jazz adds march 31 , 2015
tom collier. alone in the studio. origin. Unique vibraphone set list–a sly mix of 60’s pop, musical theatre and originals. for this, Seattle multi-instrumentalist (vibraphone, marimba, piano, drums, and keyboards) tom collier leaned on his fifty years of live jazz & studio sessions to fly solo.
jessi teich. @twisted soul. madame freak. Dazzling comeback recording from singer/songwriter jessi teich (sounds like teach). almost all original songs, but the sustained energy comes from stunning arrangements (by ms. teich) and the Parisian combo: thierry maillard, piano; yoann schmidt@drums; matyas szandai, bass; laurent derache, accordion, + Americans dai miyazaki and john morgan kimock.
dana landry. standard elevation. alliance records. Straight ahead take on American songbook from quartet led by pianist dana landry, featuring erik applegate, bass; steve kovalcheck, guitar; jim white@drums.
sun gate. silk sound. silk screen. Terrific Asian-American jazz fusion quintet led by tabla master pandit samir chatterjee. traditional and original compositions by chatterjee, plus outstanding ensemble work from mimi jong, erhu (classical Chinese string instrument ), jeff berman on vibraphone and percussion; chris parker, electric guitar, matt booth, double bass; pittsburgh jazz arranger/composer ben opie on soprano, alto, b flat and contra clarinet. merit un detour.
karla harris. sings the dave & iola brubeck songbook. summit. The discovery of lyrics to dave brubeck’s compositions , and that they were often written by his wife iola, led vocalist karla harris to revisit this rich folio of jazz classics. with ted howe, piano; tom kennedy, basses; dave weckl@drums.
rachel caswell. all i know. turtle ridge. Rachel, the vocalist half of the musical caswell sisters –sara is the jazz/classical violinist– makes her debut, produced by guitar master dave stryker. most cues are duets between vocalist and either stryker on guitar, or jeremy allen on bass.
ted kooshian. clowns will be arriving. summit. Movies, TV shows, and cartoons are the basis for keyboardist ted kooshian’s goofy but polished tribute to clownishness: with jeff lederer throughout on soprano, tenor, or flute; pete mcguiness, trombone; wilbur bascomb, electric bass; various drummers.
michael waldrop. time within itself. origin. Debut recording from drummer/composer michael waldrop breaks a few of the big band playlist rules by incorporating jazz fusion, Texas guitar and bluesy voicings into the originals setlist.
marshall gilkes. koln/wdr big band. alternate side. NYC trombonist marshall gilkes leads the prestigious WDR big band in a playlist of swinging and intriguing original compositions. simple titled, Koln–in reference to home base for the German ensemble–gilkes draws on his years with maria schneider’s award winning orchestra.
stockton helbing. patina. armoured. Quartet of originals from Oklahoma drummer/composer /educator stockton helbing. all originals, some experimental with shelley carol and david loan both on tenor; james driscoll, bass.
doug webb. triple play. posi-tone. Three stellar tenors–doug webb, walt weiskopf, joel frahm–team up with organist brian charette and rudy royston@drums. bluesy, muscular arrangements with gorgeous blowing.
mark egan. direction home. wave tone. Trio work from electric bassist (and former member of the pat metheny group) mark egan working with mitchel forman on keyboards, and the dynamic danny gottleib@ drums. all originals.
from the archives:
oscar peterson. my favorite instrument. mps. High voltage solo piano from the heir-to-tatum, Canadian wizard on the keys peterson. German recording, with thoughtful liner notes from contemporary jazz pianist gene lees. every cue a winner.
lambert, hendricks & ross. everybody’s boppin. columbia. Sixties jazz royalty at their zenith, swan diving through the bebop American songbook.
joe bataan. subway joe/gypsy woman. denon. Two vinyl classics under one roof from fania records features bongo master joe bataan. a fiery trip down the late 60’s salsa explosion that began with bataan’s crossover hit gypsy woman. funky, rough-edged and street-driven sound.
clyde berhardt/ike lloyd/sylvester mike/freddie strong. volume 2/1949-1954. blue moon. Compilation of 1940 to 50’s ” blues shouters”–and the orchestras they played with: trombonist clyde bernhardt; vocalists ike lloyd, freddie strong and sylvester mike. much boogie and r & b.
charlie parker. volume 3 /1946-1947. blue moon. Benchmark recordings from the period after charlie parker’s term at Camarillo State hospital; two Hollywood sessions that feature a young erroll garner on piano, howard mcghee on trumpet. then onto NYC, where the group stars dodo marmarosa or bud powell on piano; miles or howard mcghee, trumpet; wardell gray on tenor, barney kessel, red callender,–and of course, max roach@drums. the glory days.
charlie parker. volume 4/ 1947-1948. blue moon. Small group sessons from the young and smiling alto sax legend , recorded at five different venues: the all-stars feature miles davis, trumpet; john lewis or duke jordan on piano; curley russell or tommy potter, bass; max roach@drums. perfect.
the dizzy gillespie story. 1939-1950. proper. The grand life of American jazz icon–trumpeter, composer, arranger, band leader–spills out over five cds, covering eleven years that shook the jazz world, 1939-50.
