Showing posts sorted by relevance for query JASON PALMER PLAYS MINNIE RIPERTON. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query JASON PALMER PLAYS MINNIE RIPERTON. Sort by date Show all posts

Friday, November 02, 2012

NEW RELEASES - JASON PALMER, HAN BENNINK, DAVID HAZELTINE

JASON PALMER PLAYS MINNIE RIPERTON - TAKE A LITTLE TRIP

A really striking little cover – one based on the front image of Minnie Riperton's classic Perfect Angel album from the 70s – and a batch of music that really opens up whole new territory in Riperton's rich musical legacy! The set's way more than you might expect – hardly just a straight or smooth jazz take on classics by Minnie – and instead an openly creative project that takes the core structure of the songs, then pulls them apart – especially when it comes to the rhythms – so that the players continually revisit the lovely melodies created by Riperton, yet also fly free in musical moments inspired by her energy. Palmer's trumpet is great – pointed, yet soulful throughout – and other instrumentation by the quintet includes Fender Rhodes from Jake Sherman, guitar from Greg Duncan, bass from Edward Perez, and drums from Lee Fish. Titles include "Memory Lane", "Inside My Love", "I'm In Love Again", "Lovin You", "Adventures In Paradise", and "I'm A Woman". Dusty Groove

HAN BENNINK - BENNINK & CO

A great setting for the creative percussion of drummer Han Bennink – a really well-balanced trio that features piano from Simon Toldam and a range of reeds from Joachim Badenhorst – a player with a nice sense of warmth amidst his freedom, and an artist who seems to bring out the same in Bennink as well! The set's still got some of the bold energy you'd expect from Han's classic work on the European free jazz scene – but there's also an inherent tunefulness at most spots too, and a personal mix of melody and lyricism that really humanizes the record – and makes it one of the best things we've heard from Bennink in years! The shift is almost the same as when Lol Coxhill and a few of his contemporaries recorded for the Nato label in the 80s – a performance that still holds strong to all the territory that Han has gained over the years, but which also has a soulful personality that really stands out. Titles include "Klein Gebrek Geen Bezwaar", "Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland", "Dog", "Lauren", "Inside Inside", "Ganz", and "Kiefer". ~ Dusty Groove

DAVID HAZELTINE - THE NEW CLASSIC TRIO W/ GEORGE MRAZ / JOE FARNSWORTH

David Hazeltine's a player who we love more and more with each new record – a pianist who's been recording for many years, yet one who's really grown a lot too! This set is a perfect example of the way Hazeltine's been capturing our ears of late – a great trio outing that has plenty of the sharp punch that always made David one of the best rhythmic accompanists on the New York scene – yet also a mature lyricism that makes him especially compelling in a smaller group like this – a sense of flow we never would have expected a decade ago, and a unified trio energy that also comes from great work by George Mraz on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Jose Alexis Diaz joins the group on congas for a few tracks – and titles include "Hob Nob With Brother Bob", "I Wish I Knew", "I'll Let You Know", "Blues For Sharpie", "Another Divergence", "The Rebound", and "Bossa For All" – an especially nice original by Hazeltine! ~ Dusty Groove

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

NEW RELEASES: NAJEE – YOU, ME & FOREVER; ALTON ELLIS – SOUL TRAIN IS COMING; JASON PALMER – WONDALAND: JASON PALMER PLAYS JANELLE MONAE

NAJEE – YOU, ME & FOREVER

Multi-Platinum seller, recipient of multi-Grammy nominations, the NAACP Image Award and the Soul Train Award, Smooth Jazz icon Najee has shared the stage with such greats as Prince, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Lionel Richie, and his beloved mentor, George Duke. You, Me & Forever is the highly anticipated follow up to Najee s much loved The Morning After which was #1 both on the Billboard chart and at Smooth Jazz Radio. As the title implies, the album represents Najee s exploration into the world of sensuality and romance, interspersed with some fantastic spirited grooves that have made Najee a favorite the world over. Featuring keyboard great Alex Bugnon and Kenny G s longtime collaborator and music director Robert Damper, Najee explores such classics as Antonio Carlos Jobim s Wave , Ambrosia s The Biggest Part of Me plus some great Najee originals. ~ Amazon

ALTON ELLIS – SOUL TRAIN IS COMING

One of the more obscure sides of work from the legendary Alton Ellis – but one of the best as well! The set features some cuts issued by Alton on his own Ellis label – and many of the numbers here feature the singer acting as a producer too – a surprisingly strong side of his talents, as he's able to craft just the right sort of laidback rocksteady grooves for his wonderfully soulful voice! Alton never broke as big on an international scale as artists like Peter Tosh or Jimmy Cliff – but hearing these tracks, you'll definitely feel the way in which the paths Ellis took were clearly roads that allowed much bigger reggae grown in years to come! Titles include "My Time Is The Right Time", "I Love You Girl", "Again". "Dedication", "Baby Talk", "Past Time", "Soul Train Is Coming", "Bam Bye", "If I Had The Right", and "Big News".  ~ Dusty Groove

JASON PALMER – WONDALAND: JASON PALMER PLAYS JANELLE MONAE


The music of Janelle Monae gets some really wonderful treatment here – served up in an instrumental mode by trumpeter Jason Palmer – with a similar spirit to his previous project based around the music of Minnie Riperton! The approach is definitely jazz, but it's wonderful to hear Palmer and the group work some new magic with these familiar vocal tunes – with a mode that relies heavily on Fender Rhodes from Luke Marantz, whose spacey lines really help capture some of Monae's energy, but redirected towards a jazz basis that's quickly picked up by Palmer on trumpet, Godwin Louis on alto, Greg Duncan on guitar, Dan Carpel on bass, and Lee Fish on drums. The whole thing's completely charming – not gimmicky at all – and titles include "57821", "Sir Greendown", "Neon Valley Street", "Wondaland", "Say You'll Go", and "Oh Maker".  ~ Dusty Groove


Thursday, September 19, 2019

New Music Releases: Jason Palmer, Rich Perry, Dayme Arocena


Jason Palmer - Sweet Love: Jason Palmer Plays Anita Baker

Jason Palmer strikes an Anita Baker pose on the cover, and takes on her music as well – but all in a jazz-based style that's completely his own, and which follows up strongly on his tribute albums to Janell Monae and Minnie Riperton! The group is nice and lean – a quartet with Domi Degalle on piano, Max Ridley on bass, and Lee Fish on drums – and Palmer gets plenty of space to voice his own interpretations of tunes from the Baker songbook – numbers that have surprising depth when taken out into territory like this, especially on all the very long readings, most of which push towards the ten minute mark without losing any energy or imagination at all. Titles include "Sweet Love", "No One In The World", "Angel", "Same Ole Love", "Fairy Tales", and "Caught Up In The Rapture". ~ Dusty Groove

Rich Perry - Other Matters

Rich Perry has a great way of shaping his sounds here – sometimes rhythmically, sometimes more spatially – but all with a very distinct approach to his work on the tenor! The group is open and as fluid as the leader – Gary Versace on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and John Riley on drums – all great players, but clearly driven with a sensitivity to the needs of the leader's tone, which is great – as Perry really commands a lot of attention, but without ever hitting us over the head. Part of the strength of the set is the material – all original compositions by Rich, which really suit his approach – titles that include "Other Matters", "Transparency", "Sono", "Neta", "Written Image", and "Mndfl".  ~ Dusty Groove

Dayme Arocena - Sonocardiogram

The best we've heard so far from Dayme Arocena – a Cuban singer who's got a great way of reaching out from Havana with a sound that can circle the globe! The music here has a blend of jazz, soul, and Cuban roots – but all delivered together in a style that's completely unique and without cliche – really showing a maturity in Dayme's vocals since the previous record, and in her overall conception of a song! Instrumentation is by her core quartet, recorded live and openly, in a really unfettered way that instantly matches the spirit of Dayme's vocals too. The whole thing is tremendous – a record that lives up to the truest promise of the Brownswood label – with titles that include "Nangareo", "Porque Tu No Estas", "Yemaya", "Plegaria A La Lupe", "Homenaje", "Para El Amor Cantar", and "As Feridas". ~ Dusty Groove


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