Wesla Whitfield is known for her deft sense of swing and incisive ballad readings. Now she returns to release IN MY LIFE, a gorgeous collection of 15 wonderful works by such diverse composers as Leonard Bernstein, Vernon Duke and Lennon/McCarney.
As the highly conspicuous drummer for rocker Lenny Kravitz, Cindy has developed a loyal following which transcends the jazz boundaries. Lenny is actually having Cindy & her jazz band open for him so her jazz persona can shine in the limelight. This, her 3rd jazz recording for HighNote, finds her playing at it's richest & most well-integrated. With her colleagues J.D. Allen, Carlton Holmes & George Mitchell, she offers a program of standards & originals bound together into one work of art with a leitmotiv of interludes composed especially for the album.
The release of a Mark Murphy recording renders hyperbole superfluous. Other people have said it all: Murphy is "a hipster's hipster," writes the New York Post. Featuring his latest effort Links, Mark performs classic tunes and original lyricst and otehr adventurous choices make this mark's finest record to date.
Ever since his arrival in New York back in 1984, Don Braden has been one of the most impressive tenor saxophonists of his generation. He has uplifted the bands of the Harper Bros., Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams & others along the way, yet it is his work as a leader that is most significant. From start to finish, this CD is one of his finest recordings & it shows why he is rated as one of the top sax men of the early 21st Century. Together with his quartet, his chosen medium now, Braden offers a program of jazz classics, as well as a sprinkling of original tunes, including an innovative tenor sax/drum duet.
Hear history in the making as saxophonist Ventura & trombonist Harris team up on this astounding session, captured live in 1947, and unavailable on any format for over 25 years; Harris shows his inimitable way with ballads, while Ventura leaps into his famous "High On An Open Mike," propelled by drummer Davey Tough
The Mighty Burner, who passed away recently, rips it up on this album, which was his last recording with his "regular" band, feat. sax smoker Eric Alexander, Michael Karn & James Rotondi - together they create a real "little big band" sound on originals & standards
There have been a number of famous jazz artists whose offspring have followed their father's footsteps into music. Think only of Ellis Marsalis and his sons, Dewey and Joshua Redman, Papa John and Joey DeFrancesco, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Walter and Nicholas Payton and Harry Connick Senior & Junior. But for every famous father in jazz there are an unknowable number of fathers who inspired and nurtured their progeny's talent from the sidelines and encouraged them to go into music and pursue their dreams. Such a man was McDonald Chestnut whose internationally renowned son, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, remembers his dad with this touching memorial, My Father's Hands. By carefully choosing a wide range of repertoire - including originals, standards and jazz classics - and with the great bassist Peter Washington and the legendary Lewis Nash on drums, Cyrus has crafted not just an intensely personal reminiscence but a truly beautiful jazz album in all respects. The material is strong, the sequencing uniquely satisfying and the performances display a unity of conception and execution that can only be called remarkable. Top it off with the exceptional recording quality and you have not only another fabulous jazz record, but a lasting and moving tribute to a father from his son.
As difficult times often beget new beginnings, the COVID-19 quagmire gave birth to alto saxophonist Eric Alexander. To some, a tenor-to-alto switch may not seem to be a newsworthy matter, but for the initiated it's the stuff of headlines. An inveterate tenor at the apex of the scene for more than three decades, Eric put the alto away in his teen years and never looked back. "But with the dearth of opportunities to play during the pandemic, I started to work on it," he confesses. After successfully pitching the idea of using his second saxophone-with-strings project as a debut on alto, the present recording is quite simply astounding. Working with his regular rhythm section and adding ace string arrangements, this altoist delivers one revelatory performance after another.
Few can claim the title of living legend. Kenny Burrell is just such a person. In fact he's more he's living history, past, present and future. His credentials are voluminous and accomplishments staggering, and he hasn't stopped. Today, he is active recording and performing, a respected educator, and an elder statesman of the music. His legacy is pervasive. His soulful sound and approach have influenced virtually everyone claiming a jazz pedigree but extends to many outside the genre, a la Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Steve Howe, Andy Summers, and Freddie King. Here Burrell is backed by some of his favorite West Cost colleagues in a varied program of standards and few originals by the leader himself, including one brand new composition. Also on hand is the exuberant voice of Barbara Morrison who brings her tremendous talent and personality to three tracks.
Guitarist Joel Harrison's 25th CD, Anthem of Unity, brings together a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble that showcases his most pointed and focused work as a jazz musician yet. The team of Gary Versace, with his virtuosic and soul-drenched B-3 organ, Greg Tardy, one of our finest jazz woodwind players, and the legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette, exhibits extraordinary musicianship in a program of six Harrison originals, Sonny Rollins' "Doxy," and Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'." Tardy shows the range of his considerable abilities here, developing interesting ideas and phrases throughout his many solos. Versace has been about everywhere at this point, with giants such as Maria Schneider, the late John Abercrombie, Kurt Elling, Al Foster, and he anchors the bottom end on the Hammond as DeJohnette continually ignites the band. This is a blowing session, at times tender and at times volcanic, whose interplay and organic, visceral power is palpable from the first to last tune.
Session dating from 1952 finds the wild man of the tenor sax in an exuberant mood - he & his band romp through 7 tunes, then Dinah Washington comes out for her set & sings a handful of her tunes before spying trumpeter Cootie Williams in the audience & inviting him up for a run-for-cover jam on "I Got It Bad"
David "Fathead" Jordan, a native of Dallas, came to national prominence in the 1950s while working wit the legendary Ray Charles. He has been a reliably swinging force on the scene and a imaginative, well-respected leader for the past 4 decades. With keyboard giant John Hicks, Winard Harper propelling the rhythm along with vibist Bryan Carrott, the Gift is most definitely a hip way to start out the year.
Playing jazz is a lot like love itself. It is as much about poignancy as it is about joy. It is Jeremy Pelt's understanding of this dichotomy of passion and restraint that makes this album so compelling. The set list is as all-encompassing as a love affair - from the straight-ahead feeling of "I Can't Escape from You" to the breathless stillness of his muted trumpet on "There'll Be Other Times." His sly, half-valve effects on "Blues in Sophistication" show an impish delight while Henry Mancini's "Slow Hot Wind" throbs with an ever so discreet Latin feel. This may be considered a "with strings" record but Pelt does not let this descend into a vibrato-laden string sound. There is an unusually classical feel to this album with the string quartet supporting, reinforcing and commenting on Pelt's playing rather than sugar-coating it. Buddy Rich once said, "Jazz should be treated the same as classical music." He was right. He "got it" and, as evidenced herein, so does Jeremy Pelt.
