What a delight to encounter the inspiration of a jazz bassoon-centered album. Who knew that this all too frequently overlooked woodwind could create such a playful, imaginative, addictive response? I could listen to Michael Rabinowitz play all night and still want more. I love the experimental spirit at the heart of this release. The featured … Continue reading
A good live album can provide that oh so difficult to achieve feeling of being in the room, encircled by swirling, gliding notes, full of life and spontaneity. Jazz artists Maria Jacobs’s new album, Back At The Bop Stop, accomplishes it from the first inviting drum kick-off of the Freddie Hubbard / Abbey Lincoln waltz … Continue reading
Sometimes, hearing an influence on an artist in his work is more than just a coincidence, more than just a good thing. Once in a while, it is a refreshing reminder of the continuity of the form. Such is the case with Skip Grasso’s new album, Becoming. It is a collection of 8 tracks that … Continue reading
Eldad Tarmu and friends have released a first-rate album that transports the listener to the nuanced and potent place where vibraphones converse with saxophones, while basses and drums keep the dialogue on topic. It is an always imaginative collection of tracks that bring faith to anyone wondering what the state of the art of jazz … Continue reading
West-Coast guitarist and jazz legend Doug MacDonald is an artist so consistent, so correct, so precise, while at the same time so swinging that —as far as any jazz lover is concerned— he should just keep on releasing album after album, until virtually every known jazz song has been recorded… perhaps even with several alternate versions. The most … Continue reading
The exclamation marks in the title of Duduka Da Fonseca & Quarteto Universal’s new album — Yes!!! — are a fair warning. By the time you’re listening to the first track, however, you realize that they are unnecessary; each note played is an exclamation mark. The musicians at work here are Vinicius Gomes (guitars), Helio … Continue reading
From a Window to a Screen, the new album from Kirsten Lambert is described as a “new classic” jazz recording. It is that, and more. It is an invitation to enter a magical world of song, guided by an assured voice of the utmost clarity who interprets each note with a purposeful intimacy. The songs … Continue reading
Gretchen And The Pickpockets — Falling Rising If there was ever a cocktail party in a CD, Falling Rising is it. Jazzy in its satisfying complexity, yet poppy in its glistening purity, Gretchen and The Pickpockets‘ Falling Rising is a must-have album for the summer of 2018. If the songs themselves don’t always rise above the predictable, the … Continue reading
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