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The Return of Luciana Souza
Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza has been off the scene for the past 3 years, but she’s returning to public performance in a big way, with the simultaneous release of two very different albums, The Book of Chet and Duets III. Thomas Cunniffe reviews both CDs and notes how each illuminates Ms. Souza’s unique talents.
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Two Reviews from Michael Verity
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.
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José Rizo’s “Mongorama” (Saungú 3)
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.
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Stefon Harris/David Sánchez/Christian Scott: “Ninety Miles” (Concord Picante 32904)
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.
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New York (Jazz) Giants
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…
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Original Songs
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…
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Oscar Perez: “Afropean Affair” (Chandra 8094)
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.
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Piano Artistry
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…
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Piano Tributes
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.
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Piano-centric
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.