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Derek Brown: Whatever the Case May Be
by Geno Thackara
From his social-media-famous trick of analogue beatboxing to here, literally, beating on a box, Derek Brown never runs short on tricks. Just as importantly, those fun little ideas aren't gimmicks but building blocks to be used in ways both clever and musical. Whatever the context, the sonic coloring is just the topping while there's always a ...
Melanie De Biasio: The Flow
by Jerome Wilson
Melanie De Biasio is a vocalist from Belgium who sings in a low-pitched, affectless voice over seductive electronically treated vamps. it is a spare, hypnotic sound best heard on this track from her 2014 album, No Deal, (Play It Again Sam, 2014). “The Flow" creeps along on a hypnotic mix of off-center drum beats, brooding keyboards, ...
Michael Shrieve: Palace Of Dreams
by Mike Jacobs
From the dual-project, double album Two Doors (CMP, 1995) that features drummer Michael Shrieve manning the drum kit in two different trios, it's arguably the Deep Umbra disc with bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane that is the brighter half of that binary star. Shrieve may indeed get top billing here but like so many ...
Garth Alper: Spider's Web
by Edward Blanco
An original composition by educator and pianist Garth Alper. “Bop-Wanna-Be" is an upbeat bop-filled five-minutes of riveting jazz bringing the swinging saxophone voice of Lucas Munce, bassist Bob Nash and drummer Chris Munson to the fore from the sturdy and animated Spider's Web album sure to resonate with jazz audiences everywhere. The track is a teaser, ...
Sam Taylor: Let Go
by Edward Blanco
A very tasteful and swinging version of the Jimmy Van Heusen classic standard “Here's That Rainy Day," from tenor saxophonist Sam Taylor on his third album as leader entitled Let Go featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford and an all-star rhythm section of pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Neal Miner and drummer Willie Jones III. The quintet sets out ...
Nu Deco Ensemble + Aaron Parks: Chronos
by Mike Jacobs
First appearing on Aaron Parks' joint venture with Matt Penman, Joshua Redman and Eric Harland, James Farm (Nonesuch, 2011), Miami's adventurous Nu Deco Ensemble takes AP's composition “Chronos" out for an expanded spin, with the composer himself as guest performer. From the 2019 digital-only release Nu Deco Ensemble + Aaron Parks: Live From Miami.
Richard Galliano, Paolo Fresu and Jan Lundgren: The Windmills of Your Mind
by Michael Ricci
After reading the 200 Jazz Compositions Inspired By Don Quixote announcement and listening to the companion playlist I discovered the many jazz covers of Michel Legrand's “Windmills of Your Mind"--which won an Oscar for best song (The Thomas Crown Affair, 1968). A haunting beauty, this version by Richard Galliano, Paolo Fresu and Jan Lundgren's appears on ...
Kevin Hays & Lionel Loueke: Feuilles-O
by Geno Thackara
One pianist with a naturally soulful touch (and a fairly rich crooning voice to boot), one guitarist with innate Afro-rhythms running through everything he does; they still make a myriad of tones for just two guys with no special effects. 2019's Hope (Edition Records) had no shortage of highlights, but their take on this sweet/sad Haitian ...
Nasir Dickerson’s Light Shines Bright!
by J. Michael Harrison
"Let It Shine" begins with a powerful poem (see below) that's beautifully sung by vocalist Danielle Nichole. It offers a warm and comforting gateway into the title selection of talented multi-instrumentalist Nasir Dickerson's album Let It Shine. For decades Nasir, his parents and siblings have been a source of inspiration, a bright light, and a tremendous ...
Jim Beard: Grace In The Bubble
by Mike Jacobs
Though he's a great enough musician to be exactly what many a recording or live situation calls for, “Grace In The Bubble" is emblematic of the mixture of technical proficiency, compositional acumen and playful quirk that Jim Beard invests into his solo outings. If Beard's idiosyncratic whimsy was perhaps tucked away a bit on his stunning ...
