By Stephen Graham, Marlbank “What appeals here? A combination of factors. Mark Isham’s work from his tenure with Van Morrison on such beautiful albums as Into the Music I know and like, Isham’s own classic modal mastery displayed on Blue Sun I used to play to death, and most topically the trumpeter-composer’s film work with Craig Harris recently on Judas and the … Read More
Award-Winning Vocalist Dara Tucker Announces the Release of Her Transcendent New Album, Dreams of Waking: Music For a Better World, Out May 28, 2021 via Green Hill Music Green Hill Music is proud to announce the May 28th, 2021 release of Dreams of Waking: Music For a Better World, the new album by consummate vocalist, … Read More
By Bill King, FYI Music News Most young players long for that participatory dream moment when opportunity permits and the confidence is there to approach a peer and ask to sit in. The bones rattle, the knees wobble, the hands turn blue/white, fingers drain of blood and muscles weaken. Showtime! Read more here.
By Jim Hynes “The possibilities for large jazz ensembles are wide ranging- from boring, to traditionally solid, to utterly fascinating. The latter is relatively rare, but when it occurs, it can be a stunning, awe-inspiring listen..This year’s first exhilarating entry is South Korean native Jihye Lee’s compelling project, Daring Mind. The Jihye Lee Orchestra has the conventional instrumentation of … Read More
Onyx Productions Announces the Release of Raise Up Off Me, Ralph Peterson Jr.’s Final Recording Featuring Zaccai and Luques Curtis Special guests Jazzmeia Horn and Eguie Castrillo Releasing May 21, 2021 on all digital platforms, and as compact disc + double vinyl LP On May 21, 2021, Onyx Productions will release Raise Up Off Me, … Read More
By Shaun Brady, Jazz Philadelphia When trumpeter Alonzo Demetrius arrived at Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2014, he expected to have his musical world opened up to new pathways. What came as a surprise is the way the school broadened his political thinking as well. Read more here.
By Rob Lester, Talkin’ Broadway Prepare to be dazzled! The skillful close-harmony vocal quartet known as The Royal Bopsters brings a lot to the table for a banquet of musical treats. The blend is blissful. (I dare you not to sigh on the Billy Strayhorn/John LaTouche ballad “Day Dream.”) With creative arrangements mostly by the … Read More
By Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail After plunging our ears in this recording, there’s no way to deny that former pop singer Jihye Lee composes for jazz orchestra with unbridled imagination. Daring Mind is the follow-up to her debut release, April (2017), and includes nine compositions that, reflecting the bandleader’s first four years in New York, … Read More
By Ron Schepper, Textura As excellent as the musicianship is on Daring Mind, the sophomore album from the Jihye Lee Orchestra, it’s the compositions by the South Korea native that recommend the release most. As the nine pieces show, she’s developed a distinctive and personal voice as a composer, and one that came about in … Read More
By Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine Let it Shine, is a surprising, expressive new duo album from renowned saxophonist, composer and educator Jeff Coffin and celebrated cellist, vocalist, and composer Helen Gillet. Together these two multi-instrumentalists, Coffin and Gillet, perform a total of 13 instruments, with Gillet occasionally augmenting the sonic tapestry with the looping of her cello. Additionally, … Read More
