Carol Robbins “Taylor Street” Jazz Cats carolrobbins.net It’s not a sound you would expect to hear on a jazz album: the glistening notes of a harp. But Carol Robbins is not your typical jazz musician. Growing up in Los Angeles, she had a rare opportunity to study with pioneering jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby. Now at […]
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Album review: ‘Solstice’
Frank Kimbrough “Solstice” Pirouet Records pirouet.com With all the frenzied activity of this time of year, not to mention turbulent national events, you might find yourself in need of some meditative musical moments. Frank Kimbrough’s “Solstice” delivers an exquisite selection of well-chosen compositions that couldn’t come at a better time. Over the past three-and-a-half decades, […]
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Album Review: ‘Dada People’
Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste “Dada People” Greenleaf Music davedouglas.com Known as Man Ray, the 1920’s-era Parisian Dadaist and Surrealist artist was actually a South Philadelphia-born Jewish man named Emmanuel Radnitzky. His enigmatic identity, along with the art work and movements he spearheaded, have inspired work in a totally different genre that was also taking […]
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Album review: “1954”
Ricardo Grilli Tone Rogue Records ricardogrilli.com The title of guitarist Ricardo Grilli’s new album, “1954,” may cause you to anticipate a tribute to the greatest generation of jazz players. While some measure of that is inevitable on a CD by an excellent musician and his supporting players — Aaron Parks on piano; Joe Martin, bass; […]
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Album review: “Spirit Forward”
Michael Blanco Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records blancobass.com Bassists don’t always get to step into the spotlight, so you may not have heard of Michael Blanco. Since moving to New York in 2000, he has performed with dozens of top jazz musicians, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Blanco has been in the pit […]
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Saxophonist Jon Irabagon is ready to step out
Jon Irabagon had earned a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music, he’d studied with top saxophonists Dick Oatts and Victor Goines, and he’d paid his dues gigging around New York. It was 2008 and he was ready for the top contest in American jazz, the Thelonious Monk Competition. The competition, held in Los Angeles, […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Wheel of Time”
Ernie Watts “Wheel of Time” Flying Dolphin Records erniewatts.com Over a long and illustrious career, saxophonist Ernie Watts has played with jazz greats like Thelonious Monk, Cannonball Adderley, and Ella Fitzgerald, and pop stars like Carole King, Marvin Gaye, and Steely Dan, just to name a few. His new album, “Wheel of Time,” featuring his […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Metamorphosis”
Leon Foster Thomas “Metamorphosis” Ropeadope Records leonfosterthomas.com If you are tired of the same old instrumentation in jazz bands, let me introduce you to Leon Foster Thomas. Raised in Trinidad and Tobago, Thomas tears the steel pan away from its calypso roots and transports it firmly into the realm of jazz. Thomas, an absolute virtuoso […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Behind the Sky”
Jon Irabagon “Behind the Sky” Irabbagast Records jonirabagon.com In saxophonist Jon Irabagon’s brief notes about the inspiration for his excellent new album, “Behind the Sky,” he speaks of the grieving process and the variety of emotions that accompany it. You can certainly feel the intense pain in his mournful solo on the ballad “Music Box […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Inner Soul”
Vince Ercolamento “Inner Soul” Self-released vinceercolamento.com It’s been 11 years since saxophonist Vince Ercolamento released “Delightful Eyes,” his excellent first album as a leader. With his new release, “Inner Soul,” Ercolamento firmly establishes himself as not only a fantastic saxophone player, but also a top composer of funky fusion. I don’t know if it’s all […]
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ALBUM REVIEW: “Forty-One Seconds”
The Rita Collective “Forty-One Seconds” Allora Records ritacollective.com The Rita Collective creates music that is impossible to classify. Start with the instrumentation: group leader Dean Keller plays bass clarinet; Kristen Shiner McGuire, marimba; Kyle Vock, bass; and Matt Bevan-Perkins, percussion. On their debut album, they’re joined on one cut by Mark Collins on flugelhorn. The […]
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John Abercrombie
Fusion music didn’t exist when guitarist John Abercrombie plied his craft at a Boston supper club in the late 1960’s.
