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Sam Taylor: Along The Way
by Jack Bowers
On almost half of the nine tracks on Along the Way, tenor saxophonist Sam Taylor's close-knit quartet is actually a quintet thanks to the emphatic presence of the renowned Philadelphia-based tenor, Larry McKenna. Taylor's impressive visitor, two months shy of his eightieth birthday when the album was recorded in May 2017, keeps on playing with the ...
Mike Melito: New York Connections
by David A. Orthmann
It's somewhat misleading to summarize Mike Melito's New York Connections by dropping a few names of past masters for credibility's sake, applauding him for preserving the essence of hard bop designs from the 50s and 60s, and emphasizing just how effective he is at forging ties to these avenues of the music. Though all of these ...
Mike Melito: New York Connections
by C. Andrew Hovan
Every town has its homegrown talent worthy of wider recognition. This is definitely true when it comes to Rochester native Mike Melito. Since the age of 16, the drummer has held down the drum chair for countless combos and national acts in and around upstate New York. That he has the chops and know-how to make ...
U.S. Jazz From Denmark: Six Recent SteepleChase Releases
by David A. Orthmann
The opportunity to listen to six recently released discs on the venerable SteepleChase label (and the SteepleChase LookOut branch) is a little like reading an anthology of short stories by distinguished authors from a particular year or period. You get a hearty helping of vital, mature voices, most of whom operate somewhere in the jazz mainstream, ...
Jane Monheit: The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald
by Edward Blanco
Long Island native and vocalist Jane Monheit pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, one of the most enduring jazz singers in history and a very influential figure in Monheit's own musical career. The singer had long thought about recording a homage project to Fitzgerald and on The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald, Monheit finally accomplishes this releasing the ...
Josh Brown: Songbook Trio
by Geannine Reid
Trombonist Josh Brown was raised in Burlington, Ontario. His mother was a music teacher and his father was an avid jazz fan. It is no surprise that Brown grew up playing in school and city bands, eventually winning local and national competitions and eventually attended Humber College in Toronto, where he studied music. Brown also went ...
Abigail Riccards: Every Little Star
by C. Michael Bailey
Abigail Riccards may not be known yet but Jane Monheit is, and on Riccard's Every Little Star, the famous jazz chanteur is both a mentor and co-producer. The Chicago-based Riccards began appearing in New York City in the early 2000s, garnering a good deal of critical attention from her live performances and her debut recording, When ...
Big Jazz on SmallsLIVE
by Bob Kenselaar
Since its launch in 2010, the SmallsLIVE record label has been offering a substantial sampling of the outstanding jazz talent consistently featured at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City's Greenwich Village. Musicians who appear on the label range from the great veterans Harold Mabern and Jimmy Cobb to contemporary players at the top of their ...
Mike Melito: The Right Time
by Dan Bilawsky
When the word “predictable" shows up in music reviews, it's often wrongly viewed as the kiss of death. Somewhere along the way, “defying expectations" or “charting new territory" have become the quickest way to gain recognition, but the tried-and-true shouldn't be sold short. On The Right Time, veteran drummer Mike Melito and his band deliver a ...
Jane Monheit: Finding the Way Back Home
by Esther Berlanga-Ryan
Jane Monheit's voice is not a reflection of somebody else's talent: it is all on her. Home (Emarcy, 2010) is her new ticket to the legacy of the Great American Songbook, and her journey has been quite spectacular.Singing the words or simply scatting, Monheit lays down the pattern for the true vocal jazz tradition ...
