Jazz/Blues Adds: April 1, 2014
Feature image photographed by Martin Phillips
Jazz
Monty Alexander. Harlem-Kingston Express, Vol.2: The River Rolls on. motema. Joyous and heartfelt interpretations by legendary pianist Monty Alexander as he unveils drama, lightness and the political in Jamaican music that has shaped him. personnel include – Obed Calvaire @ drums & vocalists Caterina Zapponi (Mrs. A.) & Wendel Ferraro, plus veterans: Hassan Shakur, bass; Courtney Panton, percusssion; Andy Bassford, guitar. nothing bad here, trust every cue; another luscious Motema production.
Charlie Hunter. Pucker. sazi. Lean, dreamy duets from WTJU favorite–the drum/7-string guitar team of Scott Amendola and Charlie Hunter, with Amendola doing the writing. an attitude of good times, keen wit, and two men doing the work of ten at this session.
Jason Kao Kwang. Burning Bridge. innova. Chinese-American jazz violinist improvising with stellar octet, that mixes Western horns with Asian strings (pipa, erhu). long, drifting cues: Joseph Daley, tuba; Steve Swell, trombone; Taylor Ho Bynum, cornet; Ken Filiano, Sun Li, Wang Guowei–on strings; Andrew Drury, drums.
Adam Kromelow. Krom. self. Discover this! Muscular, genre-bending, tuneful trio work led by sensational pianist Adam Kromelow. he came from chicago, studied at Manhattan School for Music with Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer; uniquely confident with a playlist of originals. bassist Raviv Markovitz and percussionist Jason Burger–no slouches–make this trio reach the musical stars.
Marcus Roberts. From Rags to Rhythm. j-master. Twelve movement suite from New Orleans pianist Marcus Robert and trio: Rodney Jordan, bass and Jason Marsalis, drums. Ambitious, stirring, elegant, crossover music—plays better in its entirety, or as multi-segments than plucking out individual cues.
Bill Banfield. Playing with Other People’s Heads: Songs. sugo. Out of Boston’s South End comes Bill Banfield’s collective, jazz urbane, a gigging ensemble dedicated to breathing roots, r&b, soul, spoken word into contemporary jazz performance. much care taken with the vocals, guest soloists; Banfield, guitar and composition, always.
Jeff Hackwork. Soul to Go. big bridge. Classic organ quartet led by NYC tenor Jeff Hackworth; Ed Cherry on guitar, Vince Ector, drums, and Radam Schwartz at the B-3. playlist mixes the old and the original.
Steve Fidyk. Heads Up!. posi-tone. Drummer/educator (Temple University) Steve Fidyk performs mostly originals with his quintet: Terell Stafford on horns; Tim Warfield, tenor; Shawn Purcell, guitar; Regan Brough, bass.
Matthew Kaminski. Swingin on the New Hammond. chicken coop. He’s the Atlanta Braves organist! new release showcases some classic B-3 gems– She by Charles Aznavour, and turn to stone. Justin Varnes on drums, and the singular voice on Dave Stryker on guitar.
Dave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones. Caravan. self. In that bag of (trom)bones there are eight including leader Dave Chamberlain. plus multi-octave vocalist Kat Gang, Kenny Asher @ piano; Mike Campenni + Chembo Corneil on percussions, Jerry Devore, bass. Swinging, smooth, classic playlist with rhythmic arrangements by chamberlain.
David Bromberg. Forth & Back. cap. Originally from a Tucson, AZ musical famly, drummer Bromberg works in NYC, & his debut recording includes bassist, Christian Fabian; reed man, Bill Vint; keyboardist, Steve Hunt. all originals playlist.
Blues
Jones Family Singers. The Spirit Speaks. arts+labor. Three generation gospel collective that incorporates soul, R & B into contemporary church music.
Lisa Mann. Move On. self. West Virginia native, lisa mann sings with gusto and plays bass; having explored genres from “Metal to Memphis”, here she gathers a team of Pacific Northwest blues musicians.
Wildcat O’Halloran. Party Up in Heaven. self. Blues-ing in Western Massachusetts ( Northhampton), wildcat writes, sings, and plays guitar.
Core Band Fleshed Out with Many Guest “Angels” for the Party. ballad “crossing off” inflects a Chris Smithers influence, nicely.
Christian Collin. American Art. c-train. Singer/songwriter/guitarist dedicated to roots music but willing to blend in many tangents–soul, country, folk. core band of bass, drums, keys folds in generous horn section.
Author: Ann Porotti, host of All That Jazz (Thursday, 10-noon) and co-host of Melodiya (Friday, 6-8pm), has fallen in love with all kinds of music as a result of writing the Jazz + Blues Adds blog.
