Nine time
Grammy winning trumpet legend Herb Alpert continues a prolific recent run of
recording and performing, with The Christmas Wish, his first holiday album in
nearly 5 decades! Harkening back beautifully to the golden age of Christmas
music, the versatile horn man – backed by a 45-piece orchestra, 30-member choir
and 10-piece rhythm section – darts, dashes and breezes through the colorful,
often Latin tinged arrangements of Chris Walden. Highlights include a graceful
arrangement of a Carpenters classic and the lush vocals of Alpert’s wife and
longtime musical collaborator Lani Hall on the hopeful title track. The most
wonderful time of the year just got more wonderful with the addition of The
Christmas Wish, oh what fun! ~ smoothjazz.com
MAKAYA
MCCRAVEN - HIGHLY RARE
Raw sounds
from the Chicago scene – a mighty nice performance from the group of drummer
Makaya McCraven – captured on four track cassette at the tiny Danny's Tavern!
The setting and recording style really works with the approach of the group –
as Makaya's drums are nice and loud – beat-y and splashy – maybe more funky
than on any othe records under his name, and fitted with fantastically bold
work from Junius Paul on bass, Ben Lamar Gay on cornet, and the great Nick
Mazzarella on alto sax! There's also some turntables from Lefto – but used
musically, and not in the kind of heavy-handed way that used to ruin a jazz
session a decade or so back – and the group perform titles that include
"The Locator", "Above & Beyond", "Venus
Rising", "Icy Lightning", "Left Fields", "RFJ
III", and "Early Bird Once Again". ~ Dusty Groove
TONY BURKILL
– WORK MONEY DEATH
Tony Burkill
might be making a goofy face on the cover, but the album's a dead-serious
effort from a saxophonist we hope to hear more from in years to come! The style
here is a solid, soulful mode that really hearkens back to the best modal
moments of the late 60s and early 70s – rhythms that seem to borrow an
influence from African styles, but fused into a jazz mode that's got the
soaring spirit of the post-Coltrane generation – very specifically like the
hippest work on the Milestone or Black Jazz labels in the early 70s – work that
would be a flawless match for Burkill's style here! Tony's got a really rich
tone on the tenor – raspy and full at the same time, and really diving to the
depths as he expresses himself on his solos – driven strongly by the bass of
Neil Innes, who also co-wrote all the tunes with Burkill – with drums from Sam
Hobbs, piano and organ from George Cooper, and percussion from Pete Williams.
The whole thing's amazing – rock-solid, no-nonsense, and filled with soul and
spirit. Titles include "At Odds With the World", "Out Of A
Shooting Star", "Beginning & End", "Work Money
Death", and "Third Of All Numbers". ~ Dusty Groove
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