CD Reviews

Former JHO contributor Michael Verity helped us out on this issue by reviewing a pair of new CDs. Rather than mix them in with Thomas Cunniffe’s notices, we’ve given Michael his own spot. He offers his reactions to Jim McNeely’s Barefoot Dances and Other Visions and McClenty Hunter’s The Groove Hunter.

Mongo Santamaria was one of the giants of Latin jazz. In a new CD called Mongorama, producer José Rizo and a star-studded band of musicians pay tribute to the master. Our Latin jazz specialist, Janine Santana reviews the recording.

It is only ninety miles between the Florida Keys and Havana, yet the ideological and political differences between the US and Cuba seem much wider. The Ninety Miles project attempts to bridge the gap through music. The resulting CD/DVD with American and Cuban musicians playing side by side is reviewed by Janine Santana.

Not all of the giants in New York play at the Meadowlands. Indeed, most of the giants heard in this month’s instrumental CD reviews are most likely to be found at Manhattan’s many nightspots. The range of the music, including Anat Cohen’s Brazilian ensemble, Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, and the straight-ahead groups led by Steve Turre and Ben Wolfe display some of the styles played in the Big Apple. Thomas Cunniffe reviews these four remarkable new albums.

The three vocal CDs reviewed this month feature an abundance of original compositions. Gabriel Espinosa and Hendrik Meurkens lead an international ensemble on a celebration of Brazilian music, Samba Little Samba, Lauren Hooker sings an autobiographical song cycle on All For You, My Heart and Soul, and the duo of Judi Silvano and Michael Abene perform daring improvisations from compositional sketches on My Dance. Thomas Cunniffe examines the music.

The latest CD from pianist Oscar Perez features a commissioned three-movement work that fuses African, European and indigineous musics into a unified whole. Our Latin jazz expert Janine Santana offers her thoughts on the disc.

The piano is capable of a wide range of expression, and the piano CD reviewed this month display three different approaches to the instrument. Yelena Eckemoff leads a quartet of Norwegian jazz musicians through an original program of meditative pieces on Everblue, Benny Green and his trio enliven their audience with joyous swing on Live in Santa Cruz and Fred Hersch plays a concert of romantic ballads and energetic originals on Solo. Thomas Cunniffe offers his thoughts in this month’s CD Reviews.

Because jazz is learned through listening to recordings of established masters and/or in-person mentoring from great musicians, the debt to our forebearers is quite significant. This month, Thomas Cunniffe reviews three new tributes from pianists Alex Conde, Jean-Michel Pilc and Justin Kauflin.

The five instrumental albums reviewed this month are all led by pianists, but the groups they front range in size from duet to big band. Amy Duncan, a talented pianist in her own right, gives the rundowns on these noteworthy recordings by Cecilia Coleman, Satoko Fujii, Fred Hersch and Donald Vega.

Astor Piazzolla’s one attempt to fuse the rhythms of tango and jazz resulted in one of his least successful albums. Now, Pablo Aslan has gone back to that recording and created a contemporary fusion of the two styles. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the new album, Piazzolla in Brooklyn.

This month’s CD review section focuses on instrumentalists, both veterans and newcomers. Thomas Cunniffe gives his impressions of the latest releases by Ed Cherry, Caroline Davis, Joe Gilman and Toots Thielemans.

Boulder pianist Art Lande refers to jazz as a process not a product, meaning that exploration continues on the bandstand long after recording the final accepted take on a CD. Lande plays a central role in the latest albums by vocalists Tina Phillips and Bonnie Lowdermilk. Thomas Cunniffe examines how each singer realizes Lande’s theory.

Albums of standards are usually rather predictable affairs, but within the span of a week, three new vocal albums offer dramatically re-imagined versions of classic repertoire. Thomas Cunniffe reviews these new albums by Elizabeth Shepherd, Diana Krall and Kurt Elling.

Memory links the three instrumental albums reviewed this month. Geri Allen, Fred Hersch (with Julian Lage) and Joe Lovano (with Gil Goldstein and the Brussels Jazz Orchestra) all perform compositions written or inspired by their idols, mentors and collaborators. Thomas Cunniffe reviews these three fine CDs.