By George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly Jazz vocals is a lot like college classrooms; they seem dominated by a surfeit of women in attendance. So, when a guy comes around that doesn’t sound like a Buble’ clone, he gets my attention. Read more here.
New York City Jazz Record, January 2022 Best of 2021 selections: BEST TRIBUTES OF THE YEAR / BEST CONCERTS OF THE YEAR Dave Liebman Expansions: Selflessness (Dot Time) BEST REISSUES OF THE YEAR Louis Armstrong: The Complete Louis Armstrong Columbia and RCA Victor Studio Sessions 1946-1966 (Mosaic) BEST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR Samara Joy: Samara … Read More
By Rob Lester, Talkin’ Broadway Looking for variety in song styles and versatility of performance? You’ll find it on the rewarding release named Michael Stephenson Meets the Alexander Claffy Trio. If the title suggests all parties are meeting for the first time, we must ignore that because singer-saxophonist Stephenson and bassist/bandleader Claffy have been friends … Read More
By Joe Ross, Roots Music Report “Vocalist/saxophonist Michael Stephenson and bassist Alexander Claffy have been friends since age 13. With this collaboration, they bring their ‘Philly soul to the hallowed grounds of the Rudy Van Gelder Studio’ in New Jersey.” Read the full review here.
By Matt Micucci, Jazziz On their first recorded full-length collaboration, longtime friends vocalist Michael Stephenson and bassist Alexander Claffy offer their renditions of wide-ranging material from 20th-century American composers, including staples by Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Nat “King” Cole and beyond. Michael Stephenson Meets the Alexander Claffy Trio, released on vinyl this month, also marks … Read More
by Jim Hynes, Making A Scene “This is a well-chosen group of tunes from 20thcentury American composers that touch on the Great American Songbook but go beyond to include the music of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, and Nat King Cole, among others.” Read the full review here.
