J.J. Cale's fourth album "Troubadour" would have been appealing even if it were an instrumental album, on account of the delicious instrumental textures. Hey Baby charms the listener with its intricate guitar whilst Travelin' Light is a rhythmic up-tempo excursion with hypnotic percussion. One of the longest tracks is You Got Something, a yearning love song with brilliant instrumental interplay. The romantic Ride Me High is a masterpiece of expressive guitar and percussion, the brief track Hold On is a slow bluesy interlude and then follows the familiar hit Cocaine (later a hit for Eric Clapton) with its powerful rock guitar riffs……..

It's a damn shame that most of the Beach Boys original recordings are out of print. 20/20, like so many of their records, is quirky, often brilliant and endlessly listenable. The Beach Boys are the greatest American band ever. 20/20 is a group effort from the late Sixties. Includes the hits "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music". Features the wonderfully complex SMILE fragments, "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence". Dennis Wilson is well represented. Worth seeking out.

Bert van den Brink is most certainly one of the best dutch pianists at the moment. He played for instance with Toots Thielemans, Chet Baker, DeeDee Bridgewater, Hein van de Gein, Lee Konitz, and he is the regular pianist of Denise Jannah.
Being a classical pianist originally, his jazz carreer started when Edu Ninck Blok asked him to join his band in 1986. A few years later he toured with DeeDee Bridgewater for more than a year. His style is remarkably ripe, rich in lyricism and harmonic sophistication. Beautiful voicings and a touch that can be romantic, but also aggressive as hell………..

European jazz pianist Peter Beets is unmistakably influenced by the piano/guitar/bass-oriented small ensembles of Oscar Peterson -- think Peterson, Herb Ellis, and Ray Brown. It's a "new groove" for Beets, but not really in the overall jazz continuum. For the majority of this date, Beets uses Americans Joe Cohn (guitar) and Reuben Rogers (bass) to play well-known jazz standards, and they hold up without a drummer………..

Hein Van de Geyn (1956) studied classical violin for 15 years, playing pop and blues on guitar, and changed to bass-guitar in. his late teens. Soon Hein played in dixieland-bands, but with his self formed bebop group he got awarded "best soloist" on the 1977 Laren Jazz festival. This made him pick up the double bass, and start a career as jazz musician. In 1980 Hein moved to the USA, played and recorded with many great musicians and in 1983 returned to Europe to become one of the most sought after bass players………..

"Time Is Of The Essence" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album by an Individual or Group and "Outrance" was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.
Tenor saxophone master Michael Brecker has shared the stage and studio with most every major drummer in modern music at one time or another. It was three very special stick-slingers, however, that Brecker chose to feature on TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: the fiery Jeff "Tain" Watts, the inventive Bill Stewart, and the incomparable powerhouse Elvin Jones. Along with Brecker's muscular wail, guitar legend Pat Metheny and organ wizard Larry Goldings offer some stunning musical vehicles for these three outstanding percussionists…….

Bert van den Brink has a sizable discography, having recorded with a number of widely known artists including Lee Konitz, Denise Jannah, Chet Baker, Toots Thielemans, and Philip Catherine. This unusual solo piano date came about after the pianist created a number of musical fragments over a period of time, while he also adds full compositions and two songs by Clare Fischer. "Themes and Variations" takes one theme and explores it in a variety of jazz and semi-classical settings, including Afro-Cuban and a variation that sounds like early 20th century Igor Stravinsky………

Many Diana Krall fans have come to appreciate her renditions of classic jazz standards. They may be disappointed because this CD contains unfamiliar, mostly original material by Diana (with Elvis Costello, her husband, collaborating on some songs). "Stop this world" Mose Allison, "Temptation" Tom Waits, "Black Crow" Joni Mitchell, "Almost Blue" Elvis Costello (1982) and "I'm pulling through" are not by Diana and are also not that familiar. But after initial listening it grows on you and the more you play it the more you come to appreciate it. The lyrics, the combo backing, Diana's piano technique, and her phrasing with that incomparable voice all contribute to what I believe will come to be considered a classic. This is a fabulous collection of songs by one of the top female jazz singers today!

East of Angel Town is the vocalist/pianist's first album since his 2004 sophomore effort, On the Moon. That album found the onetime neo-crooner moving from jazz standards to more contemporary pop-oriented original material. East of Angel Town finds Cincotti having fully made the crossover move, and fittingly the album features production by crossover Svengali David Foster as well as Humberto Gatica and Jochem van der Saag. Foster has helmed similar efforts from such genre-bending artists as vocalists Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. That said, neither of those artists has ever gone quite as far toward the pop/rock vein as Cincotti does here. Still displaying a knack for jazz and blues-inflected melodies, Cincotti nevertheless dives headlong into the rock world. Tracks such as the sharp-tongued and urbane leadoff title track, with its hard-edged guitar backgrounds and lyrics detailing the superficial lives of N.Y.C. scenesters, bring to mind the theatrical '70s singer/songwriter pop of both Rupert Holmes and Steely Dan………..

The people from Stretch and Concord Records never seize to amaze me with their release from Chick Corea "Rendezvous in New York", featuring the talented Bobby McFerrin scatting his way through three tunes, one being "Blue Monk" in a classic performance.
Several highlights come to mind "Glass Enclosure/Tempus Fugit", a tribute to the Bud Powell Band. "Crystal Silence", featuring Chick along with Gary Burton as two master musicians work so well together. "Lifeline", gives us the Chick New Trio, with some bright spots to enjoy. This is one not to miss, and should be on top of the stack you play every week. The recording is crisp and clear as a bell. An intimate evening with classical crossovers into the World of Jazz by Corea !!!

An eclectic singer with three previous jazz albums, Denise Jannah has performed with such widely disparate organizations as the Willem Breuker Collective, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Dutch Metropole Orchestra and starred in major productions of A Night At The Cotton Club and Ain’t Misbehavin’. Her attractive voice and crystal-clear delivery bring standards into instant focus while offering spirit and soul with distinction………..

Get this album from this marvelous lady, you won't regret it !!!!!

Ever since Charlie "Bird" Parker recorded his first Charlie Parker With Strings sessions in 1949 and 1950, jazz artists have hoped to enjoy the backing of lush string orchestras. But most will never get the chance because of the expense; it's a lot easier to pay four or five musicians than 15, 20, or 25. Ron Carter, however, did fulfill that dream in the late '70s and early '80s -- first on 1978's Pick 'Em, then on 1981's Super Strings. In 2001, Fantasy reissued those Milestone dates back to back on this 78-minute CD…………

This remarkable disc continues a string of exceptional jazz recordings by old guys: Homage, by James Moody; African Magic, by Abdullah Ibrahim; In Search of Momentum, by Ahmad Jamal; Go: Organic Orchestra, by Yousef Lateef. Believe it or not, Kenny Burrell has almost a hundred recordings as leader to his credit, and another two hundred as sideman. Quite a legacy, and one not to be gainsaid………

Clifford Brown was a meteor streaking across the sky of the jazz world. This is the best example of his work. Drummer Max Roach, flawless technique and passion. Here you have an unbeatable combination. Get this and learn what jazz is supposed to be!

Peter Beets: a world class jazz pianist.

He has shared the stage with jazz greats like Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Coleman, Johnny Griffin, Chris Potter and John Clayton. He recorded with Jeff Hamilton and Curtis Fuller and in 2001 his recording "New York Trio" was released, which brought him international acclaim……..