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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a free download of “A Trip To Lagos,” part of a new re-release package for Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1973 smash “Band on the Run,” set for Nov. 2. McCartney personally supervised all aspects of this new reissue, with remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the sameRead More

By Nick Deriso It’s no surprise that a performer who got her start working with funny funkster Morris Day settles into a lightly swinging keyboard groove from the first on “Do Something Else.” Why do anything else? After all, Gail Jhonson wrote the book on neo-soul piano. Literally: her publishedRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Around the same time William Parker released the culmination of an epic Curtis Mayfield project that spanned live performances over seven years, Parker quietly released a decidedly more personal and discreet affair, Uncle Joe’s Spirit House. Dedicated to his 92-year-old uncle Joe and his wife ofRead More

by S. Victor Aaron I don’t pay a great deal of attention to what other jazz critics say about records as I probably should; chalk it up to laziness, I suppose. But even my lazy ass couldn’t help but notice all the interest in media circles buzzing around guitarist MaryRead More

By Mark Saleski You look at the song listing and see “Alfie,” “Pennies From Heaven,” “Shadow Of Your Smile,” and…”Smoke On The Water“? What? Did I read that right? Yes, and singer-guitarist KJ Denhert is not foolin’ around. Well, except for when she is.Denhert refers to her music as “UrbanRead More