Tag Archive | jazz
Review: There’s More Pretty Girls Than One, McCamy’s Melody Sheiks
his album, besides its documentary value is altogether delight to the ear, nothing fancy, just some fine pickin’ and old tunes as comforting as corn bread and bean soup on a winter’s evening.
Feature Review: Stew & the Negro Problem, Making It
Stew & the Negro Problem Making It [Tight Natural Productions (2011)] For nearly 15 years, singer-songwriter Stew and bassist/arranger/composer Heidi Rodewald were a couple as well as musical partners in two groups—the Negro Problem and Stew. After the pair’s successful collaboration on the Tony winning musical Passing Strange, their personal relationship started to unravel, and [...]
Review: Michael J. Miles, Collage
Michael J. Miles Collage [Right Turn On Red Music (2011)] A very funny albeit unfair Far Side cartoon shows the devil escorting a Maestro to his quarters, a room that contains nothing but men with banjos on their knees. Of course, Béla Fleck changed the image of the banjo as an instrument of very limited [...]
Review: Les Chauds Lapins, Amourettes
Les Chauds Lapins Amourettes [Barbès Records BR0030] The core of this New York-based group, whose name translates as “the hot rabbits,” consists of francophiles Meg Reichardt (vocals, guitar, banjo, and soprano ukulele) and Kurt Hoffman (vocals, banjo uke, and clarinet). A string quartet, as well as upright bassist Andy Cotton and well-known trumpeter Frank London, [...]
Mitch’s Monthly Mix: Summer Wages
As with all Monthly Mixes, make good use of the “read more” button after the introductory essay. We make every attempt to find a video or streaming link for all the songs in the Monthly Mix, but for those we cannot find, Amazon links are provided. Thanks for playing along! — Mitch’s Monthly Mix: Summer [...]
Artist Profile: My Sweet Patootie
Make no mistake about it: Sandra Swannell and Terry Young of My Sweet Patootie are having a heck of a good time. First of all, there’s the name that the Canadian duo chose for their act—a cheeky term of endearment from the 1920s and 1930s. Then there are the quirky swing tunes that make up their repertoire: tales [...]
Feature Review: Anthologie des Musiques du Monde de Dance, Volume 1: Europe et Amérique du Nord
Various Artists Anthologie des Musiques du Monde de Dance, Volume 1: Europe et Amérique du Nord [Frémeaux and Associés (2011)] With this 10 CD box, Frémeaux and Associés attempt nothing less than an audio survey of dance musics of North America and Europe from the first 60 years of the 20th century. In what must [...]
Review: Miles Davis Quintet, Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1
Miles Davis Quintet Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 [Columbia/Legacy (2011)] In the Fall of 1967, the locations were as varied as Antwerp, Belgium; Copenhagen Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Kalrsruhe, Germany; and Paris, France—but in each country the one constant was quintessential Miles Davis, as the legendary trumpeter wielded his genius as precisely [...]
Reviews: Impuls Trio, Impuls Trio; Trio Mio, Love & Cigars
Impuls Trio Impuls Trio [Go Danish Folk Music (2011)] Trio Mio Love & Cigars [Go Danish Folk Music (2011)] Somewhere in the depths of Denmark there must be a “random trio generator” where all the names of folk musicians are fed into to form new groups. How else can you account for all the trios [...]
Feature Review: Diane Schuur, The Gathering
Diane Schuur The Gathering [Vanguard Records (2011)] When a musical performer stretches into territory that is unsignature-like, it’s not only an admirable personal endeavor; it is an acknowledgement of, and tribute to, legendary artists and music from another genre. So it’s guaranteed that when jazz chanteuse Diane Schuur wraps her expressive vocal chords around some of the true [...]
CD Review: Jonathan Scales, Character Farm & Other Short Stories
Jonathan Scales Character Farm & Other Short Stories [Le’Rue Records (2011)] Imagine a jazz fusion quartet in which the hallowed place usually occupied by piano is instead filled by steel drums. In his ensemble, Jonathan Scales’s pans are the focal point of a traditional combo that includes drum set, bass and guitar, while guest artists [...]
Review: Våkenatt For Hardanger [Vigil For Hardanger]
Various Artists Våkenatt For Hardanger [Vigil For Hardanger] [Kirkelig Kulturverksted (2010)] The Hardanger in the title of this compilation recording isn’t in reference to the traditional Norwegian fiddle, but to the region of the country that gave the instrument its name. Judging from the photos on the cover and CD booklet, it’s a beautiful, unblemished [...]
