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
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
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
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
West Coast-based pianist Michael Ray has been performing with sibling drummer Stephen since they were 10 and 7 years old, respectively. Together, they’ve played more than 2,300 concerts together. That deeply ingrained sense of musical brotherhood, almost like the two are finishing each other’s sentences, plays out on the idiosyncratic,Read More
Insistent but quiet, Avi Wisnia begins with a bracing confidentiality, gently pulling you in the pillowy reverie of “New Year.” But, just like that, Wisnia shakes himself awake as Renee Warnick’s swooning voila surrounds him, moving from the brink of resignation into a contagious confidence: “Never turn your back onRead More
The new Doctor Faith, Christopher Cross’ first original studio album in 12 years, occasionally finds him taking a darker — hell, I’ll just say it, crankier — view of things. You May Also Like: No related posts.
The story of how country folk/Americana performer Andy Budd came to make this record is uniquely American. A car dealer by day, Budd always wanted to be a country singer. With support from his family and staff, that dream was made real You May Also Like: Richard Turgeon, “Car Crash”Read More
Patrick Boissel’s Alive Natural Sound record company, an outfit he founded in 1994, has become a haven for music acts in the realms of garage rock, punk, power pop, and just about any band that plays the blues with bluster and the volume up at 10. It’s the smaller labelsRead More
Like Joshua Redman, Ravi Coltrane, Anthony Wilson and all those Marsalis brothers, Gerald Clayton followed in his father’s footsteps to become an accomplished jazz musician in his own right. You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver – The Art Of The Improv Trio, Volume 4 (2016)
