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…

An examination of the famous Blue Note catalog reveals that, on the average, the style of music featured on Lou Donaldson’s Sweet Lou is just as typical to the label as the recordings for which it is justifiably renowned. Few would remember the label at all if every Blue…

Although Tim Hagans is rightly thought of as a veteran hard bop player, his adventurous spirit has led to him playing pretty freely on this CD. The programming is quite admirable, with three pianoless trios followed by four quartet numbers (that also include tenor saxophonist Bob Belden) alternating with separate trumpet-bass (“You…

The impressive trumpeter Tim Hagans holds his own with the tenor of Joe Lovano during a sextet session with guitarist John Abercrombie, keyboardist Marc Copland, bassist Scott Lee and drummerBill Stewart that features nine of his originals. The music is essentially advanced hard bop (Lovano and Abercrombie both sound somewhat inspired) and Hagans displays both an attractive tone…

Yeah, All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller is a tribute to the great stride pianist, but in Jason Moran‘s hands, it’s not what one would expect. This album isn’t full of stride piano, but it is full of Fats Waller‘s larger persona as a performer. Waller mixed jokes and comic routines, and did…

Drummer Otis Brown III is a well-known, in-demand sideman and the founding drummer in Joe Lovano‘s Us Five. The Thought of You, his debut as a leader, was co-produced with Derrick Hodge. Pianist Robert Glasper, saxophonist John Ellis, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and bassist Ben Williams — the only one of these men who was not Brown‘s classmate at the New School for…

With the possible exception of Grover Washington‘s Feels So Good, no other album captured the spirit of jazz in 1975 like Bobby Hutcherson‘s Montara. Recorded in his hometown of L.A., Montara is the very sound of groove jazz coming out of fusion, and Latin jazz’s tough salsa rhythms coming home to roost in something more…

Natural Illusions is one of the rare Bobby Hutcherson dates that finds the vibraphonist flirting with the mainstream and fusion. Hutcherson leads a band that features Ron Carter and George Duvivieralternating on bass, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, pianist Hank Jones, drummer Jack DeJohnette and harpist Gene Bianco. The group plays a selection of standards (“The Folks Who Live on the Hill,” “Sophisticated Lady,”…