Straight-Ahead / Classic - CD Reviews (1959)
An alumnus of Miles Davis’ 1970s and 1980s bands, drummer Al Foster evolved into one of the more heralded modern jazz drummers, spanning the past 30 years. Here, Foster …
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Having had the pleasure of reviewing Jeremy Pelt’s live album, Shock Value, and finding it quite attractive, I came to this album with an open and receptive min…
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Once again, Martial Solal proves that he continues to be one of the leading jazz pianists, as he has been throughout the past 60 years, though the distribution of his recor…
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The Many Moods of Rabitsch & PawlikHigh Class, Sassy Brass.... that is the ever-evolving legacy of the Rabitsch & Pawlik duet when their Moods
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Laszlo Gardony introduces the music in the liner notes of his latest release Dig Deep with "Time and again, we have to reinforce our conviction in the strength of…
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Panama Suite from the Danilo Perez Big Band consists of three movements: "The Awakening," "The Quest," and "The Celebration." These movements are a journey throug…
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Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble is an instrumental group based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Their music shows influences of Latin rhythms, dancehall music, traditional swing …
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Jazz saxophonist J.J. Jones, who is widely known for being a sideman to some of music's greatest luminaries including B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, Big Joe Turner, Ba…
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It’s always great when a jazz star, off the national scene for years, reappears, sounding just as good as ever. This is the case with tenor sax veteran Hadley Caliman and h…
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The Moon And The Lady Dancing is an incredibly innovative, enjoyable CD collection. There is much solo work that highlights each performer's skills. As a trio f…
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Classic jazz singer and saxophonist Sheila Cooper collaborates with Austrian pianist Fritz Pauer for her third studio album Tales of Love and Longing as a vocalis…
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Alto saxophonist, composer and arranger Alex Graham is another one of those really fine musicians who has worked within the music arena gathering rave notices among musi…
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It’s a shame so few musicians work in actual bands anymore; the kind of unit where the musicians stay the same from not only gig to gig, but year to year. Only through such…
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Saxophonist/pianist/composer/bandleader Jessica Jones fuses the union of poetry and the melodic sustenance of jazz standards on Jessica Jones Quartet’s latest record …
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When they first performed together in New York in the late 1960’s, Chick Corea and Gary Burton thought that playing as a duo would never work out, and they went their se…
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On the Up and Up, the second CD from this talented British group, is made up of a pleasing mixture of bop, blues and ballads, spiced with a couple surprises. This…
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Texas native Paul Carr is noted for his husky tenor sax sound and involvement in higher education, to include his formation of the non-profit "The Jazz Academy of Music.…
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Born in Niagara Falls, New York, guitarist Thom Rotella is one of those musicians who has bopped around the music world in so many different capacities that if you haven…
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The flute has taken an interesting journey through jazz history. Initially excluded from jazz by virtue of both its relatively small sound and its reputation as a women's i…
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A clean, no-harm, no-foul "safe zone" traditional offering from Mitch Paliga. Not terribly exciting but then, not all of the great compositions of the legendary greats w…
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