jazz adds april 6, 2015
By Ann Porotti
ingrid jensen + jason miles. kind of new. whaling city sound. Bold, serious and imaginative tribute to miles davis’ seminal brews from Canadian trumpet virtuoso ingrid jensen collaborating with keyboardist jason miles. it helps that jensen has spectacular chops and horn aesthetic–as in how to play gentle and strong. mostly originals, one wayne shorter; many guests including multi-talented sax man jeff coffin on seeing through the rain, plus jon wikan@drums, jay rodriguez, amanda ruzza, jerry brooks. hurrah for the producing team @ whaling city sound.
simone sou+guilherme kastrup+benjamim taubkin. sounds of life. adventure music. Sao Paulo-based percussionist/composer simone sou and her partner guilherme kastrup team up with acoustic and electronic pianist benjamim taubkin. the sound is modern but deeply imbedded in the many ethnic lives of Brazil. world-friendly.
angela davis. lady luck. nicholas. Smooth and mellow playlist of classic and new ballads from Aussie altoist angela davis working with two quartets: a traditional jazz — dan tepfer on piano; linda oh, bass; richie barshay@ drums, and the string– sara caswell & joyce hammann, violins; lois martin, viola; noah hoffeld, cello.
harris eisenstadt. golden state II. songlines. Canadian drummer harris eisenstadt recorded his unique quartet at the 2014 Vancouver Jazz Festival. all original compostions, with the clarinet of michael moore and the bassoon of sara schoenbeck dueting the melodies; mark dresser on bass, eisenstadt@drums. there is klezmer in these charts.
ted howe + jazz orchestra. pinnacle. hot shoe. Inspired by educator herb pomeroy at Berklee College of Music and the orchestral suites of duke ellington, pianist ted howe wrote jazz suite #1 in 1981. finally brought to recording, the big band includes john patitucci, bass; geoff haydon, keys; and a generous team of trumpet, flugels, trombones, and reeds. it’s a big sound.
chris mcnulty. eternal. palmetto. Beautiful and sad tribute by Aussie/NYC vocalist chris mcnulty to her son, Sam aka hip hop artist chap one who passed away in 2011. jazz producer steve newcomb shares the arrangements between a jazz trio– ugonna okegwo, bass; gregory hutchinson@drums, + john di martino, piano– as well as a chamber ensemble. mcnulty’s interpretation reminds me of early morgana king.
russ nolan. call it what you want. rhinoceros. Futher musical chapters in a salsa/Latin language from bandleader/tenor force russ nolan. mostly originals by nolan, the band includes mike eckroth on piano; daniel foose, bass; brian fishler@drums, yasuyo kimura, congas; victor rendon, assorted percussion. las teclas negras, the black keys, moves.
alysha umphress. i’ve been played. yellow sound. Fresh from the Broadway revival of on the town, alysha umphress sings the songs of composer/vocalist jeff blumenkrantz. umphress has a glorious voice and a nuanced turn with her lyrics. high quality musical theatre, with excellent accompaniment from tedd firth, piano; pete donovan, bass; and blumenkrantz on duets.
sarah partridge. i never thought i’d be here. origin. Many years ago, sarah partridge played the baby sitter to young tom cruise in risky business; she experienced more risk, singing summertime with a karaoke machine in the early 90’s. career change led to bi-coastal jazz vocalist career. new cd features all originals, produced by pianist allen farnham, with tim horner@drums, bill moring, bass, + guests.
keri johnsrud. this side of morning. self. Iowa-girl-now-Chicago based keri johnsrud is a singer/songwriter delivering lyrics with a pop/jazz/art focus. wonderful band includes kevin bales, piano; larry kohut,bass; jon deitmyer@drums; neal alger, guitar; stephen lynerd, vibes.
arnon palty. arty facts. jazz zone. Quintet led by Israeli bassist/composer arnon palty reconfigures compositions from jazz classics, i.e. yesterdays becomes yes, today; giant steps morphs into a samba called the swimmer. with dan adler on guitar; lewis porter, piano; yvonnick prene, harmonica; marcello pelliterri@drums.
jack allen. nawlins boy. self. Debut cd from Los Angeles guitarist jack allen; setlist mixes originals and American songbook classics. full-sound band includes multiply horns, reeds, vibraphone, piano, double percussion. nawlins reference is geographically family of origin rather than musical style.
