Winard Harper is one of the most dynamic drummers in jazz today. His sound melds traditional jazz with exotic African instruments pushing the boundaries of jazz with COME INTO THE LIGHT, his latest album. Recorded live at Cecil's, the newest jazz hangout in the Metro-New York area, featuring jazz standards and original tunes.
The music perpetrated by Jack Walrath & The Masters of Suspense is not easy to describe (with his usual left-of-center humor, Jack would whole-heartedly approve of the verb "perpetrated"). One could say that it is a mix of such disparate elements as classical, jazz, funk, neo-post-bop, world beat, heavy metal & more. The simple fact is that Jack & the Masters' music is one of those all too rare art forms that is substantially more than the sum of it's parts. Modern? To be sure. You won't be hearing any of these tracks on a "Jazz For A Sunny Afternoon" compilation. But all of Jack's music stimulates thought and, most importantly, communicates.
Born in Panama, raised in New York, and residing for a period in Paris, the unique & highly original sound of Debriano is hardly cryptogenic. Santi has successfully blended the emotional & rhythmic character of his Latin American birth with the jazz sound of New York & tied it together with a logic & cosmopolitanism that may be considered somewhat French. Terms such as "world music" & "Latin jazz" come to mind, but Santi's music defies categorization. Joining him is Israeli-born violinist Miri Ben-Ari, tenor sax man Abraham Burton, Brazilian pianist Helio Alves, and Latin percussionist Willie Martinez playing all sorts of exotic instruments.
Blythe is one of those rare talents in jazz who has the uncanny ability to appeal to both mainstream & avant garde tastes simultaneously. His latest outing highlights those similarities while also exhibiting Blythe's totally unique sound & individual approach. Of course, there are some Coltrane tunes, some standards & a few originals too. Through it all, his playing remains emotionally direct & ably supported by the monster piano chops of John Hicks. Bassist Dwayne Dolphin & drummer Cecil Brooks III provide the rhythmic thrust.
Some cats just seem to fall out of bed swinging, full of fire & forever seeking those flames - call them the good groove merchants, and make sure you include drummer Cecil in this exclusive coterie. The five extended selections on this record are an apt reflection of an ebullient leader, a collection of skillful players & comfort of place, featuring hard-hitting pianist John Hicks & smokin' sax man Don Braden playing before a full house at New York's famed jazz venue Sweet Basil
Emerging from the Don Patterson/Larry Young school of playing, Heid has succeeded in developing a new sound for the Hammond keyboard, transposing hard-bop licks to the organ; here is a hard-driving, take-no-prisoners quartet session feat. saxophonist Scott "E-Dog" Peterson, trumpeter Joe Magnarelli & drummer Randy Gelespie
Nothing hones a pianist's sense of color, rhythm & harmonic subtlety more than accompanying vocalists - Norman brings that experience to playing, giving unique insight & meaning to this program of standards & originals, featuring Eric Alexander, Henry Johnson & others
