new jazz adds, october 15, 2014
carmen lundy. soul to soul. afrasia. Underrated, but a personal favorite, vocalist/composer carmen lundy’s all originals setlist has a strong feminist focus. core musicians for this deluxe production are patrice rushen, rhodes; darryl hall, bass; myra casales, percussion; randy brecker, trumpet; ada rovetti, tenor; jamison ross, drums + harp ( carol robbins) and vibes ( warren wolf). grrl power!
john coltrane. offering: live @ temple university. impulse. Two cds, unstoppable offerings of 1966 concert in Phillie, from the night that coltrane put down the horn and sang. at the time, a shocking, legendary moment [ happens @ end of cue leo] that inspired a few lives. the band of brothers (& sisters) include pharoah sanders-tenor; alice coltrane–piano; rashied ali-drums; sonny johnson-bass + guests. demanding, nightime exposure.
oliver lake organ quartet. what i heard. passin’thru. Veteren altoist/composer lake + a trim quartet shine the spotlight on NYC jazz organist of the moment, jared gold [earlier release, april 2014 = jg3+, posi-tone]. original lake compositions & arrangements that integrate the organ solos with freddie hendrix, trumpet and chris beck, drums. smart.
nicholas payton. numbers. paytone. New Orleans trumpet master payton doubles on fender rhodes for this collaboration with funk revisionists, Richmond’s butcher brown…who are corey fonville, drums; devonne harris, multi-instrumentals; keith askey, guitar; andrew randazzo, bass. numbers don’t match the line-up, but it has its charms. loungey, never steps off the funk wheel; payton’s eleventh studio session.
eric wyatt. borough of kings. Hard-driving, swinging combo led by reed player, eric wyatt features his originals (+ a coltrane), and an excellent young band including pianist benito gonzalez, and drummer shinnosuke takahashi.
robert jospe’ express. classics: doin’ it up. inner.rhythm. Double (cd) happiness–standards + jumpin on the bed jams. songbook features butch taylor, piano; dane alderson, electric bass; robert jospe; drums; add in brian mesko on guitar for the raucus parts. superb arrangements, dynamic ensemble.
eric vloeimans. oliver’s cinema. challenge. . Our man in Holland, eric vloeiman, has gone a wandering and found himself some new co-stars: German cellist, jorg brunkman, and Belgian accordionist , tuur florizoone. Is there anyone who knows how to play soft, better than Vloeiman? so, no surprise that he found a subtle squeezebox player. all the while “agile & pert”–e.v. and I am, shamelessly, persuaded that a playlist with movie themes is la creme of listening. Abbreviated cd.
andy waddell. alive. rhombus. LA-based guitarist, playing professionally since his teen years, waddell steps out with all orginials playlist and sidemen tom catanzaro, tenor; josh nelson, piano; dan lutz, bass; aaron mclendon, drums.
gina sobel 4tet. zoology. self. Gorgeous flute from local musician/ composer gina sobel; bests cues are those on the quiet side--modo, acapulco, twice removed–where jonah kane-west’s organ is delicate. strong supports from kris monson/bass; daniel richardson, drums.
junk function. cardinal directions. self. Three infectious pieces from local funksters, junk function…… who are: tim swartz, bass (wtju dj); colin greatwood, trumpet; logan t. beaver, sax; steven gizzi, keys; kendrick smith, drums. terrific horn charts and driving arrangements. loud, tear-it-up sound.
alister spence. everything here is possible. self. Two steinway D concert grands helmed by pianists Australian alister spence and American myra melford, recorded in Sydney. Avant-garde but wistfully beautiful; long, generous cuts.
clarence penn. monk: the lost files. origin. Recording with the Seattle based label, drummer clarence penn has taken up the challenge of making thelonius monk contemporary to his daughter’s elementary school classmates. in walked bud is brilliant, featuring gerald clayton on fender rhodes; other cues, serviceable. with donald vega, piano; chad lefkowitz-brown, sax; yasushi nakamura, basses.
freddy cole. singin the blues. high note. The enduring (83 yrs) brother of nat king, freddy cole is both old school and equal to the new. blues songbook cd with jazz musicians = subtle reworking of luscious blues ballads that fueled 1950’s black social culture. with the great harry allen, tenor; elias bailey, bass; curtis boyd, drums; john martino, piano; randy napoleon, guitar, theresa hightower, vocal.
peter zak. the disciple. steeplechase. Pianist peter zak answers the question who are my jazz influences with a playlist celebrating great composer/pianists: hampton hawes, horace silver, elmo hope, + monk, hancock, and from the archives, alexander scriabin. trio music, finely tuned by A-list bassist peter washington, and drummer, willie jones iii. on the venerable Danish label, steeplechase.
