After the stunning modern jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire delivered on the acclaimed When the Heart Emerges Glistening in 2011, he plays it anything but safe on The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier to Paint. With his working quintet — tenor saxophonist Walter Smith, drummer Justin Brown, bassist Harish Raghavan,…
Landmarks, the fourth recording by Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, marks their return to Blue Note Records, released in cooperation with the Shreveport, Louisiana based label, Mid-City Records. Brian chose to record seven of the ten compositions in his hometown of Shreveport at Blade Studios which was…
José James is one of the most fascinating singers to appear in popular music in the last decade. Over five previous recordings he’s tackled jazz standards, hip-hop, neo-soul, funk, and even Moroccan gnawa. He claims that While You Were Sleeping is a synthesis of everything he loves about music at present, citing Nirvana, Frank…
Bobby Hutcherson‘s 2014 album, Enjoy the View, finds the vibraphonist joining forces with saxophonist David Sanborn, organist/trumpeter Joey DeFrancesco, and drummer Billy Hart on a set of swinging, funky, and adventurous songs. This is Hutcherson‘s first album of studio material since 2009’s Coltrane-inspired Wise One, and follows his 2012 live album, Somewhere in the Night, which also featured DeFrancesco….
BOBBY HUTCHERSON – LINGER LANE: Ernie Watts(reeds) Bobby Hutcherson (marimba, arr) Jerry Peters(el p,arr-1) John Rowin (g) Chuck Rainey (el b), Harvey Mason (dm), Bobby Porter Hall (perc), Maxine Waters, Julia Waters, Oren Waters, Luther Waters (vo). Recorded in Idylwild, California, January 16,1975
Puss N Boots began performing in N.Y.C. nightclubs in 2008 but didn’t deliver their debut, No Fools, No Fun, until the summer of 2014 — a pretty good indication that this group was intended as something of a lark. All three musicians — Sasha Dobson, Catherine Popper, and Norah Jones — keep themselves busy with…
Out of This World relies less on originals than before, concentrating on standards which sound startlingly fresh. It’s the loose, flexible groove that’s the key. Simpkins and Dowdy keep things on track, while Gene Harris plays — he can be nimble, he can pound, but he keeps the music flowing at a nice, easy…
Of pianist McCoy Tyner’s seven Blue Note albums of the 1967-1970 period, Expansions is the most definitive. Tyner‘s group (comprised of trumpeter Woody Shaw, altoist Gary Bartz, tenor saxophonistWayne Shorter, Ron Carter on cello, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Freddie Waits) is particularly strong, the compositions (four Tyner originals plus Calvin Massey’s “I Thought I’d Let You Know”) are challenging,…
Sassy Soul Strut pairs Lou Donaldson with arranger George Butler to create a smooth, unabashedly commercial session some distance removed from the saxophonist’s classic soul-jazz efforts. Emphasizing electric instruments and radio-friendly rhythms, the album nevertheless plays toDonaldson‘s strengths, focusing more on mood and texture and less on funk. Opening with a gutbucket…