With Harlem-Kingston Express: Live, his Motéma debut, , he ventures even further into reggae territory. Six of the 11 tracks were recorded in 2010 at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca Cola Club ...

Article: Album Review

Lynne Arriale: Convergence

Read "Convergence" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
July 11, 2011

È la grande varietà stilistica l'elemento di Convergence che salta subito all'orecchio dell'ascoltatore di turno, perché il quartetto capitanato dalla pianista Lynne Arriale ha nelle proprie corde una nutrita scorta di frecce che, di traccia in traccia, vengono scoccate con precisione ed equilibrio. Sei originali e cinque rivisitazioni di brani dell'area pop-rock compongono una scaletta di ...

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Article: Album Review

T.K. Blue: Latin Bird

Read "Latin Bird" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 27, 2011

New York City native TK (Talib Kibwe) Blue has seven previously released CDs to his leadership credit. His eighth, Latin Bird, bears promise as his most integrated and well-conceived. Blue interprets nine pieces composed by or closely associated with Charlie Parker's Latin muse. “Chi Chi" and “Si Si" were givens, the former enjoying both Blue's alto ...

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Article: Album Review

Roseanna Vitro: The Music of Randy Newman

Read "The Music of Randy Newman" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
June 2, 2011

Randy Newman is an American treasure hidden in plain sight. An Academy and Grammy Award-winning soundtrack composer since the 1980s, a decade earlier, Newman established himself as a preeminent American song writer with Randy Newman (Reprise, 1968), 12 Songs (Reprise, 1970), and Sail Away (Reprise, 1972), and his songs have been covered by everyone from Three ...

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Article: Album Review

Roseanna Vitro: The Music Of Randy Newman

Read "The Music Of Randy Newman" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 18, 2011

With Randy Newman's long-awaited Songbook Vol. 2 (Nonesuch, 2011) and vocalist Roseanna Vitro's album-length salute to his music hitting stores a week apart, it would seem that it's time for revived interest in all things Newman. While the singer/songwriter's release is a solo journey through his own catalog, Vitro's album presents ten of his pieces dressed ...