Posted October 13, 2011 at 12:49 pm | No comments
Boston jazz guitarist, and Berklee Associate Professor, John Stein is back with his third album as a leader since 2008. With his previous two releases, Encounterpoint and Raisin’ The Roof, garnering him a wide array of attention from across the jazz guitar community, Stein brings together an all-star cast for his third album in as many years. Accompanied by bassist John Lockwood, drummer Zé Eduardo Nazario (known to many as the Brazilian Elvin Jones) and newcomer, Jake Sherman on acoustic piano and Hammond orgran, Stein has not only gathered a quartet of world-class individuals for this record, but a group that knows how to gel as an ensemble, which contributes highly to the overall success of the album.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted October 3, 2011 at 3:57 pm | No comments
I had initially thought to start this review with a statement that George Benson needs no introduction to the reader, but after receiving blank stares when I mentioned this recording to a few of my university guitar students, I have reconsidered that thought.
George Benson is a true chameleon, but mostly one of the finest jazz guitarists of all time. His masterful interpretation of pop tunes and jazz standards has long been a source of inspiration to aspiring musicians.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted September 19, 2011 at 10:45 am | No comments
This summer, a sublime set of jazz wafted out the door of the Parisian corner café, Dus des Lombard, one of the finest jazz cafés in the city. The club can be found in the heart of Les Marais (The Marsh), surrounded by art galleries, bistros, clothiers and the sputtering of errant motorbikes passing along the Boulevard Sebastopol.
Posted in: Concert Reviews, Guitar News, Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted August 13, 2011 at 11:31 am | No comments
We now give you my long, overdue review of Middle Tennessee State University’s Tennessee Guitar Festival 2011, hosted by Dr. William Yelverton on June 1st-4th, 2011. I know these things are supposed to come out right after the event happens, so my apologies for that. The only excuse I have is that I’ve been on two continents, 13 different states (11 U.S. and two Brazilian), and have traveled almost the distance of the circumference of our planet since then. I won’t apologize for that, though. I had a blast!
Posted in: Classical Reviews, Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted July 20, 2011 at 10:18 am | No comments
This 2 CD set was recorded November 20 and 21, 2010, in Raleigh, NC. Headlining the festival was John McLaughlin, with his current band The 4th Dimension. He was joined on the program by the Jimmy Herring Band, Wayne Krantz, Lenny White’s Group, Ranjit Barot, Alex Machacek, and Human Element.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted July 19, 2011 at 1:10 pm | 3 comments
John Scofield is a fellow guitarist whose recordings I am always pleased to see hit my mailbox for review. His albums are always interesting and varied musically. There is no doubt that Scofield not only enjoys many genres, and he is more than capable of proving quality music in them as well.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews, Uncategorized
Posted July 11, 2011 at 2:56 pm | No comments
Listening to a new Jazz artist can move me and reinforce my love of jazz, but some artists leave me a little cold, like a jazz love gone bad. When Dida Pelled’s CD arrived in the mail, I plopped it into my CD player and gave it a spin. The album has a charm to it that offers up some easy on the ears vocals tied to laid back phrasing and relaxed atmospherics.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted June 6, 2011 at 2:07 pm | No comments
The Ninety Miles project started when three world renowned American musicians Christian Scott, David Sanchez and Stefon decided to go to Havana, Cuba to record with Cuban musicians. The recording for this project will be released in the next two to three months, and the accompanying tour will begin shortly after the album’s release. This was the first time this particular ensemble took to the stage after recording the music in the studio, and the results were astounding.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted June 4, 2011 at 8:06 am | No comments
The Second night of The Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest kicked off with a quintet of brilliant jazz musicians led by the wonderful saxophone player Ted Nash. The quintet performed music from a suite commissioned from Jazz at Lincoln Center titled “Portrait in Seven Shades.” The concept behind the suite is that each of the movements was inspired by the paintings of artists such as Monet, Picasso, Dali, Van Gogh, Matisse and others. Although this is definitely not unfamiliar ground for composers, in that 20th century composers such as Morton Feldman and John Cage also drew inspiration from artistic influences, Nash’s “Portrait in Seven Shades” truly delves into the actual artist’s painting and the artist themselves in a musical way.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
Posted June 3, 2011 at 8:36 am | 2 comments
The 21st edition of the Puerto Rico Heineken JazzFest kicked off in grand fashion this week. Not only is the festival in its 21st year, but it is also celebrating a posthumous tribute to Dizzy Gillespie and the Cuban Conga player Chano Pozo. One of Gillespie and Pozo’s contributions to music was that during their lifetime they managed to create a fusion between Afro-Cuban music and American Jazz; creating the genre we now call Latin Jazz.
Posted in: Jazz Reviews, Reviews
