New Jazz Adds – 4/17/2018
New Jazz Adds – 4/17/2018
Sharel Cassity & Elektra – Evolve (Self-produced): Veteran multi-reed player Sharel Cassity (soprano, alto and tenor sax, flute) has played with numerous top level musicians over her years in NYC and has recently moved to Chicago. She composed seven of the nine songs on this set, which also has the following players: Mark Whitfield (guitar), Miki Hayama (rhodes, piano, synth), Linda Oh (bass), Jonathan Barber (drums) with the addition of Ingrid Jensen and Marcus Printup (trumpet on two songs each), and other guest spots by Freddie Hendrix (flugelhorn), Richard Johnson (keys), Lucianna Padmore (drums), Riza Printup (harp) and outstanding vocals on three songs by Christie Dashiell. There are many shifts in styles as the disc progresses and the quality is terrific throughout. Cassidy is a fluid and versatile player, especially when building the full sound and fluidity on her saxes. Click here to listen to samples of three songs on this disc.
John Colianni Sextet – I Never Knew (Patuxent): Pianist John Colianni can swing with the best. Duke Ellington was his first idol and Colianni’s first teacher, Les Karr, had studied under Teddy Wilson at New York’s Juilliard School of Music. He was also the first cousin of pianist Dick Hyman. For John’s lessons, Les emphasized technique and introduced studies of the Mathe’ System, a method that advances digital dexterity and maximizes the capacity for speedy, high-velocity piano playing. (http://johncolianni.com/john-colianni-bio/) Obviously, Colianni learned his lessons well. He has also found the most solidly hard swingers for his sextet: Matt Chertkoff (guitar), John David Simon and Grant Stewart (tenor sax), Ralph Hamperian (bass) and Bernard Linette (drums). Colianni composed two and Simon one of the eight on this release. The others were selected from the compositions of Ellington, Jacquet and Monk and others. If you can listen to this disc and not stomp your feet, swing and sway, and get a large grin on your face, you either forgot to turn the volume on or you’d best get out the Q-tips! Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Steve Gadd Band – Steve Gadd Band (BFM Jazz): Veteran drummer Steve Gadd is fronting his own band and has a vita that is truly amazing: recording and performing with Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Kate Bush, Joe Cocker, Grover Washington Jr., Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour, and Al Di Meola, among others. His current group includes Walt Fowler (trumpet, flugelhorn), Kevin Hays (keys, vocals), Jimmy Johnson (bass), Michael Landau (guitar) and Duke Gadd (acoustic guitar, percussion). The disc swings and takes numerous twists from song to song. The band is as tight as they come and the variety means there is surely something wonderful for every listener. Click here for an introduction to this disc.
Andrew Gould – First Things First (Outside In Music): Alto and soprano saxophonist / composer Andrew Gould offers his first disc as a leader. He is a highly regarded player in NYC and has played with James Moody, Benny Golson, Wallace Roney, and Jon Faddis, among others. Gould composed nine of the ten songs on offer here, many which are in a strong bop orientation. He also has a solid Coltrane connection. Supporting musicians are Steven Feifke (piano, Fender Rhodes, author of the opening song on this disc), Marco Panascia (acoustic, electric bass), and Jake Goldbas (drums, percussion), with Ioana Vintu (vocals on one song) and Scott Wendholt (trumpet on two songs). The program is solid throughout, honoring the past while being very much today. Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.
Corcoran Holt – The Mecca (Self-produced): Corcoran Holt (bass, composer, percussionist) has played with numerous headliners over the past decade or so, including Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, Steve Turre, Delfayeo Marsalis, Kenny Garrett, Bobby Watson, David Murray, Nicholas Peyton, Roy Hargrove, Randy Brecker, Bucky Pizzarelli, Russell Malone and many others and now presents his first disc as a leader. He composed seven of the songs on this disc. His band includes Benito Gonzalez and Sharp Radway (piano), Stacy Dillard (soprano, tenor sax), Josh Evans (trumpet), Richard Padron and Russell Malone (guitar), McClenty Hunter Jr (drums), Andrae Murchison (trombone Rudy Bird (percussion) and Mavis “Swan” Poole (vocal). The frequent shifting of personnel creates quite a bit of variety across the disc. There is a frequent sense of Latin or African influences as well as the straight up jazz. The sound is rather mellow most of the time. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc
Hughes Smith Quintet – Motion (Self-produced): The Hughes Smith Band formed about six years ago with a goal of sharing their favorite style of Detroit jazz from the 50’s and 60’s, though updated for today. All of the compositions are originals by one or both of the leaders, James Hughes (alto, tenor, soprano sax) and Jimmy Smith (trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn). It’s a cross between cool jazz and soul jazz. The interplay between the two leaders is the centerpiece of the disc, their third. Other band members are Phil Helly (piano, Fender Rhodes), Takashi Iio (bass) and Nate Winn (drums). There’s a nice cool swing here and solid musicianship. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Billy Jones – 3’s A Crowd (Acoustical Concepts): Drummer Billy Jones offers ten duos between himself and a series of musicians, including George Young (alto sax); John Vanore (trumpet), Mick Rossi and George Genna (piano), Tony Micelli (vibes), Tyrone Brown (bass), Scotty Wright (vocal), Kenny Stahl (flute), Stu Reynolds (bass clarinet) and Gary Meek (tenor sax). Jones notes the goal was to create duos in which the drums are an equal player with the other instrument, rather than an accompaniment to them. Three of the ten are totally improvised by Jones and his co-player. It’s a novel but quite successful arrangement. Click here to listen to samples of all of the songs on this disc.
Devin Kelly Organ Trio – Whenever You’re Ready (DPK): This is drummer Devin Kelly’s second disc as a leader. It features Gary Solt (guitar) and Joe Bagg (Hammond Organ). The set includes one original from Kelly and one from Solt and covers ranging from Mulgrew Miller (“Hand In Hand”), Charlie Parker (“Ah-Leu-Cha”) and Monk (“Bright Mississippi”) and Hank Mobley (“Funk In Deep Freeze”) to Henry Mancini’s “Two For The Road”, James Taylor’s “Whenever You’re Ready” and Carol King’s “Way Down Yonder”. The trio play is quite tight and the trade-offs are quite pleasing as well. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Azar Lawrence – Elementals (High Note): Azar Lawrence (composer, soprano and tenor sax) is known for his playing with Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw and was McCoy Tyner’s choice as a sax man following the death of John Coltrane. Lawrence has released ten records as a leader as well. This release features six Lawrence originals, plus three by Benito Gonzales (piano, keys) and a cover of Rodgers and Hart’s “It’s Easy To Remember”. The sound is smooth, but also beautifully exotic. In addition to Gonzales, the band includes Jeff Littleton (bass), Marvin “Smitty” Smith (drums) and Munyungo “Smitty” Smith (percussion) and guests Oren Waters (vocal), John Barnes (keys), Greg Poree (guitar), Maputo Correa (hand drums) and Joe Blocker (tambura) on some tracks. The blend swings and focuses on the exotic and will infect your ears and soul with delight. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Diane Marino – Soul Serenade: The Gloria Lynne Project (M&M): Vocalist Diane Marino offers this unique tribute to vocalist Gloria Lynne.Marino when asked to consider creating a tribute to singer Gloria Lynne, tapping a few songs that were associated with Lynne and others being rendered in a way that would represent how Lynne might have approached them. The catch here is that she was charged with creating the way Lynne might have arranged and sung these songs. Brad Cole did the arrangements based upon consultations with Marino. Backing musicians include Cole (piano, keys, B-3), Frank Marino (bass), and Chris Brown (drums), with a shifting set of musicians across songs: Dann Sherrill (percussion), Mark Christian and Doug Monroe (guitar), Don Aliquo (alto, soprano, tenor, bari sax), Scott Ducaj and Harry Kin (trumpet), Roy Agee (trombone), David Davidson and David Angela (violin), Monisa Angell (viola), Carole Rabinowitz (cello), Tom Moore (bassoon) and Deanna Loveland (harp). Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Jeremy Pelt – Noir En Rouge (High Note): Trumpeter/composer Jeremy Pelt began his jazz affair while playing in a high school jazz ensemble. He had been playing classical up until that time. He attended Berklee College of Music and has played with Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove, Greg Osby and Cassandra Wilson. This is his twelfth release and it is a live performance. He is accompanied by Victor Gould (piano), Vicente Archer (bass), Jonathan Barber (drums) and Jacquelene Acevedo (percussion). The set includes seven compositions by Pelt and one by Gould. The set is quite nice and is played with a unity and control that is reminiscent of Miles Davis or Wynton Marsalis. That being said, he is clearly his own man. This is a solid performance throughout. Click here to listen to a song from this disc.
Akira Tana – JAZZaNOVA (Vega Music): Drummer Akira Tana “earned degrees from Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music. Tana has worked with Sonny Rollins Snoopy Stitt, Zoot Sim, Hubert Long, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, THE PAUL WINTER CONSORT, PAQUITO D’RIVERA, JAMES MOODY, J.J. JOHNSON, LENA HORNE, THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER, RUTH BROWN, CHARLES AZNAVOUR, MAURICE HINES, AND VAN DYKE PARKS. He has appeared on over 150 recordings.” (https://www.akiratana.com/) His current release aims to “jazzify” the bossa nova style of thirteen songs composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and several other Latin composers. In addition to Tana, players include Peter Horvath (piano, Fender Rhodes), Ricardo Peixoto (acoustic, electric guitar), Gary Brown (bass), Michael Spiro (percussion); vocalists Claudio Amaral, Sandy Cressman, Carla Helmbrecht, Jackie Ryan, Claudia Villela, and Maria Volonte; and special guests Branford Marsalis and Arturo Sandoval. If you enjoy the bossa nova, you will certainly enjoy this disc as well. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Kopasetically,
Professor Bebop
