Don’t let the delicate title fool you. Yes, there is a very pretty grace about the music on Sukyung Kim’s newest album “Lilac Hill,” but she can pivot and deliver hearty and hale, confident and stately. Warm vibes flow off “Stargazers” which swings and meanders. Her piano is focal but inclusive, proving tight interplay with... Continue Reading →
John Alexander The just-released single “Brother John” from composer and drummer Alfred Sergel IV is a broth of inspiration, affection and the acknowledgement of a unique talent not to be forgotten. Released as an entry into the tiny desk concert contest in April of this year, the song soars with hope as it celebrates his... Continue Reading →
Bassist Ferdinando Romano’s debut as a front man in the new CD called “Totem” is proof he has the chops to create a variety of textures and flavors, coaxing the very best from his ensemble. “Mirrors” has the quality of a band tuning up/coming together, its independent melodic fragments sprinkled skillfully; “Evocation” gives Romano the... Continue Reading →
The new CD from Sophie Tassignon, “Mysteries Unfold,” has a potpourri of sounds dancing in many different corners of jazz: the cabaret-like “Don’t Be So Shy with Me” (a perfect lilt and bounce with a dash of cynicism), its echo-chambered voices in the bridge unexpectedly bringing a quick change of temperature and tempo. “Cum Dederit”... Continue Reading →
Two new works by guitarist Ratko Zjaca (interviewed earlier here) are almost too much of a treat at once. Not only is his instrumentation firmly in that perfect Goldilocks zone; his melodic lines are uncluttered, tempos tight but unobtrusive, and the phrasing flows like a river. Consider the sensibility of a meandering soul (“Here Nothing... Continue Reading →
Those airy swells, chill on-pointness and big band brilliance make guitarist/leader Dave Stryker’s new album “Blue Soul” an amazing contribution to jazzhood. The first track, “Trouble Man,” starts hot right out of the gate, swinging its way through the theme, veering off for some intense and bluesy solos by Stryker and then a stellar take-off... Continue Reading →
Saxophonist Moreira Chonguica has assembled an amazing cadre of musicians who pour their hearts into his latest CD called “M & M,” so titled because of the collaboration with Manu Dibango, the recently passed icon and singer/songwriter from Cameroon. A celebration and fresh remembrance of his contribution to music, this CD is infused with glints... Continue Reading →
Advice and tidbits on how to keep your music and your brand on track. Today's inspiration comes from Lisbon-based guitarist Javier Subatin who has just come out with the self-released "Variaciones." How are you getting gigs, whether performing or teaching? In order to get gigs... I'm looking for festivals starting in January and after. Regarding... Continue Reading →
To imbue nuanced atmosphere so skillfully into what is really a brilliant study of dynamics and chordal structures, one needs to be part musician, part teacher and part painter. That is not a tall order for songwriter and pianist Jeremy Siskind. In his latest release “Perpetual Motion Etudes for Piano,” he takes us from the... Continue Reading →
