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Entries from May 2013

Kin Trio: Breathe

The Kin Trio–saxophonist Sunjae Lee, bassist Andre St. James, drummer Tim DuRoche–call what they do “minimalist bebop.” An apparent oxymoron, given that bebop has such maximalist tendencies (exhibit A is trumpeter m: Dizzy Gillespie ‘s dizzying “Bebop”).

Date: May 31st, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Chris Greco Quartet: Trane Of Thought

This record isn’t an out-and-out tribute to saxophonist m: John Coltrane . The title–and title track–may suggest that it’s all about that legendary figure, and the album-ending “Soul Eyes” serves as a secondary nod of affirmation, but saxophonist/multi-reedist Chris Greco doesn’t just plant his flag on Coltrane’s domain and call it a day.

Date: May 31st, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Carol Duboc: Smile

Is there a listening market for adult contemporary music. For lack of a better categorization, that is what Carol Duboc provides on her seventh release, the all-original Smile which she co-produces with Keyboardist Jeff Lober–and produce they do. Smile is sonically, a perfectly quaffed and lushly presented collection of ten hook-filled, expertly sculpted songs that take as much from late m: Stevie Wonder , m: Anita Baker and Sade as it does m: Miles Davis and fellow Kansas City-ians m:Charlie Parker and m: Count Basie

Date: May 31st, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Sam Kulik: Escape From Society

The basic premise of Sam Kulik’s Escape From Society was to make a modern-day song poem recording using Craigslist to attract would-be lyricists, instead of a cheesy printed advertisement. Those not immediately familiar with the whole song-poem concept may well recognize the little ads–often seen on the back pages of comic books, men’s magazines, and tabloid newspapers–promising to produce hit songs from anyone’s poetry submissions for a fee. The results were often an embarrassing mish-mash of banal lyrics accompanied by pedestrian and often pre-recorded music.

Date: May 30th, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Bonerama: Shake It Baby

m: Bonerama is fun. Bonerama is powerful. And in their first full-length studio CD, they have made a switch from their previous live recordings of brass-infused funk to brass infused-rock. Along with the ever present trio of trombones, the bands guitarist, Bert Cotton, has stepped up to the front line to become a major player with his robust rock licks.

Date: May 30th, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

The Dixie Ticklers: Standing Pat

The revival of traditional jazz in Britain in the 1950s began in a blaze of idealism. In the following decade, it degenerated into an undignified scramble for commercial success. The Dixie Ticklers, a London-based sextet, want nothing to do with Trad. Their principal influences might be m: Louis Armstrong ‘s Hot Five, m: Jelly Roll Morton and m: Bix Beiderbecke , but a whole lot of other things have gone into their music.

Date: May 30th, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Bill Cunliffe Trio: River Edge, New Jersey

River Edge, New Jersey is like a trip down memory lane for pianist Bill Cunliffe. The California-based ivory tickler looks back to his days as an East Coast resident, teaming up with two highly capable, once-upon-a-time colleagues–bassist m: Martin Wind and drummer m: Tim Horner –who call New Jersey home. He further taps into the nostalgia well by visiting songs from his youth (Harry Nilsson’s “One”) and material expressly written in honor of those who have had a strong impact on him over the years. All of the topics at hand were essentially born of the past in some way, shape or form, but the music is remarkably present in all respects

Date: May 29th, 2013 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews