WORTH A LISTEN
Rating:

As regular readers of this website know, I am a serious fan of bassist Eberhard Weber, especially his releases with the Colors band, such as The Colours of Chloe, Yellow Fields, and Little Movements. So, it doesn’t take much for me to pounce on an Eberhard Weber release.
Even […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating:

Omar Sosa is up to his old tricks on Free Roots, trying to cram the entire African diaspora into every tune. Amazingly, it doesn’t just sound like a freeway pileup, which is due to Sosa’s amazing skills as a pianist, composer, and arranger.
For example, on Travieso, hiphop collides with Latin, Afrocuban […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

Recorded on the 75th anniversary of the births of both John Coltrane and Miles Davis, this tour was obviously based on the model of Miles’ second great quintet, which Herbie Hancock was a part of.
This is not, however, a straight exercise in nostalgia like the VSOP Quintet of the late 70s. […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

Herbie Hancock has had one of the most fantastic careers in the history of jazz. In his 20’s, he was an integral part of Miles Davis’ 2nd great quintet. He supported countless classic Blue Note sessions. With recordings like Speak Like A Child and The Prisoner, he proved himself to be […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

It’s nice to see young people like Stefon Harris taking the trouble to really learn the history of the music (at least from bebop to the present). Besides having the chops on vibraphone, he’s integrated the styles from those periods into his playing, composing, and arrangements.
His arrangments on Black Action […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

For long time fans of Tribal Tech, the title of this release is somewhat confusing. After all, Tribal Tech had been recording as a unit for several years already before this date was released, giving us such efforts as Dr. Hee and Spears.
But never mind. The format of the band behind […]

DON’T BOTHER
Rating:

Grace Under Pressure is one of Scofield’s weakest efforts. It’s essentially a trio date, with guitarist Bill Frisell providing atmospheric flourishes, and God help us, blues and jazz flavored improvisations.
The problem is that Bill Frisell can’t improvise his way out of a paper bag. The pity of it is, if he’s used properly, […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating:

Hand Jive (issued on the Blue Note label) was the first of a number of groove-oriented releases that guitarist John Scofield put out that had a New Orleans second line feel to it and in my opinion, the best.
There are two main reasons. Scofield is having a lot of fun because […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

Face First (on the Mesa/Bluemoon label) sounds an awful lot like Tribal Tech’s previous release, 1992’s Illicit. They had not really made the transition to mostly improvised song forms that would mark 2000’s Rocket Science. Nothing wrong with that, but there aren’t really a whole lot of surprises here. Just a […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating:

It would have never occurred to me that John Scofield and Pat Metheny had a lot in common, but from the evidence of I Can See Your House From Here, they apparently do.
When I think of Pat Metheny, at least as a guitarist, I think of elegant, […]