There is much to be said about a musician stepping out from his comfort zone as an accomplished and acclaimed sideman to record the music he hears in his head, never forgetting where he came from, but steadfast in focus of where he is going. Henry Cole has rapidly acquired an impressive rA(C)sumA(C) as a first-call drummer for recording sessions and performance tours.

Date: Feb 17th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Music from The Great American Songbook is getting quite a workout these days, with more musicians and singers spinning their renditions of old standards and classics than ever before. On the stellar Easy To Remember, jazz-cabaret singer Jane Scheckter taps into the well, lending her interpretations to songs from this repertoire with an all-star cast of players. This is the fourth album for the veteran vocalist using a standard trio format.

Date: Feb 17th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

While the aggregation of all-star jazz men featured on this previously unreleased, decades-old session may seem random at first glance, the great m: Benny Goodman is actually the musical tie that binds them all. In September of 1974, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard was part of a particularly strong Goodman sextet that appeared at Carnegie Hall. Appleyard had his own gig in Toronto the following evening and, amazingly enough, everyone in the band, with the exception of drummer m: Grady Tate , was available

Date: Feb 16th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Looking back at gifted Israeli guitarist m: Ido Bukelman ‘s discography– his improvised solo album, The Door (Kadima) and Solo (OutNow, 2011) and his experimental electronic trio EFT (OutNow Recordings, 2012)– his Cracked Song quartet is clearly more straight-ahead. Bukelman navigates this quartet in a musical journey after a song structure, within the framework and freedom of improvised jazz. Explicitly he pays homage to the formative figures of his musical upbringing, most notably saxophonist m: Ornette Coleman and guitarist m: Jimi Hendrix …

Date: Feb 16th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Pianist Bruno Heinen formed Dialogues Trio in 2005 with bassist Andrea Di Biase and drummer m: Jon Scott . The trio has played numerous live concerts in Italy and the UK since its inception, but the three players have also been involved in other projects–including Heinen’s work with Palestinian singer Reem Kalani, Di Biase’s membership in trumpeter m: Kenny Wheeler Trio and Scott’s activities with the m: Kairos 4tet . Seven years after the band’s formation, Twinkle Twinkle is its debut recording: ten tunes inspired by one well-established children’s rhyme…

Date: Feb 15th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Monsters and Puppets features two prolific and versatile musicians in the Norwegian jazz scene– keyboardist m: Maria Kannegaard and drummer Thomas StrA nen, both of whom have been playing together since 1997 in the m: Kannegaard Trio , with the m: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and, recently, in vocalist Ingrid Lode’s outfit Billy Fy. This new duo was formed after the two musicians were asked to play a duo set at Molde Jazz Festival. A few days later this completely freely improvised session was recorded…

Date: Feb 15th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Half a world may separate Germany’s Triosence and California singer m: Sara Gazarek , but the possibility of making beautiful music together helped to bridge the gap between both parties. When Bernhard SchA1/4ler, the pianist in this Cologne-based cooperative trio, contacted Gazarek via e-mail in 2008 to propose a collaboration, this project might have seemed like a long shot, but the wonders of technology and the powers of persistence and determination helped see it through.

Date: Feb 14th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews