jazz adds november 17, 2014
By Ann Porotti
branford marsalis. in my solitude. OKeh. Saxophonist branford marsalis & his three horns hold the audience for a solo, live concert @ San Fran. CA’s Grace Cathedral, the place of duke ellington’s 1965 sacred concert. gorgeous improvisations (# 3) that compliment standards ( stardust) + the encore. flying without a net, brilliantly. dedicated to bassists charlie haden & dwayne burno.
louis hayes & the cannonball adderley legacy band. live @ cellar live jazz club. cellar live. Veteran drummer hayes (b,1937) played with oscar peterson, horace silver & now with alto player vincent herring, leads the cannonball adderley band. gig is one of the last recording dates @ cellar live jazz club in Vancouver. great quintet: jeremy pelt, trumpet; dezron douglas, bass; rick germanson, piano + drums, alto. ” swing and swagger” as club owner/saxophonist cory weeds praises.
david hazeltine. i remember cedar. sharp nine. Tribute to bop pianist/composer cedar walton (1934-2013) by NYC pianist hazeltine & his trio: david williams on bass; joe farnsworth@drums. all walton originals playlist
bobby matos. ritmo & blues. cafe con bagels. Afro-Latin jazz ensemble, LA-based, retro stylings of sam cooke, horace silver, los zaffiros. many fun things to play here; venture to say, drop the needle anywhere. vocalists candi sosa, estaire godinez, + the mighty echoes mingle with leader/master percussionist matos, theo sanders on piano; eliseo borrero, joe bataan, robertito melendez. cuidado!– tracks 11 & 12 are reversed.
frank catalano. love supreme collective. ropeadope. The gathering of a hybrid clan: sax wunderkind catalano (b, 1976) spent high school playing with the jazz who’s who; now he’s found the rock in coltrane: jimmy (smashin pumpkins)
chamberlain @ drums; chris poland (megadeth) on guitar; adam benjamin, keys; percy jones, bass.
bill o’connell imagine. savant. And the Latin jazz allstars: conrad herwig, trombone; steve slagle, soprano/alto; luques curtis, bass; richie barshay, drums; richie flores, percussion. mostly originals written by pianist/leader o’connell, best are Latin-tinged willow weep for me, and missing mr. berrios –for percussionist steve berrios (1945-2013).
jeff denson. i’ll fly away. pfmentum. Adventurous duets from double bassist jeff denson and stellar San Diego pianist joshua white– all based on hymns and spiritutals. not as pure as hank jones/charlie haden steal away from the 1995, these performances drift towards improv, exubuerance, playful. three versions of title track, all different. it’s to like!
robert moore. outta my soul. reference. Birmingham, Al. trumpet/harp/blues singer moore sharpens his gospel roots with an eclectic playlist, drawn from musical theatre (frank loesser),, gene ammons, eddie jefferson.
jeff hamilton. great american songs. capri. Outstanding trio covers from drummer to the stars (diana krall, clayton-hamilton big band), jeff hamilton leads his young wizards– Israeli pianist tamir hendelman and virtuosic bassist christoph luty–through the “known”. everyone is a keeper, just play it.
gabriel espinosa. samba little samba. zoho. Un-official Latin all-stars, led by vocalist gabriel espinosa (sounds like caetano veloso), with strong presence from harmonicat hendrik meurkens & rotating vocalists: tierney sutton on besame mucho; alison wedding on samba little samba, encuentro maya. band rounds out with anat cohen, clarinet, sax; misha tsiganov, keys; antonio sanchez +adriano santos @ drums;
michael eaton. individuation. destiny. Hard bop gets enlivened with a contemporary classical music asset: the prepared piano. the effect is not unlike Southeast Asian gamalan. title track is a five part indulgence for the prep. piano with eaton’s tenor collaborating. quality personnel: brad whiteley, pianos; jon crowley, trumpet; david liebman, reeds; shareef taher@drums; daniel ori + scott colberg, bass.
jamie dubberly. la clave del gumbo. higher truth. Latin party sound–New Orleans meets Cuba on the musical playing field; dance grooves ( salsa, descarga, mambo) get mashed up with second-line, soul, gospel, da funk. leader dubberly plays trombone with generous horn/ Latin percussion ensemble–bongos, congas, timbales, guiro.
ann
