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Jazz Vocals, Page 4

“Miles Ahead” Lags Bars of Beats Behind

“Miles Ahead”: Where Mercury Meets The Milky Way
Movie Musings by A. Scott Galloway
 
For Miles Davis whose artistic and personal essence was “no compromise” at fortissimo, the hybrid fictional movie “Miles Ahead” undeservedly smacks of way too much of it. Actor Don Cheadle, making his directorial debut here, gives a performance of bravura voodoo as the iconic, forward-marching musician. Yet he and co-screenwriter Steve Baigleman created a convoluted maze of a story in which to contextualize it – dually necessitated by Cheadle’s choice to play between the lines as opposed to the melody as written…and Hollywood’s infuriating insistence on giving even the boldest of real life black men a white knight.
 
Photo 1 (3)
Cheadle as Davis

Jason Miles Captures The Spirit of Grover Washington, Jr.

Jason Miles - To Grover With Love - Live In Japan
 
Jason Miles
To Grover with Love: Live in Japan
(Whaling City Sound)
Record Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
 
In the scheme of all things musical, the question often arises, “Why a tribute CD?” Would you rather hear people paying tribute to an artist by rerecording their works or instead hear the legendary artist’s music itself? In most cases, the latter is true. Sometimes there are exceptions, the latest being keyboardist/producer Jason Miles’ third tribute to a man that has given him consistent inspiration, saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. Unlike the previous two, this one was recorded live.

Jazz Piano Master Stanley Cowell Releases Best Holiday Genre CD of the Season 2015

Stanley Cowell – Reminiscent (Plus a Christmas Suite)
(SteepleChase)
 
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
 
Stanley Cowell - Reminiscent - SteepleChase - 2015
 
The art of piano is all about touch. Over a fifty year career as a leader and sideman with the likes of Sonny Rolins, Stan Getz and Max Roach, Stanley Cowell has mastered an impeccable balance of intelligence and taste.

A. Scott Galloway Joint Reviews New Fourplay & Bob James/Nathan East Duo Discs

Bob James 2015: Available in Twoplay and Fourplay Models
 
Record Reflections by A. Scott Galloway
 
25 years ago, a super group of contemporary jazz giants formed a quartet dubbed Fourplay and began the business of making evocative groove-scapes spiced with a tasty dollop of sensuality via soul-pop vocal stars and sexy covers of touchstones by boudoir masters Marvin Gaye and The Isley Brothers. Since that time, they’ve pretty much ditched the vocals and gone deeper into what I call movies for the ear. Fourplay’s new 10-song CD, Silver (Concord Records) – recorded at Sunset Sound Studio in Hollywood where they cut their self titled debut in 1990 for Warner Bros. – marks the band’s 25th anniversary and is, fittingly, one of its finest most consistent CD in some time.
 
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Bob James Nathan East-The New Cool

Terri Lyne Carrington | The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul

Mosaic_Project_LOVE_And_SOUL
 
Terri Lyne Carrington | The Mosaic Project: Love and Soul
Concord Records
by Peggy Oliver
 
Music was at Terri Lyne Carrington’s beckoned call throughout her childhood. Her father was president of the Boston Jazz Society and her grandfather Matt Carrington presented a drum set to his grandchild at age seven. The private lessons that followed have taken her through many thrilling experiences since playing alongside trumpeter Clark Terry at eleven years old.

All Star Jazz Series in Newport Beach Kicks Off In Kick Back Style with Michael Franks & Trio of Lorber, Harp & Loeb!

Michael Franks / Jazz Funk Soul (Everette Harp, Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb)
Hyatt Newporter – July 25, 2015
 
A Concert Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
 
One of Southern California’s most popular summer spots for jazz is the Hyatt Newporter hotel in big money Newport Beach. They have a Friday night jazz series every summer in a mini outdoor amphitheatre on the lawn that just gets stronger with each passing year. So far in 2015, I dipped down there once to see this all-star show which proved to be a sweet night of seasoned music.
 
JazzFunkSoul-LorberLoebHarp
 
Photo: Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb & Everette Harp

Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective | Breathless


 
Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective | Breathless
Blue Note
by Peggy Oliver
 
From a musician who did not take his musical chops seriously until high school, Terence Blanchard eventually fed off his surroundings of New Orleans, a city that breathes blues, Dixieland, funk and is home to The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. N.O.C.C.A. was the breeding ground for this thinking man’s musician whose film compositions for Spike Lee and flexible musical language (Latin jazz, swing, bop) has sparked his career since his early days with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the (Donald) Harrison/Blanchard Group.

Najee | You, Me and Forever

Najee - You, Me & Forever II - HighRes
 
Najee | You, Me and Forever
by Peggy Oliver
 
From the moment he earned a Grammy nomination for his debut album inspired by his namesake almost three decades ago, Najee has claimed the market for his distinct crossover ability in sustaining jazz and R&B fans. Any other superlatives that may apply to Najee’s career can be summed up with an Energizer Bunny work mentality and a knack for oozing the soul in smooth jazz, as proven with fifteen CD’s starting with Najee’s Theme, most having reached the top five on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart.

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