by Mark Saleski My favorite Tom Harrell record is actually a Jim Hall record. These Rooms was a Jim Hall Trio album featuring Tom Harrell. Really great stuff. There was a certain synergy between Harrell’s flugelhorn and Hall’s guitar. Some of that kind of thing is evident on Roman Nights.Read More

I don’t know if it’s a trend of not, but lately I’ve noticed a lot more unconventional trios in jazz. By “unconventional” I mean without the bass player, and the usual premise I’ve heard for doing this is to allow more freedom. Trying out uncommon configurations is an interesting andRead More

A great groovy mess, Baby Brother combines roots rock and punk in the most intriguing of ways. The result, Strange Things, lives up to its title, and that’s not a bad thing. You May Also Like: Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, “Big Brother, Little Brother” (2016): One Track Mind

We love these songs. The words become a part of us. Does that mean we “know” the artist? When Bruce Springsteen appeared on VH1’s Storytellers, a fan asked him that very same question. Bruce’s response was a resounding (and laughter-infused) “Nope!” It makes sense really You May Also Like: GregRead More

I took a quick survey of pianist Bruce Barth’s discography, and the album titles go like this: Home: Live in Columbia Missouri, Live at Café Del Teatre, Live at The Village Vanguard, Hope Springs Eternal, Live. So when New York’s legendary Small’s jazz club asked Barth to make a liveRead More

Washington D.C. percussion specialist Nasar Abadey has earned his stripes over decades performing with some of jazz’s towering figures like Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Pharoah Sanders and Sonny Fortune. You May Also Like: Chicken Diamond – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (2016) Chicken Diamond – Skeleton Coast (2018) DiamondRead More

Taylor Haskins, who’s done an impressive amount of soundtrack work, has put out an appropriately cinematic project here. Originally recorded in 2009, but just issued by NineteenEight Records earlier this month, Taylor Haskins + Recombination begins with the soaring sunrise of “Morning Chorale,” moves on into the rush-hour bustle ofRead More

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

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

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