CD Review: The Jim Self/John Chiodini Duo, "Hangin' Out"

 

Jazz Tuba Player Jim Self has joined musical forces with Guitarist John Chiodini to record their new CD, "Hangin' Out".  I have been a fan of Jim Self ever since I heard an absolutely beautiful CD he recorded with master Harmonica player, Ron Kalina.  The CD was titled "The Odd Couple" and it's still one of my favorites.  Let's be serious, how many Jazz CDs feature a Tuba player?  And yet, the talented John Self continues to produce wonderful Jazz.  Self is joined by the talented Guitar player, John Chiodini and while paring of a Tuba with a Guitar which is certainly unusual, I think they pull it off perfectly.  "Hangin Out" contains an unusual assortment of tunes that is not surprising considering the long list of well-known artists both Self and Chiodini have performed with over the years.  Both performers also included one of their original compositions.  

This CD is a very sensitive and intimate musical conversation between the two master-class musicians.  In addition, they have asked four equally master musicians: Scott Whitfield on Trombone, David Angel on Baritone Sax,  Tom Peterson on Tenor Sax and Ron Stout on Trumpet & Flugelhorn,  to join them on several songs. 

I want to mention that in addition to playing the Tuba on this CD, Self also plays an instrument called a Fluba.  Self describes this instrument as a tuba-sized Flugelhorn.

I have attached two "YouTubes" of two cuts from the CD.  The first one will surprise you, a Tuba and Guitar playing Stevie Wonder's gem "Sir Duke".   The second one is the classic "It Could Happen To You" with Self and Chiodini joined by their four special guests.  It's a treat!

Playlist:

1. Hangin' Out

2. Spain

3. Lydian Afternoon

4. Dindi

5. Sir Duke

6. Another Thing

7. Felicidade

8. Everything Happens To Me

9. Up Jumped Spring

10. I Walk A Little Faster

11. Modal I Tease

12. Just the Way You Are

13. It Could Happen To You

Players:

Jim Self-F Tuba, Fluba, CC Tuba

John Chiodini-Electric and Acoustic Guitars

 

Special Guests:

David Angel-Baritone Sax

Tom Peterson-Tenor Sax

Scott Whitfield-Trombone

Ron Stout-Trumpet & Flugelhorn

 

 

                                                                   "Sir Duke"

                                                             

 "It Could Happen to You"

CD Review: Kristina Koller, "Get Out of Town"

Jazz Vocalist Kristina Koller has released her third album, "Get Out of Town".  The theme of her new CD is a fresh new focus on the music of Cole Porter combined with Kristina's unique approach to phrasing and arranging.  If you are expecting the usual treatment of Classic Cole Porter evergreens you will be disappointed.  Kristina Koller likes to take well known and some not so well known standards and give them a new birth.   The results are wonderful!  As you listen to her performance of Cole Porter songs you get the comfortable feeling that you know the music but you also know you are hearing something new.  Koller's thought process in selecting the songs on the album and her stylistic decisions on the arrangements were driven by their universal appeal.   Koller states, "I choose songs that I can relate to, or believe they can be relatable to other audiences who don't typically listen to Jazz.  I've always wanted Jazz to reach a broader audience.  I select songs and try to arrange and perform them in a way that I believe are universally appealing".  Kristina Koller is a Jazz vocalist that can bring past and present music together to become the Jazz music of today.

Kristina is joined by her Jazz trio that has been performing with her for over 3 years.  Fima Chupakhin on Piano, Juan Chiavassa on Drums and James Robbins on Bass.  The Trio is perfectly matched to Koller's unusual vocal approach.

I have attached two "YouTube" videos for you listening pleasure.  The first one is an unpublished Cole Porter song "Why Don't  We Try Staying Home".  Koller discovered this tune along with a second one on the CD, "Greek To You" in a Cole Porter Songbook she found at the Strand Bookstore in NYC.  And some wonder why people come from miles away to spend hours looking at books at this classic NYC bookstore.  The Strand never disappoints!   The second selection is the title track and Koller's wonderful performance of "Get Out of Town".   Kristina Koller is a highly skilled modern Jazz Vocalist who is a great addition to today's Jazz scene.

                                                       "Why Don't We Try Staying Home"

                                                                "Get Out of Town"

PLAYLIST:

1. Get Out of Town

2. What is This Thing Called Love

3. Greek to You

4. It's All Right With Me

5. Why Don't We Try Staying Home

6. In the Still of the Night

7. Just One of Those Things

8. Every Time We Say Goodbye

PERFORMERS:

Fima Chupakhin- Piano

James Robbins-Bass

Juan Chavassa-Drums

CD Review: Tom Keenlyside, "A Night At The Espresso"

 Multi-talented and award-winning Flutist Tom Keenlyside has recently released a brilliant new Jazz CD, "A Night At The Espresso". Tom has brought together a group of sparkling great Jazz talents to join him in a celebration of his Jazz beginnings at a the Espresso Coffee House in Vancouver, BC.  Tom shares his fond remembrances of this time of his life.  "I would arrive home at my appointed curfew hour...11:00 pm and say goodnight to my parents.  When I was assured that they were asleep, I would crawl out my bedroom window, down the trellis, up to Granville Street, and take the bus downtown to the Espresso Coffee House, where I would remain until 5 or 6 in the morning.  What a scene! So exciting!  There, I would revel in the stories of the older cats, John Dawe, Nick McGowan, Rocky Weems...they all had stories to tell, and when they played in was like magic to my ears.  Those guys running through the changes of "Have You Met Miss Jones", " "Stella By Starlight", or "All the Things You Are"...And me, furiously struggling to keep up."

Tom has never lost his love for music and even though he developed into one of the most talented Jazz musicians of our time,  he never lets any opportunity to "sit in" go by.  That's how I got to know Tom.  I first ran into Tom in the Palm Desert California area while having dinner at one of the many local restaurants with live music.  Tom came into the restaurant with his lovely wife Nicki-Lea and it wasn't long before he joined the Trio playing flute as good as I have ever heard anyone playing Jazz flute.  To say that Tom's life has been totally dedicated to music is no overstatement.  Tom plays Flute and Tenor Sax, Composes, Arranges and sings in addition to his studio work with music production.  The best part of all is Tom is a wonderful, caring person with no personality attitudes; just genuinely a nice person.

The music on "A Night At The Espresso" will please any Jazz fan.  It's a cool mix of some great standards and some original compositions from Tom and Miles Black who also provides outstanding Piano work for this CD. I have selected two "YouTube" selections from this CD for you to sample.  The first one is the Cole Porter standard, "All Of You" that showcases the wonderful musicians Tom has brought together including  a great vocal from Melody Diachun.   The second is an original composition that I loved called "Dave".  To all my friends in the Coachella Valley CA area who get to hear Tom sit in all the time in the winter,  you need to absolutely buy this Cd to add to your Jazz collection.  And for any other real Jazz fan reading this, this is one of the best traditional Jazz CD's I have heard in a long time.  Thank you Tom for continuing to produce great Jazz for all of us!  

     

                                            

                                                                         "All Of Me"

                                                                              "Dave"

Playlist:

1. Skwest

2. Amor, O Misterio

3. All Of You

4. Speak Low

5. Ghost of A Chance

6. Garden Bay

7. But Not For Me

8. Lazy Afternoon

9. Cherokee

10 Pelo Amor De Musica

11. Dave

Players:

Tom Keenlyside-Flute

Miles Black-Piano, nylon string Guitar (Track 10)

Miles Foxx Hill-Bass

Bernie Arai-Drums

Brad Turner-Trumpet & Flugelhorn

Tim Porter-Guitar (Track i)

Melody Diachun-Vocals

                                                                                     

    

CD Review: Noah Haidu, Buster Williams & Billy Hart: "Slowly: Song for Keith Jarrett"

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing a beautiful new Jazz Trio CD from Noah Haidu honoring the memory and spirit of Keith Jarrett.  Noah features two wonderful musicians, Buster Williams on Bass and Billy Hart on Drums.  The combination of Noah's sensitive Jazz piano performance and his seasoned and talented rhythm section makes this CD a delight to hear. Keith Jarrett's approach to standards is a difficult goal for any pianist to achieve but Noah Haidu's long personal connection with Keith Jarrett's performances allows him to hit the target perfectly.

Jarrett's music carries great personal meaning for Haidu.  "My father and I had a tradition of going to hear Jarrett together for several years running.  My dad (who was largely responsible for introducing me to Jazz) passed away a week before Keith's final concert.  No one knew at the time of the concert that it would be Keith's final performance". 

Of his relationship to Jarrett's music Haidu says "I've never thought of myself as a pianist who plays like Keith.  However, his work has increasingly influenced my trio's approach in the last few years.  I'm getting  back to playing ballads, standards and increasingly find my own voice on standard repertoire.  That evolution has been inspired by Jarrett who plays standards with complete authenticity, never sounding like anyone else on this music."

There is one more quote from Haidu that I thought is very enlightening for any up-and-coming musician.   "These songs have a certain simplicity.  There's not a lot of pyrotechnics, everything depends on the band interaction,  you can't hide behind a complicated form or wild rhythms.  You have to make a statement, and everyone has to breathe together in the music".  This is sage advice for any Jazz trio!

Noah Haidu is an extremely talented musician and is also an excellent composer and arranger.  I am sure we will be hearing a lot more from him in the coming years!

I have attached two cuts from the CD that were posted on "YouTube".  The first is a stunning performance of the golden standard "But Beautiful" and the second is a song Noah composed "Slowly".  Both will give you a full example of Noah Haidu's musical talents.

                                             

                                                                             "But Beautiful"

                                                                        
                                                                                   "Slowly"

CD Review: Billy Test Trio, "Coming Down Roses"

 

Today I have another treat for Jazz fans of a Jazz Piano Trio.  Billy Test is a talented and creative young Composer, Arranger and Educator.  While still young, Billy has an amazing resume that includes holding the piano chair with the Grammy Award Winning WDR Big Band in Koln, Germany since 2018.  Billy is an alumnus of the Jazz studies at William Paterson University in New Jersey.  He also was awarded his master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music.  He has won many musical awards including being a finalist in the American Pianists Awards and second place in the 2017 Montreal Solo Piano Competition.  

Billy's piano playing and composing blends the Jazz emotions of joy, sorrows and Blues perfectly and incorporates his classical background skills to produce fresh improvisations and wonderful compositions.

Joining Billy on "Coming Down Roses" are two seasoned pros who have been playing together as a trio since 2018.  Evan Gregor is on Bass and Ian Froman is on Drums.  The trio was formed in 2018 and has developed a  close musical relationship.  The focus of the trio has been on performing Billy's original compositions along with lesser-played songs from the "Great American Songbook".  This is Billy Test's debut as a bandleader.

I have attached two YouTube videos for your listening pleasure.  The first is a fresh approach to the Cole Porter standard "All Of You".  The second is a Billy Test original and the title tune from his CD, "Coming Down Roses".  I know you will enjoy this CD and I expect we will be hearing a lot more from The Billy Test Trio.

PLAYLIST:

1. All of You

2. Spinning

3. Fate

4. Hardly

5. Empty Spaces

6. Coming Down Roses

7. The Prince

8. Mother's Day with Freud

9. Belonging

PLAYERS:

Billy Test- Piano

Evan Gregor-  Bass

Ian Froman- Drums

 

 

                                                                        "All of You"

                                                               " Coming Down Roses"

CD Review: The Dave Miller Trio, "The Mask-erade is Over"

If you like to listen to a great traditional straight ahead Jazz piano trio playing, Dave Miller's new CD "The Mask-erade is Over" will be perfect for you.  Dave Miller who has his own playing personality can at times remind you of some your favorite Jazz pianists like George Shearing, Bill Evans and Ahmad Jamal.  Bill covers a lot of ground in this CD and brings his Jazz personality center stage on a great selection of standards. 

Dave's daughter is the super-talented singer Rebecca DuMaine and Dave and his trio have often recorded with Rebecca on her CDs.  

I have selected two YouTubes videos for your listening pleasure.  The first song is "Be Careful It's My Heart".  Dave was inspired by Peggy Lee's version with one of his Piano heroes, George Shearing.  The second song is a Dave Brubeck gem, "In Your Own Sweet Way".  The playlist of songs on this CD are from a diverse outstanding group of composers:  Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Noel Coward, Irving Berlin and Ray Henderson.   Take a moment to review the fun playlist below.

                                                              "Be Careful It's My Heart"

                                                               "In Your Own Sweet Way"

PLAYLIST:

1. Anthropology

2. Be Careful It's My Heart

3. The Masquerade Is Over

4. The Opener

5. Someday I'll Fine You

6. You Don't Know What Love Is

7. Yardbird Suite

8. Estate

9. In Your Own Sweet Way

10. The Blue Room

11. Dusty

12. Why Did I Choose You

13. Hallucinations

14 Just Imagine

PLAYERS:

Dave Miller- Piano

Andrew Higgins- Bass

Bill Belasco- Drums

 

CD Review: Peter Malinverni Trio, "On The Town"

 

Pete Malinverni has been in the middle of the New York Jazz scene for over four decades.  During this love affair with Jazz he has had the chance to meet and perform with the top Jazz artists in the country.  The inspiration for his latest CD, "On The Town" was a result of an unplanned meeting with Leonard Bernstein at an upscale restaurant where Malinverni had a gig.  The restaurant was chosen as the site for the opening night party for Franco Zeffirelli's production of "Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera.  As Malinverni played through a selection of arias at the piano, Bernstein walked in, and Malinverni immediately launched into the composer's "Lucky To Be Me".  Bernstein was touched by the tribute and spent a considerable portion of the evening hanging around the piano.  Malinverni comments "His public image was of a guy who knew his stuff and was super passionate about it.  But I found out that night that as passionate as he seemed, he was even more so.  When I saw him in the flesh, it was electric.  His head poked through the clouds, and the piano somehow seemed a more exalted place then and thereafter".

It's clear that this meeting left a deep impression on Pete that has only grown stronger with time.  The music on this CD is a wonderful undertaking of great compositions we all treasure and giving them a new Jazz rebirth.  Helping Pete Malinverni accomplish this task were two equally remarkable Jazz musicians, Jeff Hamilton and Ugonna Okegwo .  Playing in a trio with Pete Malinverni's brilliant arrangements of these truly classic songs requires the highest level of musical skills and Hamilton and Okegwo make it seem easy!

This is a truly outstanding Jazz Trio and the music they have produced is outstanding!  I have attached two YouTube videos featuring songs from "On The Town".  The first is "I Feel Pretty" from "West Side Story" and the second is the opening tune, "New York New York" that I believe captures the love Malinverni has for the city.

                                                                          "I Feel Pretty"

                                                                    " New York New York"
Playlist:

1. New York New York

2. Lucky to Be Me

3. Somewhere

4. Cool

5. Simple Song

6. I Feel Pretty

7. Lonely Town

8. Some Other Time

9. It's Love

10. A Night On the Town

Players: 

Pete Malinverni- Piano

Jeff Hamilton- Drums

Ugonna Okegwo- Bass