Without a list of CDs or even EPs yet to share, how are we to know what will become of a new artist on the scene? Bassist Rayah Thomas, based near Raleigh, NC, has all the right ingredients: a great musical education, experience with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Summer Jazz Academy and the Essentially... Continue Reading →
The debut offering from Athens, Greece’s Thomas Mitrousis Quartet gives a whirlwind, feet-off-the-ground experience. Leader and guitarist Mitrousis has all the fingerwork to keep the vibe easy even when the drums and brushes are briskly whisking us along. In nine fresh tracks, this CD is a simultaneous exploration into musicians that gel beautifully together while... Continue Reading →
Boris Kozlov has met, head-on, the gargantuan task of keeping a legacy alive while comfortably and ably expressing his own individuality. As the co-leader of the Mingus Big Band, originally formed by Charles Mingus’s widow Sue Graham Mingus after the bassist’s demise in 1979, his music and musical direction stand beautifully tall. The winner of... Continue Reading →
Freshly-baked, experimental, with challenging time signatures that shift like tectonic plates, Dave Manington’s band Riff Raff is highly innovative. They have a new CD coming out in 2018 that’s totally different. And, he’s in two other bands. Keeping their identities separate is a snap for this dedicated and idea-driven double bassist. One example of unheard... Continue Reading →
Debbie Burke - jazz author 
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