Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Raul d’Gama Rose’s review of Dandelion Clock from AAJ
Dandelion Clock
Sarah Manning | Posi-Tone Records (2010)
By Raul d’Gama Rose
It takes a long time for the delightful shock of first hearing Sarah Manning’s emphatic, almost blasé, voice—rich, tunefully accented and almost bronzed, as full as a sudden blast of sunshine. The first sounds of her alto saxophone are so indelibly burned in the memory that virtually everything else becomes ...Read More
Dan Bilawsky’s review of Jacam Manricks’ Trigonometry
By Dan Bilawsky
This album, like the branch of math where it gets its names, deals with angles and relationships from different sides. Saxophonist/composer Jacám Manricks enjoys creating some rhythmic friction—using different combinations of instruments and musicians within his group—while also treating each piece like a fresh canvas, ready to be turned into high art. His pleasing and pure-to ...Read More
Bruce Lindsay’s AAJ review of Steve Davis’ Images
By Bruce Lindsay
Trombonist/composer Steve Davis was commissioned by the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz to compose Images: The Hartford Suite, with track dedicated to a contemporary or historical Hartford figure or place. Thankfully, a detailed knowledge of Hartford, Connecticut is not a prerequisite for the enjoyment of this music; the talent and enthusiasm of the musicians accentuate this set ...Read More
Elliot Simon’s AAJ Review of Boiling Point
By Elliott Simon
A talented young saxophonist, Brandon Wright came to NYC from Miami and honed his craft in its intimate uptown and downtown venues, while taking advantage of the Petri dish nature of its musician collegiality. And Wright obviously did more than just show up and play. He had to have listened, learned, practiced and sweated to master the full-throated sound that so impresses on each ...Read More
Dan Bilawsky’s AAJ Review of Images
By Dan Bilawsky
Images is trombonist Steve Davis’ love letter to his hometown of West Hartford, CT. The ten pieces he wrote for the album, and which make up his “Hartford Suite,” are all dedicated to people or places associated with this geographic region. While Davis’ penchant for crisp swing and clear, lyrical lines plays a big part here, some compositional cunning—and ...Read More
AAJ Review of Dandelion Clock
By Woodrow Wilkins
It may take years of listening before a music enthusiast can identify the sound of a musician, distinct and separate from others who play the same instrument. David Sanborn, Bob Mintzer and Jay Beckenstein are just a few examples of saxophonists whose voices are easily distinguished. Sarah Manning hopes to join their ranks.
Manning began playing jazz during junior high school, ...Read More
Raul D’Gama’s AAJ review for “Dandelion Clock”…
www.allaboutjazz.com
By RAUL D’GAMA ROSE
Track Listing: The Peacocks; Marble; Habersham Street; I Tell the Time by the Dandelion Clock; Crossing, Waiting; The Owls (Are On The March); Through the Keyhole; Phoenix Song; The Windmills of Your Mind.
Personnel: Sarah Manning: alto saxophone; Art Hirahara: piano; Linda Oh: bass; Kyle Struve: drums.
Style: Modern Jazz
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Audiophile Audition review for Steve Davis “Images”…
www.audaud.com
Steve Davis – Images – Posi-Tone PR8066, 56:13 ****½:
(Steve Davis, trombone; Mike DiRubbo, alto sax; David Bryant, piano; Josh Evans, trumpet & Flugelhorn; Dezron Douglas, bass; Eric McPherson, drums; Kris Jensen, tenor sax on “Club 880”)
Steve Davis graduated from the University of Hartford in 1989, where he studied under the tutelage of the master, Jackie McL ...Read More
Peter Hum review for Steve Davis “Images”…
communities.canada.com
From New York trombonist Steve Davis come two CDs — the hardbopping Images…
Images is a set of crisp, well-executed originals from Davis, who turns 43 this year but who began his career nearly two decades ago as a sideman in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, that quintessential hardbop band. Just as Davis as stayed true to his stylistic preference in jazz, he& ...Read More
Traditional jazz gets a modern sound.
www.audaud.com
Dan Pratt Organ Quartet – Toe the Line – Posi-Tone Records PR8059, 59:31 ****:
(Dan Pratt, tenor saxophone; Alan Ferber, trombone; Jared Gold, Hammond B3 Organ; Mark Ferber, drums)
Dan Pratt has rapidly established himself as a force in the modern jazz movement. In high school, he performed with the Monterey Jazz Festival High School Band, and then attended the Berklee School ...Read More