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The Essence All-Stars: Bongo Bop
by Douglas Payne
A good organ summit that could have been great, Bongo Bop more or less unites B-3 legends Lonnie Smith and Reuben Wilson with wunderkind Joey DeFrancesco and a Hammond player unknown to me by the name of Doug Carn (one wonders who forgot to call John Patton). The disc is something of a follow-up to last year’s Organic Grooves on Hip Bop. Rather than focus on groove tunes, though, the guys try their hand at bop and blues here.
Mostly, ...
read moreThe Essence All Stars: Jackie's Blues Bag
by Jim Santella
Known for his unique tone and hard bop character, Jackie McLean, like Charlie Parker before him, incorporated the blues into his music. Using different ensemble lineups for each tune, saxophonists Justin Robinson, Branford Marsalis, Donald Harrison, Craig Handy, Joe Lovano, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson and Abraham Burton team with a rhythm section of pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Idris Muhammad, to offer up this tribute to the McLean the master.
The session opens with LaMont Johnson's Gospel ...
read moreBilly Pod Releases An Exciting New Album 'Quintessence'
Source:
Billy Pod
London’s vibrant scene is widely known as an international hub for some of the world’s most forward-thinking jazz musicians. Greek drummer Billy Pod brings together a cast of homegrown musicians and fellow expats for his sophomore album Quintessence is set to release on November 4th. The record follows his 2019 release Drums to Heal Society which saw him named by the French Magazine Batterie as one of the Top 10 New and Upcoming Drummers and facilitated a move from Athens ...
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Celebrating the rhythmic essence and varieties of tropical jazz
Source:
Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
Since departing the New York jazz scene more than 25 years ago, guitarist Steve Uscher has immersed himself in what he calls tropical jazz- the varied but often-sultry music originating in Argentina, Brazil and Cuba, as well as a few other Caribbean locales. After his Big Apple days working on Broadway shows, in jazz clubs and backing vocal headliners, he moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands and spent five years playing jazz, calypso and reggae on the resort hotel circuit. ...
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Videos: Essence of Doo-Wop
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
There were hundreds of great vocal groups in the 1950s. Some were signed to major record companies but a majority recorded for small independent labels that came and went. Sadly, only a handful of groups made it to television, which was still in its infancy. Here are five that did: Here are the Platters... Here's Fred Parris and the Five Satins... Here's a cover of the Tymes So Much in Love by the Spidells... Here are the ...
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Seeking the Essence of Freddie Hubbard: Suzanne Pittson "Out of the Hub"
Source:
The Independent Ear by Willard Jenkins
Vocalist Suzanne Pittson previously accepted the challenge of lyrically interpreting John Coltrane's opus Resolution" from A Love Supreme." With Alice Coltrane's consent she did so with all due humility... and with gusto! Her latest effort is a loving tribute to an artist whose legend appears to be growing slowly in ancestry, the late NEA Jazz Master trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. For Out of the Hub" Suzanne addresses compositions credited to Freddie and songs he indelibly enhanced through his artistry, and she ...
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Forgotten Series: Lucinda Williams - Essence (2001)
Source:
Something Else!
By Nick DeRiso Lucinda Williams brings a brave, riveting vulnerability to Essenceand, for me, it's her masterpiece. Yet you are more apt to find it in the big-box department-store cutout bin than at the top of most people's desert-island lists. Perhaps the sensual melancholy of Essence was too personal, maybe it held too much dark intrigue. She takes chances lyrically, and there's this hard-bitten musical sparseness, notable in the wake of 1998's more narrative Grammy-winning breakthrough Car Wheels on a ...
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Smalls Live, A New Jazz Label Founded By Smalls Jazz Club Owner Spike Wilner, Captures The Essence Of New York's Storied Jazz Club On Disc
Source:
DL Media
Features Five Upcoming Releases By Jimmy Greene, Ari Hoenig, Omer Avital, Ben Wolfe and Wilner, Available on October 12 With the launch of its new record label, Smalls Live, Smalls Jazz Club throws open its doors, inviting a worldwide audience into the intimate confines of the Greenwich Village club. Since it opened in 1993, Smalls has become a hothouse for modern jazz, where up-and-coming musicians can hone their craft before an enthusiastic crowd, and veteran artists can stretch out in ...
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Hoodoo Gurus' Ninth Album, "Purity of Essence," Coming to U.S. on May 11
Source:
conqueroo
Key track Crackin' Up" came to frontman Dave Faulkner as a dream
SYDNEY, Australia -- The Hoodoo Gurus, known for high energy, hook-laden rock 'n' roll, have completed their ninth album, Purity of Essence, which will be released May 11, 2010 on their own label in the United States via Virtual Label/ADA. Formed in 1981, the band is described by AllMusic.com as (channeling) their inspiration from the vast entirety of the American pop cultural landscape, drawing on such disparate sources ...
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Atlanta's Showtyme Jazz Duo Returns to Nola for Essence
Source:
All About Jazz
Cliff and Sei deMarks, Atlanta's premiere jazz duo return to New Orleans for the Essence Festival after a three year hiatus. Cliff said that he is happy about the reports of record crowds of music lovers returning to the city he calls his second home. During the 3 day festival he and Sei will be performing daily at River Walk Mall next to Morial Convention Center. Ann Freibert, head of Speciality Leasing at the Mall says that the Showtyme Jazz ...
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Michele Rosewoman & Quintessence Touring In Support Of New CD "The In Side Out" Oct. 22 - Nov. 9
Source:
MFA - Mitchell Feldman Associates
Ensemble Touring In Support Of The In Side Out," Pianist/Composer's First CD Since 2000 To Perform At Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Yoshi's, Earshot Festival, The Jazz Bakery, The Outpost, Dizzy's San Diego.
Pianist / composer Michele Rosewoman & Quintessence will be showcasing music from The In Side Out, her first new release since 2000 and fifth CD with the ensemble, in a series of concerts on the West Coast Oct. 22 - 28 as well as at ...
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Betty Buckley with Quintessence featuring Kenny Werner @ The Blue Note May 30-June 4
Source:
All About Jazz
BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB NEW YORK presents BETTY BUCKLEY and QUINTESSENCE featuring KENNY WERNER, piano
EXCLUSIVE ONE WEEK ENGAGEMENT MAY 30 - JUNE 4
World class singer returns to NYC to make her New York jazz club debut!
BLUE NOTE NEW YORK (131 West 3rd Street, just off 6th Avenue) will present Tony Award winner and world class singer BETTY BUCKLEY in her New York jazz club debut for a ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson