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Karen Souza: Hotel Souza
by Nicholas F. Mondello
There is a 19th Century short story by author Frank Stockton entitled, The Lady, or the Tiger? The hook of that work is the teaser leave-you-hanging ending: is there a Lady or the man-eating Tiger behind the door that is selected and “opened." With Hotel Souza, her second CD, Buenos Aires-based vocalist Karen Souza leaves little ...
Joe Clark Big Band featuring Jeff Hamilton: Lush
by Nicholas F. Mondello
According to a Carl Sandburg poem, Chicago is “the city of big shoulders." There's a unique strength about Chicago that's different than New York or Los Angeles. Might it be suggested, therefore, that players emanating from the Windy City might also carry a bit more muscle, swagger and workmanlike focus? Perhaps.With Lush, his debut ...
Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo: Melody Magic
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Great classical themes have frequently attracted musicians from all musical genres because they provide substance, cachet, and robust platforms that allow artists to simultaneously salute and portray the melodies in a different, yet attractive light. Some of these attempts fail miserably, while others succeed admirably. For example, during the height of the 70's disco delirium, a ...
Madeline Eastman + Randy Porter: A Quiet Thing
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Recently one of the sports channels delivered a segment about a deep sea diver who plummets into and ascends from ocean depths unaided by air tanks. He does it all on his own breath. In that documentary, the diver speaks about the peak life experience he encounters with each daredevil dive. The metaphors of adventure, heightened ...
Randy Simon Jazz Project: Nyhavn Live
by Nicholas F. Mondello
As instrumentalists and established groups explore new musical vistas, there's somewhat of a “safe harbor" in the richness of classic hard bop. Perhaps that's because the repertoire and stylistic formats of drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, pianist Horace Silver and the like offer performers significant latitude in terms of groove, melodic and harmonic diversity, ...
Hristo Vitchev Quartet: Familiar Fields
by Nicholas F. Mondello
There's a poignant scene in the film Gladiator (DreamWorks/Universal, 2000), where the film's hero, Maximus--played by actor and guitarist, Russell Crowe--flashes back on the lush fields of his far away farm home. There's a longing, a yearning sense in that memorable, moving sequence. Those fields pull at his heart.With Familiar Fields, his fifth CD ...
Emy Tseng: Sonho
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Fifty-plus years after saxophonist Stan Getz and singer/guitarist Astrud Gilberto captured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and served up bossa nova for popular consumption, musicians continue to eagerly return to Brazilian classics. Logically, the integration of attractive bossa textures with the Great American Songbook has been another phenomenon. Thus, the bossa nova resource has been incredibly robust ...
David El-Malek: Music from Source Vol. II
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With distant musical worlds drawing closer via technological invention/access and displayed through exploration by innovative composers, it's no surprise that this effort from French-Israeli saxophonist David El-Malek offers highly intriguing music. The music and Israeli-Arab talents under El-Malek's leadership yield a fascinating brew of Middle Eastern-flavored selections mixed with a smattering of Western jazz improvisation
Jackie Ryan with John Clayton & Friends: Listen Here
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With Listen Here, vocalist Jackie Ryan offers a diverse and delectable array of Great American Songbook and jazz classics, well-known but not regularly-recorded older hits, and superb original selections. Supported by Grammy Award-winning bassist John Clayton and most able friends (including Clayton's son, pianist Gerald, a three-time Grammy nominee), the overall effort soars. It's a tour ...
Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life
by Nicholas F. Mondello
There are surprises galore and much to be enjoyed in Sweet Happy Life, from fine Minneapolis-based vocalist, Connie Evingson. Perhaps the most immediate of those discoveries, even before a listen, is the canon of work from Grammy and Academy Award-winning lyricist, Norman Gimbel, to whose oeuvre this CD is a tribute.With Sweet Happy Life ...
