Tackling his own material, with nary a vintage standard within earshot, Petrucciani combines his assertive, driving, mainstream piano with two different trios on two separate occasions. The first half of the program features the hard-swinging combination of bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Roy Haynes, augmented on “One For Us”…
This is an all-star summit that works quite well. Pianist Michel Petrucciani, a major jazz musician who had already led 11 record dates by this time (despite still being only 23), teams up with guitarist Jim Hall at the 1986 Montreux Jazz Festival for two lyrical duets: the altered…
After five years during which he emerged from France to become an important figure in the international jazz world, pianist Michel Petrucciani (still a few days shy of his 23rd birthday) debuted on Blue Note with this superior trio outing. Assisted by bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Eliot Zigmund,…
Creative vocalist Bobby McFerrin’s return to Blue Note after a nearly ten-year absence indicates a possible desire for a return to improvised jazz, and in a way distancing himself from the classical works he had become increasingly associated with. Working again with pianist Chick Corea and producer Linda Goldstein,…
Bobby McFerrin has made relatively few recordings since his hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Potentially one of the truly great creative vocalists, McFerrin has flashes of brilliance on this Blue Note CD, including a haunting rendition of Miles Davis’ “Selim” (taken from the trumpeter’s underrated Live-Evil set), but the…
This beautiful, Latin-themed album by bass superpower Ron Carter almost can stand in as a Stephen Scott showcase, for the young pianist’s verve and finesse are in evidence from start to finish. Carter reserves plenty of solo room (and a number of melody statements) for himself, however. Drummer Harvey…
The great Ron Carter continues his intermittent love affair with Brazilian music, joined by a somewhat unlikely cast of characters. Guitarist Bill Frisell delivers yet another of his superb sideman performances, including a pinpoint harmonic dissection of “Goin’ Home,” Carter’s bossa nova adaptation of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.” The…
Ronnie Foster’s debut album Two Headed Freap is a set of contemporary funky soul-jazz from the early ’70s, which means it sounds closer to the soundtrack of a lost blaxploitation flick than Back at the Chicken Shack, Pt. 2. Foster certainly does display a debt to Jimmy Smith, but…
“Let me begin by saying that this is not the greatest jazz album you’ve ever heard.” So states critic/DJ Harry Abraham in the liner notes on the back of Sweet Revival, Ronnie Foster’s second album as a leader. Abraham was obviously trying to deflect criticism that this record is,…
