In choosing to record Bob Marley‘s classic 1974 reggae album Natty Dread track-for-track in an instrumental jazz style, eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter opened himself up for skepticism. Yet an idea that looked questionable in theory would prove stellar in practice, as Hunter turned Natty Dread — with the songs sequenced exactly as they were on Marley‘s original release —…
Charlie Hunter‘s seventh Blue Note release is the first to feature vocalists — Theryl De’Clouet, Kurt Elling, Norah Jones, and rapper Mos Def — who appear in rotating guest spots. Five of the 13 tracks are instrumental originals. Some meander in a typical jam band way, but they’re guided by an…
In some ways, it’s hard to view George Braith’s playing a soprano and alto saxophone simultaneously as anything other than a gimmick, especially since it’s nearly presented that way on his debut album,Two Souls in One. Braith plays the two horns on the folk calypso “Mary Ann” and the nursery rhyme “Mary Had…
Picking up where “Braith-Away,” athe final and most successful song on Two Souls in One, left off, Soul Stream finds George Braith coming into his own. Where his debut felt hampered by uneven material and unsure execution of Braith’s trademark double-sax attack, Soul Stream is confident and assured.Soul Stream concentrates on mildly adventurous hard bop with soul-jazz overtones, which…
Pushing to the side the double sax that became his trademark, George Braith turned in his strongest record with Extension. Largely freed from the restraints of the dueling horns, Braith is able to explore the outer reaches of his music. He still remains grounded in soul-jazz — any guitar-organ combo is bound to have…
“People have to be careful when they call something new,” says saxophonist and composer Marcus Strickland. “I think about what’s around me instead of trying to create something new. Everything is inspired by something else. Ecclesiastes says: ‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’” Marcus may wax philosophical when he…
An artist whose music is at once timeless yet utterly of its time, Gregory Porter solidifies his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter with Take Me to the Alley, the much-anticipated follow-up to his sensational 2013 Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit. Yet in his remarkable career, Porter…
Every so often a new singer emerges who’s able to assimilate multiple musical touchstones and still come off sounding remarkably fresh and unburdened by the past. Kandace Springs is one of those artists. The 27-year-old, Nashville-based singer, songwriter and pianist counts such stylists as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina…
Joe Lovano adds the 25th album to his remarkable Blue Note catalog with the release of Classic! Live At Newport, which the Grammy-winning saxophonist has dedicated to the memory of both the legendary pianist Hank Jones and longtime Blue Note president Bruce Lundvall. Recorded on August 14, 2005 at the…
