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Chip White: Music And Lyrics
by Stephen Latessa
As the title hints, the focus of drummer/composer Chip White's Music and Lyrics is the batch of original songs White came up with for the album. Unlike the standard material that tends to appear on a majority of new jazz vocal albums, White also penned lyrics for eight of the twelve tunes, sung here by Gail ...
Cecil Brooks III: Double Exposure
by Stephen Latessa
The liner notes for Double Exposure recount that the disc was recorded in a few spare hours that drummer Cecil Brooks III and organist Gene Ludwig found themselves with while they were recording another album. That feeling of spontaneity and casual inspiration is very present on this rare organ and drum duo effort. Ludwig ...
Organics: New Light
by Stephen Latessa
New Light is a straightforward disc of gospel and blues-inspired numbers. The Irish Organics organ trio, which has been together since 1997, is far from radical, but it delivers the goods consistently on these tasteful and restrained performances. As is to be expected, Justin Carroll's Hammond organ is the focus of the proceedings. Carroll ...
Pamela Luss: There's Something About You I Don't Know
by Stephen Latessa
There is a palpable richness and sense of luxury in Pamela Luss' debut album. Much of this impression is due to the full orchestration accompanying her. The backing is anything but stripped down, and it provides an elegant setting for Luss' voice to shine. Of course this would mean little if she did not have a ...
New West Guitar Quartet: Introducing
by Stephen Latessa
The New West Guitar Quartet does Lynyrd Skynyrd one better by featuring four lead guitarists. Take that, Mr. Van Zant. Of course, by adding that extra guitar, they drop bass and drums. And piano. And horns. In fact, excluding some percussion by Matt Roberts on one track, their debut full-length album features nothing but guitars. Perhaps ...
Greg Harris Vibe Quintet: Open Space
by Stephen Latessa
The Greg Harris Vibe Quintet is equally adept at long, dreamy, ruminative pieces and more aggressive, driving numbers. As the name of the group suggests, Harris' vibes are the focus of the music on Open Space--whether they take the lead or simply frame and define the space around the other players. For example, bassist ...
Gordon Johnson: Trios Version 3.0
by Stephen Latessa
On Trios Version 3.0, the third volume in a series of piano trio albums by bassist Gordon Johnson, the leader is joined by an estimable rotating cast of supporting players. The lucky part for listeners is that Johnson, the only mainstay on all ten tracks, is such an arresting, versatile, and fluid presence. Quite simply, the ...
Rachel Z: Grace
by Stephen Latessa
This should have been easy to avoid. During the recording or planning sessions for Grace, Rachel Z's first vocal album, someone should have had the courage to tell her that she just doesn't sing very well. She has tried many different things over the years, to varying degrees of success, so perhaps she figured that singing ...
Carlos Jimenez: Arriving
by Stephen Latessa
There is no doubt that for a large part of the movie-watching population, jazz flute will instantly call to mind Will Ferrell's heroically unhinged performance on said instrument in a scene from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. That Ferrell is now synonymous with jazz flute in some quarters says something, although I'm not exactly sure ...
Bob Boguslaw and The Way: Gabrielle's Hand
by Stephen Latessa
A classically trained pianist and member of the United States Marine Band, Bob Boguslaw recently gave a permanent name (The Way) to a group of musicians who have been playing together for over ten years in the Washington, DC area. Also featuring ace drummer Frank Russo, Gabrielle's Hand is an extroverted set of performances that include ...
