John Hilderbrand
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Review: Hemispheres
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Hemispheres is a new group recording from Joel Rosenblatt on drums (late of Spyro Gyra), Ric Fierabracci on bass (latest trio recording with Frank Gambale and Virgil Donati), and Australian keyboardist Phil Turcio. These three music veterans, along with a little help from friends like Eric Marienthal, Gary Meek, Bill Evans, Steve Tavaglione, Christian Howe,…
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Review: Eric Marienthal – Just Around the Corner
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Eric Marienthal’s new Peak Records release, Just Around the Corner, opens strong with the composition, “Blue Water,” and never looks back! Immediately you recognize Marienthal’s distinctive voice, honed over the past 20 years; in fact, I can’t recall his sax sounding any stronger than on this, his eleventh solo release. Backed by a cadre of…
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Review: Play from Jeff Kashiwa
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In the liner notes to Play, the latest Jeff Kashiwa release, writer Brian Soergel writes “a new creative direction in contemporary jazz – a shaking free of abundantly creative talent in a genre sagging under the weight of yesterday’s rules – is forcefully redefining a style desperately in need of fine tuning.” With a little…
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Review: The Meeting Place from Ken Navarro
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Ken Navarro has written and played some of the sweetest melodies I’ve heard in my years of listening to contemporary jazz. So what happens when he steps away from the “smooth jazz radio” sound? You still get sweet sounding guitar and memorable songs! The Meeting Place is the 17th, and latest, recording from the reliable…
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James Hunter on The Harlem Experiment; 21 Van Morrison Songs
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When I wrote my review of The Harlem Experiment, I didn’t have the liner notes. I was impressed with “A Rose In Spanish Harlem.” Now I know whom to praise: British soul singer James Hunter. From a press release I received: “You might be wondering what a soul singer from England has to do with…