Folk Jazz - CD Reviews (84)
Terje Sundby has appeared on many recordings over the past few years. This experience has led to the release of his first recording as leader. His Norwegian roots are evide…
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Mark Weinstein was in the 1960s better known as a trombonist when he played w/ Herbie Mann and various Latin-Jazz ensembles before leaving the music for academia. Now he’s …
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Bill Smith - also known as William O. Smith - is one of those "beyond category" [thanks for that phrase, Duke] musicians: he’s played/improvised with Dave Brubeck, electron…
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That problem with labels, again.... these two musicians have backgrounds in bluegrass and that relatively new (the late 70s or so) fusion genre (or sub-genre, depending on …
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While many of the neo-Klezmer scene bring jazz (and funk, etc.) into Klezmer (that old-world funky music that mixes Central European Jewish/Hebraic folk melodies n’ motifs …
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Guitarist Simone Guiducci's music defines its own world, but it also reflects the one in which we live. Like playwright-actor Dario Fo, whose literary gramelot, Mistero Buf…
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Veteran modern jazz artists, saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc and trumpeter Roy Campbell lend surefire support here. Yet, vibist and African balafon performer Khan Jamal clearly …
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LUCKY CHARM is precisely that! A lively collection of jazz folk and swing, performed by a lady with talent to spare in the guitar and vocals department, this collection deb…
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Rob Burger is a King of the Keyboards, a multi-keys whiz kid who plays in the eclectic folk/jazz/tango Tin Hat Trio and whose resume includes the Oranj Symphonette, Bill Fr…
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The music of the Middle East - of both Arabic and Jewish origins - and jazz have made for some enjoyable amalgams. Yusef Lateef, John Coltrane, Oregon, Herbie Mann and even…
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Chicago-born pianist Burton Greene was/is on of the Grand Daddies of the early NYC avant/free jazz scene - he led his own groups as well as playing with Albert Ayler, Patty…
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Khan Jamal is a Philadelphia-area vibist who’s been associated with the avant/free scene in the 1970s (his own recordings and w/ Byard Lancaster and R. Shannon Jackson), wh…
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Well if I am to be perfectly honest I must admit that I was only vaguely familiar with Ben Allison and his work before I reviewed this CD. It has been my loss. Ne…
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Every now ‘n’ again one hears proof - or is it reinforcement? - of the fact of vital jazz activity in cities in these United States that aren’t NYC or LA or even Chicago. T…
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Skill and joy are in amply evidence on Phillips, Grier & Flinner’s sophomore release on Compass Records, Looking Back, the much-anticipated follow-up to their 1999 s…
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The photo that graces W.E. Smith’s album reveals a lot about the man and his music. It is a photo taken early in the last century of a wooden-planked sheet music shop reple…
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NYC-based bassist/composer Ben Allison, when not leading his own bands, plays in The Herbie Nichols Project, the band/collective dedicated to the little- or un-heard music …
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On her debut recording as a solo artist, Cronholm and her group Ibis are featured throughout. This is a simple yet haunting recording with much depth and variation.The t…
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Singer-songwriter Jen Chapin and bassist Stephan Crump make their recording debut as a duo on "Open Wide."Performing 10 original compositions by Chapin, the pair deliver…
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For anyone who has ever attempted to play an archtop acoustic guitar, they know what a demanding beast she can be. This writer had one (inherited through two generations) a…
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