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Hey Ellington and Ben Webster fans, check out Ashby’s blues-drenched,
melodic tenor sax. You just know that jaw-dropping sound came from
a lifetime of paying dues. In 1950, Ash moved to Chicago to become
Ben Webster’s protégé and record with those Chess
blues legends. more... |
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Jamming together in the early ’60s, trombone virtuoso Thurman
Green and bari sax giant Hamiet Bluiett swore they’d make a
great album someday. That promise bore soulful fruit here—30
years later. more... |
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If you like your jazz uptempo and overflowing with vitality, look
no farther. Patience is a cooking, muscular-toned tenorman somewhere
between Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins—a musician great
enough to have toured with Ellington, David Murray and Stevie Wonder.
more... |
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Warren might just be the only man alive who’s played with Miles
Davis and Janis Joplin. Not to mention Nat King Cole, Charlie Mingus
and Aretha Franklin. Here, he collaborates with jazz virtuosos he
admires—including Stanley Cowell, Steve Novosel, Kent Jordan
and Chief Bey. more... |
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Thirty-five years ago, Bey sparked my passion for the African drum
when I heard him leading Olatunji’s Drums of Passion. His work
with Randy Weston and Art Blakey helped introduce the African drum
into jazz. more... |
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Hamiet Bluiett’s heartfelt tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio—by
far the most original I’ve ever heard. Bluiett describes his
inspiration: “I wanted to focus on Nat as a pianist, not as
a vocalist. He was a formidable pianist, ‘anointed’ as
they say in the church.
more... |
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Patato, the history-making pioneer of the modern Latin three-conga
style, is the most melodic and the most African of all the Cuban
congueros I’ve heard. You’ll never hear the gorgeous attack
and resonance of his congas better than here. more... |
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C.I.’s alto sound is warm and intimate. He combines the huge
sweet tone of Johnny Hodges with Benny Carter’s edge and Charlie
Parker’s raw speed and bluesiness. more... |
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Andy’s feel-it-in-the-floor bass propels the gorgeously natural-sounding
horns and the warm electric guitar. Billy Kilson’s drums are
excitingly splashy and dynamic The originals by McKee are irresistible.
Their rhythmic twists and turns, their surprising changes in mood
keep me riveted. more... |
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The most powerful and moving a capella choir I’ve ever heard.
Thirty-two voices strong, the Addicts Rehabilitation Center Choir
is burning-with-faith gospel from Harlem. more... |
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Here’s a stomping Bluiett electric group that’ll knock
you on your butt. His group includes Calvin Jones on electric bass,
Ronnie Burrage on drums, Donald Blackman on keyboard and Chief Bey
on hand drums. more... |
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The most dynamic drum kit sound on any CD. You'll hear the real
impact of stick on cymbal and drumhead and the full drumshell resonance
of Michael's drums. more... |
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The trademark low brass punch of the NY Classics knocks out audiences
all over the Big Apple, me included. Not so much a jamming big band
like Clifford’s, they’re more in the tightly-knit Ellington
groove. more... |
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Fans of the Modern Jazz Quartet or the Canadian Brass Quintet, take
special notice. EBQ melds the instrumentation of a classical quintet
(two trumpets, trombone, Frech horn and tuba) into a mellow, new
jazz sound. more... |
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If you’re a fan of blues-steeped jazz with an unstoppable groove,
you have to hear this CD. The line-up is stellar: Bluiett on bari
sax; ex-Mingus star Jack Walrath on trumpet; young lion Mark Shim
on tenor and a peerless rhythm section—Larry Willis, Keter
Betts and Jimmy Cobb. more... |
