John Hilderbrand
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Live Music from Grover Washington, Jr. and Al Jarreau
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In recent months, live recordings from two contemporary jazz titans — Grover Washington Jr. and Al Jarreau — have been released, offering fans a fresh opportunity to experience their brilliance. Grover Live, Vol. 2, recorded in 1998, showcases the legendary saxophonist in peak form. Produced by Grammy-winner and contemporary jazz veteran Jason Miles, this album…
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Top Contemporary Jazz – December 3, 1999
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The top ten contemporary jazz recordings 25 years ago, ranked by ContemporaryJazz.com! As it was in the 1990s, Kenny G topped the chart. However, this week he had two recordings: his renditions of standards and his third holiday album. Other Christmas and holiday music were moving into the top 10, including a nice compilation from…
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Soul Funk from Lettuce
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Lettuce has a sweet new funk-groove single, “Monorail 3000.” The track pays homage to The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, with a pocket rhythm section, hypnotic grooves, and sultry horn lines. “‘Monorail 3000’ is an ode to ‘J.B Monaurail’, one of our favorite James Brown tunes. The mood of the song is cool and steady….
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Ropeadope Celebrates 25 Years
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I’ve enjoyed music from the Ropeadope label for many years, from artists like DJ Logic and Lakecia Benjamin to The Harlem Experiment, The Chicago Experiment, and the Philadelphia Experiment. I’ve always appreciated their boundless enthusiasm for music that is often right up my alley. Ropeadope embraces jazz’s boundary-breaking potential by releasing albums that fuse traditional…
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Bad Knees by Ghost-Note
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Little did I know that one of my favorite contemporary jazz tracks of the year would be a harbinger! “Bad Knees” from Ghost-Note’s new recording Mustard N’Onions is a jam. The studio version is a live, funky, horn-heavy Godzilla of a track that has kept me dancing all year. Unfortunately, all that dancing (maybe) led…