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Variety.com (Free subscription) | 3 hours ago
Music Reviews: Much of the dignity and discipline of the Duke Ellington legacy was distinctively manifested on Wednesday by the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, which displayed incomparable vigor and a united thrust in "Celebrating Ellington." Under the direction of Cecil Bridgewater, the band lost little time proving its ability to swing hard. The opener, "Rockin' in Rhythm," found James Burton's gritty...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago
Three years--and a lifetime--in gestation, Secret Life of a Girl is an album London-based singer/songwriter Christine Tobin spoke about when she gave an interview to AAJ in autumn 2005. At the time, Tobin was touring in support of Romance and Revolution (Babel, 2004), the sixth own-name disc she'd recorded since 1995 and, like its predecessors, a soulful and intelligently programmed mixture of originals...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago
It's amazing that out of the clutter of an industrial urban center like Chicago, a voice as serene and unruffled as Alison Ruble's can exist. For her debut recording, the opulent vocalist teams up with guitarist extraordinaire/producer John McLean for an intriguing journey through a collection of timeless American classics...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago
For the purist who wants to know what all the excitement is about Esperanza Spalding, they can skip directly to track 11--"If That's True"--of her sophomore album Esperanza, where she works out on the acoustic bass in an all-out jam with Donald Harrison on alto saxophone and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. It flat-out smokes, and showcases the Berklee-trained bassist as potentially one of the more promising...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 7 hours ago
After an acclaimed and successful outing with their debut CD Trio West Plays Holiday Songs (Yummy House Records, 2006), Trio West is back with An Upper Westside Story, a recording that should bring them up front and center once again. Tobias Gebb (drummer, composer, arranger) has a knack for stimulating the progression of through-composed pieces with his arrangements. The trio as a collective gives...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
Former long-time Fugazi bassist takes a 2nd stab at the solo thing on Nothing Is Underrated , and the results are about on par with his previous attempt. Fueled by a drum and bass foundation that creates the grooves on which all of his songs evolve, Joe Lally brings in former Fugazi members and a variety of other guests to wreak a bit of havoc over his catchy rhythms. The songs are mostly short bursts...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
Forgive Durden is an easy band to get into as soon as you start playing their debut album, Wonderland . They have a style similar to that of Gatsby's American Dream , another band to check out. The vocals sound almost identical to Gatsby's American Dream , its a beautiful sound to go along with the music. Track after track you find yourself being drawn into the album more and more. Songs like Beware...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
When I got this disc in the mail, I thought it was by a band called Seeing Stars . Fairly cool band name but rather emo. With trepidation, I popped the disc in. To my surprise, it was the sound of classic pop instead. After some research (actually, looking at the press sheet), I discovered that the name of the disc is Seeing Stars and it's actually by some dude named Andy Werth . Now I have no clue...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
Emerged from the woodwork is the band named Lydia . Lydia released their debut album, This December; It's One More And I'm Free , in 2005 and it still proves to be an amazing album up to this day. This album is absolutely beautiful, all of the music compliments the unique vocal styles of Leighton Antelman and Mindy White. When everything comes together, it sounds like an earlier version of the band...
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MusicEmissions (Free subscription) | yesterday
Josh Scogin( the chariot , ex- norma jean ) can produce screams that will send chills down your spine and back up again. The Chariot's debut album, Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead and Nothing Is Bleeding , has plenty of guitar riffs, high powered bass, and face paced drumming parts to last anyone for a lifetime. This group is full of very talented individuals, listen...
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75 or Less album reviews (Free subscription) | yesterday
Alina Orlova - Laukinis Šuo Dingo (Metro Music) [ audio ] [ upcoming shows ] Music in another language tends to sound better than it probably is, and Lithuanian Alina Orlova's album is no exception. The handful of songs in English show Orlova to be an artist in possession of a fearlessness born more from naivete than audacity. Who would dare recast "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as a dark (and shockingly...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
New York-based, Swiss-born trombonist Samuel Blaser has appeared on over 30 recordings as a sideman and former member of numerous European big bands (including the Vienna Art Orchestra). 7th Heaven is his impressive debut as a leader. Accompanied by sympathetic peers, his quartet interprets these elaborate, lyrical compositions with knowing restraint and simmering volatility...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
Not that it ever totally went away, but the torch singer is making something of a comeback after years of neglect. Call it the Norah Jones Effect, but for some reason people are once embracing vocalists who can actually sing a song instead of emote and hit notes that make dogs start howling. Sophie Milman's too cool to hit glass-breaking notes. She's more of a whisperer than a screamer which works...
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All About Jazz (Free subscription) | yesterday
Introduced on the first track as "der Free Jazz Veteran," Han Bennink lives up to his reputation on this live German festival concert recording. The Clusone Trio of drummer Bennink, wind player Michael Moore and cellist Ernst Reijseger constantly feed off of each other's energy and contribute to form a unique group sound that explores the humorous, the aggressive and the beautiful...
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Status Ain't Hood (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
Yes. Beg. I thought 50 Cent was going to be on this call. He wasn't. But hey, Banks and Yayo! That's something, right? To be fair, I do really like "I Like the Way She Do It," especially the part where Yayo says he makes money every time he breathes on a track and then he just breathes. Also, I'm intrigued, though not entirely convinced, by the idea that bad-guy rappers are now underdogs. And I got...
