Cool Jazz - CD Reviews (125)
After 20 years of gradually building his rep as a reliable and versatile sideman on the Orange County, Calif., circuit, guitarist Matthew Von Doran has finally stepped out …
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Sounds of Summer, released by Concord Records, is their Jazz Moods series celebrating the summer its warmth and cheer with a compilation of cool and up-beat numbers from va…
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It’s "Hot" and vivacious, this journey Allison Miller takes us on, as she introduces her debut recording, released by Foxhaven Records named "5 am stroll". The label this p…
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A wide range of talent shares the spotlight on this tightly composed album. It’s soft, smooth, a little perky, yet, introspective and thought provoking.Opening with a se…
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I have one rule when it comes to smooth jazz. Don't bore me. Jazz can be exciting, inspired and improvised. What it should never be is trite or tedious. I'm pleased …
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Possibly because of its many stylistic variants and the large number of musicians involved in the music during its heydays, recorded jazz has been more closely tied to vari…
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Lee Konitz and Alan Broadbent: Two craftsmen from different jazz generations united by an emphasis on exploration rather than emotion. The result is inventive music that cr…
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Jimmy Giuffre was always a little ahead of the curve. Though he was lumped in with the (often unfairly maligned) Cool School, his stuff was always adventurous. JG omitted d…
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A subtle, laid back, yet melodic & harmonic George Shearingis proffered to us in the current incarnation of his new CD project'Like Fine Wine.' It's hard to believe Shearin…
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This CD from Mark Masters & Lee Konitz is full of excellent playing and clever ideas. Konitz has recorded several legendary dates with large and big bands through the years…
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Mimi Fox doesn’t have anything to prove. Widely recognized by her peers and jazz guitar aficionados around the world as one of the most gifted, straight-ahead players on th…
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Bay Area guitarist Mimi Fox makes me wish I had paid more attention taking guitar lessons as a teenager. Ms. Fox is not merely a meticulous technician, she is a unique guit…
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Oh! the new recording by the quartet Scolohofo could have easily turned into a battle of egos where each member adapts a jam session mentality by trying to out play the oth…
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Boston's Gypsy Schaeffer is a quartet of impeccable pedigree. Alto player Andy Voelker & drummer Chris Punis are alumni of the renown Berklee College of Music, while trombo…
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Don’t assume (as I did) that just because Boston combo Gypsy Schaeffer is a piano/guitar-less ensemble - ‘bone, alto sax, bass, drums - that they’re a free/avant-type group…
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Don’t be fooled by the name. Gypsy Schaeffer is not an exotic dancer of Hungarian descent. In fact, it’s not a person at all.It’s a group - a jazz quartet, to be exact.
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It runs in the family was a very well put together compositions of cool jazz tunes from some of our old favorite artist and a couple of new favorite artist. Diana Krall did…
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Perky, upbeat, yet sensual and sublime talents, master flutist Chip Shelton and THE master of bass, Ron Carter team up to create an ear-friendly variety of tunes: several w…
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Now in his 76th year, saxophonist Lee Konitz just keeps getting better and better. Far from resting on his considerable laurels, he continues to explore and examine, mining…
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18 Jun
A New Generation: Paesanos on the New B3 by The Tony Monaco Trio feat. The Joey DeFrancesco Trio
For over a decade Joey DeFrancesco has reigned undisputed as the king of the new generation of B3 Organ players. The unexpected emergence of Tony Monaco in the past three y…
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