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Alphonse Mouzon on Weather Report, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis + Solo Songs: Gimme Five

A life around jazz, and fellow jazz greats, has left Alphonse Mouzon with his share of stories.

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Half Notes: The Elements of Jazz – The Elements of Jazz (2011)

The Elements of Jazz is a quartet from Miami bills themselves as “The New Sound of Miami,” with its clean and lean jazzy grooves that sharply contrast with the “new sound of Miami” from the 80s, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. The one common element is that bothRead More

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Anthony Wilson – Campo Belo (2011)

Guitarist/bandleader Anthony Wilson, son of legendary L.A. composer, pianist and big band bandleader Gerald Wilson, has established himself as an artist in his own right since leading his own records from 1997 on, including a long, ongoing stint in Diana Krall’s band. Though Anthony chose guitar as his instrument andRead More

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Something Else! Interview: Jazz drumming legend Alphonse Mouzon

A seminal force in the berth of fusion, the versatile Alphonse Mouzon has played drums alongside of dizzying array of jazz greats. Even today, it’s no different. You May Also Like: Alphonse Mouzon (1948-2016): Tribute to an Endlessly Versatile Fusion Legend ‘Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report,’Read More

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Half Notes: Lester Young and Teddy Wilson – Pres and Teddy (1956)

What was cool about Lester Young was that he kept evolving. All “Pres” did was: — Pave the way for bebop in the 1930s. — Presuppose, while playing clarinet with Basie back in the day, the cool California sound of Paul Desmond in Dave Brubeck’s 1960s band. — Later findRead More

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Half Notes: Travis Sullivan – New Directions (2011)

Since 1999, alto saxophonist Travis Sullivan has made a record on average only about every six years or so. Perhaps it’s because he’s very much into his signature project leading the 18-piece big band Bjorkestra, a vehicle for his arrangements of songs by Iceland’s pop icon Bjork. Enjoy! (2008) isRead More

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Half Notes: Eric Reed and Cyrus Chestnut – Plenty Swing, Plenty Soul (2010)

by Mark Saleski To my ears, the reference standard of piano duo recordings has to be that Chick Corea/Herbie Hancock thing. Monstrous, is what it is. This is a little different though. First, it’s Reed and Chestnut (duh). Second, there’s the presence of bass and drums (Dezron Douglas, Willie JonesRead More

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David Gibson – End Of The Tunnel (2011)

The sweet, liquid and brassy sound of a trombone has been a major cog in the jazz machine since around its inception, bigger at some times more than at others. These days, it doesn’t enjoy the stature and popularity it used to, and I often wonder why You May AlsoRead More

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Half Notes: Grant-Lee Phillips — nineteeneighties (2006)

by Tom Johnson The great Grant Lee Buffalo may have been long gone, but the heart was always just the voice and guitar of Phillips anyway, wasn’t it? In between takes as Gilmore Girls’ resident town troubador, Phillips found a few free moments to record this stripped down tribute toRead More

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One Track Mind: Bobby and Suzy, "Sink Hole" (2011)

At first, there’s a homespun innocence about Bobby and Suzy, this brother-and-sister duo. Recording in their music room at Charleston, S.C., you can almost see them as they once were You May Also Like: Bobby Kimball – We’re Not in Kansas Anymore (2017) Bobby Kimball, former Toto frontman: Something Else!Read More