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Renowned for giving his big band a break during concerts by shifting to a three-man jam session in the midst of a show, jazz icon Buddy Rich would let the piano and bass shine through during these performances. Although these three-man interludes were staples during many shows, there has never been a recording released of them until now. Taped by Rich’s alto saxophone player Alan Gauvin during a series of shows around the world in 1976 and ’77, “Trios” features extraordinary bassists Jon Burr and Tom Warrington along with the young piano prodigy Barry Kiener and is marked by stunning solos by the drummer using only his brushes.
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 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 on the program. Tardy shows the range of his considerable abilities here, developing interesting ideas and phrases throughout his may solos. Versace has been about everywhere at this point, with giants such as Maria Schneider, John Abercrombie and Al Foster, and he anchors the bottom end on the Hammond as DeJohnette continually ignites the band.
Also this week, pianist Mike Jones, who has been leading a trio that opens the Las Vegas shows of Penn & Teller since 2002, is joined by drummer Jeff Hamilton and Penn Jillette himself on bass on “Are You Sure You Three Guys Know What You’re Doing?’; singer Linda Purl, who is known to millions for her running roles on multiple, iconic television series like “Happy Days,” “The Office,” and “Hacks,” releases her sixth album, “This Could Be the Start”; and Grammy Award winning trombonist, arranger, composer and producer Doug Beavers drops his seventh release as leader, “Luna.”