Revisiting the year 1957 in jazz is a trip to when melodies could be hummed, when small ensembles could make grand statements with the music, and when the rhythms made us tap our feet. Bassist and leader Ben Fox’s new work, Ben’s Bop, features young artists from the New Orleans region who want to give... Continue Reading →
If you love big band and want to keep that amazing, engaging and evocative classic feeling but you’re writing brand new music, how do you infuse extra flavor and dimension? Ask Steve Fidyk. His upcoming CD, Red Beats, features nine newborn songs that he turned over to some of the most exciting dyed-in-the-wool big band... Continue Reading →
The new release from vocalist Yuko Kawasaki, City Counterpoint, is proof that even during strange times, art born of passion will ultimately rise to the top. Beset by delays from the lockdown, Kawasaki and her musical colleagues have produced a scattering of tracks that have a quality of hope, harmony and better times on the... Continue Reading →
A new CD radiates with rich chords and subtly resolving dissonances that paint a living, breathing musical portrait of how great music should feel. Pianist/leader Eric Stern’s new CD Familiar Colors has tracks that are smart and cool, pulling emotions from the ether that hit deep. “To Light the Way” has the feel of a... Continue Reading →
Something new from drummer/composer Michael Lauren coming April 29, all the way from Braga, Portugal: a CD called “Live at Mobydick Records.” The live album was recorded with his trio (guitar, bass and drums). The track “Biji” is brisk and bright; “Ritual Do Cabrito” has a dense noir feel dominated by a hearty guitar and... Continue Reading →
Throw out what you thought you knew about the ukulele. Yes, it can be quaint, charming, a wanna-be, higher-register guitar in miniature. Enter Stephen Godsall, who has set out to play the uke to its fullest potential, funkifying it, making it swing like gypsy jazz, riffing out in hearty solos. His latest work, Ukulele Forms... Continue Reading →
The gratification of a hook-drenched melody will never leave you high and dry. That is what you’ll find in Atlantic Groove Society’s newest venture (Feb. 2022), “Past and Present.” The album creates a warm, expansive feeling in ten memorable tracks. While the horn (from leader Alexander Hartgers) soars and sings, guitar, drums, keys, bass and... Continue Reading →
There are ways to cover songs that take the material to new places, infusing a new climate altogether. Sax player Carlo Muscat has gathered tunes by some of the biggest names in jazz (Coltrane, Mobley, Rollins, Shorter) and pressed them gently but firmly into a new form. The result is Diversion, released November 2021. The... Continue Reading →
Releasing December 17, the new CD "Castelfidardo" by jazz accordionist Jonny Kerry is more than what you think, no matter what you’ve heard from the instrument thus far. (The title refers to the Italian town where accordions are famously crafted.) In Kerry’s capable and loving hands, the accordion sings with joy for life whether paired... Continue Reading →
Debbie Burke - jazz author 
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