by Matt Micucci, Jazziz “Vocalist John Minnock has shared with us his live performance of the classic song, “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” also featuring saxophone great Dave Liebman. The performance was recorded last year at New York’s Feinstein’s/54 Below, where Minnock will be returning for a concert celebrating his most recent album, last … Read More
by Matt Micucci, Jazziz “Saxophonist/composer Keith Loftis releases today his first album in about a decade and his fourth as a leader overall. Original State is a fine swinging showcase of his compositional abilities, featuring an all-star cast including pianist John Chin, bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Willie Jones III.” Read the full New Release … Read More
by Matt Silver, WRTI Louis Armstrong is so often framed as a jazz forefather that it becomes easy to lose sight of how much music—really good music—he recorded in the late ’40s, ’50s, and even well into the 1960s. With the release of The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia & RCA Victor Studio Sessions, 1946-66, Mosaic … Read More
by Tom Henry, Toledo Blade Jazz aficionados are abuzz about a massive boxed set recently published by Mosaic Records, The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia & RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-66. It’s a gorgeous, seven-CD collection of important work Armstrong did during the latter half of his career. Read the full feature story here.
by Dave Sumner, Bandcamp “In 2015, Japanese violinist Tomoko Omura decided to arrange 10 well-known Japanese songs—a mix of old folk songs and popular modern tunes—for performance as jazz pieces on an album she would title Roots. The inspiration for the project was relatively straightforward. ‘I was looking for something I could bring to jazz,” she explains. … Read More
by Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times From Thursday to Saturday, Harris and an octet will perform selections from the LP at Birdland, the storied Midtown jazz club, which reopened for live concerts last week. They will play sets at 7 p.m. on Thursday and 7 and 9:30 on Friday and Saturday; admission is $30. Read … Read More
By Gary Fukushima, Downbeat On the opening track of drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.’s new big band album, he plays five sharp rim shots, which catapult the band into “Two Bass Hit,” the brash John Lewis/Dizzy Gillespie composition first recorded by Gillespie and his jazz orchestra in 1947. However, this arrangement is closer to the sextet … Read More
By Gary Fukushima, Downbeat On the opening track of drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.’s new big band album, he plays five sharp rim shots, which catapult the band into “Two Bass Hit,” the brash John Lewis/Dizzy Gillespie composition first recorded by Gillespie and his jazz orchestra in 1947. However, this arrangement is closer to the sextet … Read More
by Ed Enright, Downbeat Jeff Coffin, the saxophonist best known for his ongoing work with the chart-topping rock group Dave Matthews Band and his 14-year tenure with the triple-Grammy-winning jazz-bluegrass outfit Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, has become his own cottage industry. Read the full feature here.
By R. J. Deluke, All About Jazz Some jazz drummers, as remarkable as they may be and as successful as their careers are, just aren’t suited to drive a big band. It’s not for every percussionist. But every big band needs a good one or the effort will fall short. A ship needs a rudder. … Read More
