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
Melvin Sparks, the master of groove, funk, soul, jazz, barbeque funk or whatever you want to call it, brings you GROOVE ON UP. See what's made him the funkmaster supreme on this recording. Features the tracks "Mykia's Dance" and the title track "Groove on Up."
On his Savant debut, cutting-edge bass player Plaxico has surrounded himself with the elite of the New York jazz scene: saxophonist Don Braden, pianist Eric Lewis (winner of the prestigious 1999 Thelonious Monk Piano Competition), trumpeter Ralph Alessi, Blue Note keyboardist Jason Moran & others; produced by Cassandra Wilson
Garnett is now considered one of jazz's most incendiary tenor saxophonists. Taking his Coltrane influences & mixing them with the experience gained from playing the likes of Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders & Art Blakey, he sprinkles his sound with the fiery Latin rhythms of his native Panama. For this, his Savant debut, he has assembled a "little big band" that roars, purrs, soars & sails through nine sizzling tracks. He pays tribute to Coltrane, Clifford Brown & his Latin heritage.
Most people recognize Stan Hope as the favorite pianist of Houston Person (who appears on this album), Etta Jones & others - here he makes his debut as a leader, sprinkling some Erroll Garner tunes in with a selection of other great standards
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.
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
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.
Alto saxophonist is joined by his friend Russell Gunn on his latest hard-bop album, produced by drummer Cecil Brooks III; Bruce shows versatility with tunes like the bluesy "Elijah's Blues," the swinging Parker-esque "Three Crows On Guard" & the unique take on "You Are So Beautiful"
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
