Slovakian trumpeter and flugelhornist Lukás Oravec shows his energetic and fiery style on his latest album “Piotrology” which features Vincent Herring on saxophone. The 27-year old Lukás has also written three of the tunes on his album except one song by Vincent which can also be found on the saxophonist’s brilliant last release and two by his bassist…
The twelve original compositions on saxophonist Ken Fowser‘s first album as a leader, “Standing Tall”, show his true mastership in swing, style, and structure. “Head Start” is a perfect album opener with an ebullient, and yet relaxing harmonic overtone that reminds me of some of the finest Impulse releases from the 60s. The cool and…
The folks at Real Side Records did it again. Number 3 was reviewed on these pages in early March and here comes Volume 4. The 20-piece collection once again focuses on rare and obscure cuts mainly from the 70s, but also some late 60s gems and a couple of newer tracks. The one song that…
Independent soul singer and songwriter Trish Andrews from Charlotte, North Carolina, has come up with her second album after her 2008 debut “These Five Words”. Her new one “Love Story” continues her sexy melange of Jazz, Soul, and R&B, wrapped in silky smooth, sometimes stunning performances. The solid 11-track collection starts off with the catchy “Feed…
Kashif, responsible for dozens of timeless soul songs of the 80s (Evelyn “Champagne” King, Melba Moore, Dionne Warwick, George Benson, Howard Johnson, Meli’sa Morgan, Whitney Houston) releases an expanded version of his “Who Loves You” CD which originally came out in 1998. The new disc comes with five bonus tracks, three of which had been…
Philadelphia-based singer M’Balia Singley opens her debut album “Halfway There” with a witty, at times sarcastic story about financial struggles, backed by the sometimes bluesy, sometimes free-flowing piano by producer Orrin Evans. You wouldn’t guess that the song turns out like this after hearing the opening, pretty free improvisational moments. M’Balia’s thick, strong voice with…
Even though she was clearly beyond her peak at nearly 57, when Peggy Lee recorded her album “Peggy” in 1977, there are some moments that were intensely accurate and convincing, as author James Gavin also states in his biography “Is That All There Is? The Strange Life Of Peggy Lee” when he says: “Lee sounded appropriately heavy…
She is an expert of brutally slowing down well-known songs and standards which can be a drag, but never in her case. Solveig Slettahjell‘s voice has simply too much to offer, like the sympathetic crack in her voice on “Borrowed Time”, the opening track of her new album “Trail Of Souls”, recorded with the trio…
Jean-Claude Thompson is one half of famed duo The Amalgamation Of Soundz and has now come up with a nine-track exotic jazz compilation which includes some obscure, yet pretty accessible stuff. Well, not in all cases. The album opens with the Jazz percussion ensemble M’Boom and a track from their 1984 LP “Collage”. M’Boom was…
Polish guitarist Maciek Pysz started to write the material for his sophomore album in Italy and imagined the music “more as a soundtrack for a journey…”. He teamed up with bandoneon player Daniele di Bonaventura and the mix of classical guitar and the bandoneon is indeed magical. As can be heard on the beautiful opening track…