JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping on Terence Blanchard. I had the impression that he was a traditionalist in the Wynton Marsalis mode. Guess not.
Flow Part 1, starts out with a tasty groove, courtesy of Derrick Hodge on acoustic bass and drummer Kendrick Scott. Blanchard’s head plays around the […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Oftentimes, superstar groups don’t really live up to their billing — too many egos jostling for space. The same is true for double CDs. How many concepts really require 150 minutes of music? To some degree, the second truism applies to Miles From India.
The concept of Miles From India has several […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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My guess is that Black Market is one of Joe Zawinul’s favorite Weather Report dates. Why? Well, it’s a major Third World groove machine which, judging by the interviews Zawinul has given over the years, seems to be his main priority. Another thing that Zawinul should be justifiably proud of: his […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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During the Brecker Brothers’ first incarnation, the band was all about merging jazz with funk and R&B. With The Return Of The Brecker Brothers, the brothers widened their net to include African pop forms and Brazilian music. If you want to hear what the Brecker Brothers might have sounded like if […]

WORTH A LISTEN
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Music On The Edge is a bit of a misnomer for this live release from some very talented musicians. That title implies that the music contained therein is uniformly new and innovative.
In some cases, that’s true, like Jim Beard’s arrangement of composer Aaron Copeland’s Fanfare For The Common Man, which has […]

JAZZBONOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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Floating Point is one heck of an odd album. John McLaughlin has said that on Floating Point, he is paying tribute to his fusion roots, but he’s being too modest.
In a way, the band he’s fielding on Floating Point is the inverse of Shakti. To prepare for Shakti, McLaughlin immersed himself in […]

JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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If there was ever an appropriate title for a CD, it’s Bob Moses’ When Elephants Dream Of Music. The music is often spacey, and yet it has a solid bottom end and an abundance of horns, all which serves to remind us of our ponderous friends in the animal kingdom. Composer/arranger […]

WORTH A LISTEN
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If you are looking for sophisticated, cutting edge jazz, Fenix ain’t it. But if what you’re after is sparkling Latin grooves and a romantic approach to the saxophone, Fenix just might be the ticket.
First off, the rhythm section is a bit overqualified for this sort of thing. You’ve got Ron Carter on […]

JAZZBO NOTES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls is barely jazz. The main influences are pop structures, folk, a hint of bluegrass, and a little Brazilian. So why am I reviewing it?
Well, first of all, it’s a Pat Metheny recording, and through sheer hard work and dedication over the years, Pat […]

JAZZBO NOTE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED RECORDING
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On Afreecanos, the phenomenal pianist and musicologist Omar Sosa is still reminding us that most, if not all music, originates from the continent of Africa.
For example, on Oliu, at first the music sounds almost like a blues, until the vocalist joins in. I’m not sure what language he’s singing (I […]