One of the things we really love about a Kenny Barron album with horns – and there's a lot of them – is that when Kenny works with horn players, he always lets their voices ring out as strongly as his in the lead – and maybe even more strongly overall! That's definitely the case here, on a crackling Blue Note set – one that has Barron's piano situated beautifully with the saxophone work of Dayna Stephens and the trumpet and flugelhorn of Mike Rodriguez – the latter of whom really shapes the set with his fluid sense of soul! The rhythm team is great, too – with Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums – both getting that rolling Barron sense of modal energy just right – on titles that include "In The Dark", "Baile", "DPW", "Concentric Circles", "Blue Waters", and "Short Journey" – plus a version of Caetano Veloso's "Aquele Frevo Axe". CD
A cool late 90s set from reedman Bobby Watson – easily one of our favorite talents of his generation, working here in a laidback mode that's mighty nice! The set has Bobby blowing on both alto and soprano sax – the latter of which is always a treat – in a core combo that features piano, bass, drums, and guitar – the last used to color in the tunes gently, often matching the tones and sentiment of Watson's horn in a really nice way. There's a few other surprising elements too – a bit of wordless vocals from Pamela Watson on one track, and trumpet from Terrell Stafford on three more numbers – and given that Curtis Lundy handles bass and Ralph Peterson's on drums, you can bet that the album's got some very solid rhythmic grounding, even when things are gentle. Titles include "Just For Today", "Always A Friend", "Nubian Breakdown", "Nanatsu No Ko", "Concentric Circles", "Back Home Again With You", and "Afternoon In Ottobrun". CD
4
Chad Taylor/Brian Settles/Neil Podgurski —
Reel ... CD Astral Spirits, 2022. Used ...
Out Of Stock
Drummer Chad Taylor is one of our secret heroes in jazz – a player we've loved for years, and who always brings something special to a session when he's a sideman – yet an artist who hardly ever gets to record as a leader in a setting like this! And if you think Chad's great on other people's albums, he's really fantastic here – leading a trio with Neil Podgurski on piano and Brian Settles on saxes – all at a level that's very different than other lineups of this nature! Given Taylor's tremendous talents on the kit, the record is much more drum-forward than others like this – not letting the reeds or piano dominate too much – yet also at a level that's not a bombastic drum session, as Taylor's always a master of subtle, sensitive sounds on the familiar instrument. The quality is hard to describe in words, but comes through instantly on the record – a gem of a set, with titles that include "Delta", "Subterfuge", "Moon Tone Shift", "Julia's Groove", "Concentric", and "The Reel". CD
5
Chad Taylor/Brian Settles/Neil Podgurski —
Reel ... CD Astral Spirits, 2022. New Copy ...
Out Of Stock
Drummer Chad Taylor is one of our secret heroes in jazz – a player we've loved for years, and who always brings something special to a session when he's a sideman – yet an artist who hardly ever gets to record as a leader in a setting like this! And if you think Chad's great on other people's albums, he's really fantastic here – leading a trio with Neil Podgurski on piano and Brian Settles on saxes – all at a level that's very different than other lineups of this nature! Given Taylor's tremendous talents on the kit, the record is much more drum-forward than others like this – not letting the reeds or piano dominate too much – yet also at a level that's not a bombastic drum session, as Taylor's always a master of subtle, sensitive sounds on the familiar instrument. The quality is hard to describe in words, but comes through instantly on the record – a gem of a set, with titles that include "Delta", "Subterfuge", "Moon Tone Shift", "Julia's Groove", "Concentric", and "The Reel". CD
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