NOTE: The New Jazz Composers Octet was the last backing band of jazz trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard, who passed away this morning at age 70 due to complications from a heart attack suffered on November 26. A truly major figure in jazz and one of the best trumpet players ofRead More
Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson shared a stage in one of the most satisfyingly offbeat pairings from a regimentally segregated musical era.
by Pico We’re getting to the end of the year and it feels as though there’s still too many 2008 CD’s to sift through and evaluate. I’m not ready for 2009 yet! Before launching into the ol’ year-end “best of 2008” lists, let’s quickly run through a couple of freshRead More
by Pico The topic of this review is yet another ESP-Disk release, and I’ve often wondered if ESP is an acronym for “not for the faint of heart” in Esperanto. I’m a lot more certain of this, though: Barnacled is a perfect fit for the label, which seems to relishRead More
photo by Pavel Korbut by S. Victor Aaron The Cuban influence on jazz has been resilient from the late forties on. From Desi Arnez and Mongo Santamaria to Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, the heritage remains as strong as ever, as evidenced by the left-field success of Ry Cooder’s BuenaRead More
by Nick DeRiso “Come Together,” a concert first envisioned as a benefit to raise anti-violence awareness through the work of John Lennon, was scheduled to be held on Oct. 2, 2001, at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. Then came Sept. 11. This rangy event, featuring recorded snippetsRead More
by Pico Brad Leali (alto saxophone) and Claus Raible (piano) formed this quartet about three years ago and while they’re not all that well known, they certainly know their jazz roots well. These guys understand that jazz has always been a blues-based music form, but modern twists have all butRead More
by Pico Now with Thanksgiving and and that bloody shopping ritual called Black Friday behind us, the Christian season of Advent has begun. For the Catholic faith at least, it starts this Sunday, and lasts until Christmas Eve. This observation of the impending birth of Christ (and his second coming)Read More
“Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight,” from Paul McCartney’s collaborations as the Fireman, screams – literally – for attention.
by S. Victor Aaron Trumpeter and arranger Steven Bernstein might be the hardest working man in music these days. Just these last few years he has garnered a Grammy nomination (for Sexotica by his band Sex Mob) and a Annie nomination for scoring a children’s TV series; released an albumRead More
