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:

This oddly named album isn’t a live date, but never mind. Cal Tjader’s Latin Concert is aptly named in at least one way. It’s Latin jazz, not jazz with a Latin lilt. The rhythms are authentic, as well they might be considering that Tjader is using Mongo Santamaria on congas and […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

Pianist Hector Martignon imay be from Colombia, but it is too easy to merely peg him as a Latin Jazz artist. For evidence, examine Foreign Affair (released on the Candid Records label).
The first track, Benitez Sez, is basically a funky jazz tune. The only evidence you would have that Martignon […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating:

Hermeto’s debut album as a leader, Yogurt, was intriguing without a doubt, but it really doesn’t prepare you for the brilliance of his follow up, Slaves Mass (on the Collectables label).
The most striking composition is probably the title tune, which starts out with a rather strange form of percussion — Hermeto […]

JAZZBO NOTE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

On a previous post, in which I reviewed Stone Alliance’s Live In Amsterdam, I wrote that the music felt incomplete, as if bassist Gene Perla was so busy outlining the chords and providing a groove that he couldn’t imply any outside harmonies for saxophonist Steve Grossman to play over.
I realize […]

WORTH A LISTEN
Rating:

I’ve got to be honest — it feels like there’s something missing from the Stone Alliance trio in their live recording Live In Amsterdam, although there’s certainly nothing wrong with the individual members.
Steve Grossman is an almost forgotten sax player, partly because he emigrated to Europe in the late 70s/early 80s. Although […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

I’ve got to admit, I’m fond of Art Blakey. I like the way he ostentatiously plays constrasting cross rhythms every chance he gets. He’s a highly theatrical showoff, which is not a criticism. Besides, he’s probably the drummer who best understands Thelonious Monk, which definitely earns him brownie points with me.
Aside […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

I keep telling anyone who will listen about the time I heard the best Latin jazz and the best trombone player ever on my car radio while I was driving from Boston to Philadelphia. The station was WBAI out of NYC. The year was 1981. It was […]

JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating:

Moon Germs will knock you on your ass.
First of all, Joe Farrell is one of the most underrated reed players out there. He can play anything, from swing to funk to avant guarde to bebop. On soprano sax, he has a bell-like tone, almost free of […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating:

If you’re looking for highly innovative tunes and charts, Out Of This World isn’t going to do it for you. But if you’re up for solid Latin rhythms and improvising that sticks to your ribs, Out Of This World (released on Concord Records) should be just the ticket.
Much of the date […]