Tag: CD – Blues

Live Jazz: Alan Broadbent At Zipper Concert Hall, Los Angeles.

By Norton Wright Los Angeles, CA. Trying to review a performance of pianist Alan Broadbent is like trying to describe lightning in a bottle. Broadbent’s playing is electrifying, so charged with power, substance, and beauty that descriptions like “swinging,” “groovy,” “funky,” etc. are wholly inadequate. On Saturday night at the elegant and so well-suited Zipper… Read More Live Jazz: Alan Broadbent At Zipper Concert Hall, Los Angeles.

iromLeave a comment

Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Big Band Swing: “Count Basie At Newport” (Verve)

By Devon (Doc) Wendell There is no genre in jazz that has become as disrespected, forgotten, and dismissed as big band jazz. Generations of brainwashed lazy music dabblers often come to this warped and naïve conclusion that the entire history of jazz is made up exclusively by the likes of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Big Band Swing: “Count Basie At Newport” (Verve)

iromLeave a comment

CD Review: Jennifer Leitham’s “Mood(S)wings”

By Devon Wendell Jennifer Leitham is a true seeker, a southpaw bassist supreme, fearless songwriter, and a jazz master to be reckoned with. Her new album MOOD(S)WINGS is a lush and beautiful musical tapestry that crosses mainstream pop and jazz with an introspective brilliance that places her in a class all by herself. Her music continues… Read More CD Review: Jennifer Leitham’s “Mood(S)wings”

iromLeave a comment

Doc Wendell’s Prescription for Ultimate Bebop: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie’s “Diz ‘N Bird At Carnegie Hall” (Blue Note)

    By Devon Wendell I simply cannot write about jazz or music in general without doing a piece on Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. After all, these pieces are written out of love, and Bird and Dizzy were my initial introduction to the world of jazz and possibly still my favorites of all time.… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription for Ultimate Bebop: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie’s “Diz ‘N Bird At Carnegie Hall” (Blue Note)

iromLeave a comment

Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bop Bone: The Curtis Fuller Sextette’s “Imagination” (Savoy)

By Devon Wendell When it comes to purchasing an essential jazz recording, one often only has to look at the group of musicians listed on that specific record sleeve to know that the music is going to be incredible. That’s one of the great joys of being obsessed with this music; looking for that perfect… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bop Bone: The Curtis Fuller Sextette’s “Imagination” (Savoy)

iromLeave a comment

Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bebop: Art Farmer’s “Early Art” (Prestige)

By Devon Wendell Romance is deadly. No matter how it’s glamorized in books, poems, songs, plays, or movies, it’s a dangerous state of being. It’s chaos driven by pure impulsivity without measuring the consequences of what waits for you on the other side of it all. For a musician it means exposing your vulnerabilities for… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Bebop: Art Farmer’s “Early Art” (Prestige)

iromLeave a comment

Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Hard-Bop: Jackie McLean — “Jackie’s Bag” (Blue Note)

By Devon Wendell When I think of Jackie McLean; the word modern comes to mind. Jackie was always beyond hip. His slightly pitchy alto sax tone, daring compositions, and that unrelenting energy (quite often driven by the blues) made him one of the most original artists to stem from the bebop era. His earliest recordings… Read More Doc Wendell’s Prescription For Hard-Bop: Jackie McLean — “Jackie’s Bag” (Blue Note)

iromLeave a comment