Redman & Strings; Locke & The Blues Creating his own take on the classic jazz-with-strings album was the initial impetus for Joshua Redman’s “Walking Shadows”, a collection of ballads, both vintage and contemporary, that can be as eloquently moody and restless in feel as they are hauntingly beautiful and serene. With his friend and frequent …
Category: KCCK Blog
Christian McBride’s Two Bass Hits – Bob Stewart
Bassist Christian McBride birthed his acoustic group a few years ago by necessity of desiring a return to the hallowed Village Vanguard in New York. His then current electric band was not deemed appropriate by club owner Lorraine Gordon (“You can come back, Christian, but not with that rock ‘n’ roll band.”) Thusly, Inside Straight …
New Music – Bob Stewart
Flanagan/Byard Rediscovered; Mouse Roars Over the past few years, Resonance Records has established itself as a home for such notable rediscoveries as Freddie Hubbard’s “Pinnacle” and Wes Montgomery’s “Echoes of Indiana Avenue.” Now two titans of jazz piano are captured on the new CD — “Tommy Flanagan/Jaki Byard: The Magic of 2” — a previously …
Soulful Morrison; Keberle’s Catharsis – Bob Stewart
Anybody who has ever heard vocalist Barbara Morrison command a stage knows that she possesses an effervescent singing style that drips with soul and a ribald sense of humor. The Ypsilanti-born singer spent her early career working with blues legend Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, who gave the young singer a secure grounding in the blues. She …
Stephens’ Nepenthe; Weeds’ Benefits – Bob Stewart
A nepenthe is an elixir that relieves one’s worries and sorrows. In Homer’s Odyssey, the nepenthe is a potion given to Helen to cure her woe. Saxophonist and composer Dayna Stephens finds his nepenthetic reprieve while performing. For his new recording — “That Nepenthetic Place” — the Brooklyn born, Bay Area raised reedman has convened …
Terrason’s Gouache; Branker’s Uppity – Bob Stewart
Making a bold statement in the worlds of art or music demands the use of tools and mediums that strike the observer immediately. Painters like Henri Matisse have used gouache paint, a heavy opaque watercolor, for its strong, dynamic color and consistency for a striking visual effect. Highly regarded pianist and composer Jacky Terrasson has …
Alexander’s Ballads; Winkler’s Nyro Songbook – Bob Stewart
It may have been Charlie Parker’s alto that first brought the saxophone into the elite jazz club previously occupied by the trumpet, piano and drums but today it’s certainly the tenor sax that has equaled them in popularity and, in many ways, become the ‘glory instrument’. Thought of as hard driving and masculine thank to …
Adolfo’s Masters; Art-Inspired Shaw – Bob Stewart
Pianist Antonio Adolfo grew up in a musical family in Rio de Janeiro and was a professional musician by age 17. His teachers included Eumir Deodato and the great Nadia Boulanger in Paris. During the ’60s he led his own trio and toured with singers Elis Regina and Milton Nascimento. His compositions have been recorded …