Archive for October, 2010

Vinyl

Half Notes: Conference Call – What About….? (2010)

by S. Victor Aaron Gebhard Weber is the German sax and bass clarinet player we introduced here last spring when reviewing the new album by the combo he co-leads with trombonist Steve Swell, The Ullmann|Swell 4. Ullman has other projects going, though and the Conference Call whack jazz supergroup heRead More

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Leslie Pintchik "Blowin' In The Wind" (2010)

photo: Jimmy Katz by Pico Bob Dylan is a towering figure in folk, and as we were reminded a few days ago, his legacy extends deep into rock music, too, via the all the strong and memorable covers done by rock bands, especially The Byrds. What’s more interesting is thatRead More

Vinyl

Domina Catrina Lee – Songs From The Breastbone Drum (2010)

by Pico Ever since the music business as we know it first came into existence, there have always been musicians for whose need for artistic purity and/or just out of financial necessity has made them into “do it yourself” musicians, producing homemade music for a limited audience. More accurately, aRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Rafi Malkiel – Water (2010)

by S. Victor Aaron A record that truly lives up to its title, composer, arranger and horn player Rafi Malkiel creates a stew of orchestral klezmer jazz, Latin jazz, classical, and European folk music that is themed around H2O. Throughout every cut, water can be heard as a percussion instrument,Read More

Vinyl

Something Else! sneak peek: Cassandra Wilson, with Ravi Coltrane, "Silver Moon" (2010)

Here’s a free mp3 download of Cassandra Wilson’s “Silver Moon,” a tune featuring saxophonist Ravi Coltrane from the forthcoming Blue Note recording Silver Pony. A hybrid live/studio album set for release on Nov. 9, Silver Pony features live songs from a European tour and studio work done at New Orleans’Read More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Ryan Cohan – Another Look (2010)

by S. Victor Aaron Pianist and composer Ryan Cohan follows up his highly acclaimed One Sky (2007) with another slate of mostly originals, Another Look. Though Cohan is an exceptional composer (Ramsey Lewis has recorded many of his tunes), Cohan sought to make his latest record more performance-oriented. He supplementsRead More

Vinyl

The Friday Morning Listen: Rosanne Cash – The List (2009)

by Mark Saleski For many years, I was very comfortable with the statement: “I hate country music.” It was easy to say because there was so much evidence all around: Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Faith Hill and all of that — it was really just pop music with belt buckles,Read More

Vinyl

Christina Gaudet – Solid (2010)

By Nick DeRiso For all of her wandering, Allen Toussaint remains this touchstone for New Orleans-born vocalist Christina Gaudet. But Gaudet doesn’t let her lasting affinity for a hometown soul legend pigeonhole her wider ambitions on Solid, though it’s subtitled “Featuring new songs by Allen Toussaint.” She’s particularly adept atRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Ideal Bread – Transmit: Vol. 2 of The Music of Steve Lacy (2010)

by S. Victor Aaron Ideal Bread is a Steve Lacy tribute band, at least a tribute band in that they play the songs of the late, great soprano saxophonist and composer of the free jazz world. But this four-piece band, which includes baritone saxophonist Josh Stinton, Lacy’s copyist and studentRead More

Vinyl

Rich Halley Quartet – Live At The Penofin Jazz Festival (2010)

by S. Victor Aaron Since at least the fifties, many a jazz musician have made records of their live gigs at festivals. Some of the largest and most enduring ones have been a favorite location for cutting a record: Newport, Montreaux, Monterrey, North Sea and so on. And then there’sRead More