Immediately below and in the right-hand column under Doug's Picks, you will find the Rifftides staff's current recommendations: CDs by a bassist leading his first big band, a saxophonist who melds his American and Indian influences, and a timeless mainstream cornetist. Also, a DVD with Zoot Sims at … [Read more...]
Archives for November 4, 2011
CD: Ron Carter
Ron Carter’s Great Big Band (Sunnyside) The venerable bassist’s first recording at the helm of a big band has style, depth and power. The playlist of jazz standards may suggest that Carter and arranger Robert Freedman are plowing old ground, but they produce a crop of fresh ideas. They … [Read more...]
CD: Rudresh Mahanthappa
Rudresh Mahanthappa, Samdhi (ACT) This is the latest chapter in the alto saxophonist’s accommodation of his Indian cultural heritage to his American jazz ethos. Or is it the other way around? He combines electric guitar, electric bass, drums, the astonishing South Indian percussionist Anantha … [Read more...]
CD: Ray Skjelbred, Jim Goodwin
Ray Skjelbred & Jim Goodwin, Recorded Live in Port Costa (Orangapoid) A couple of years ago I wrote about the night I discovered Jim Goodwin’s cornet playing and became an instant fan: “His solos had echoes and intimations of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Ruby Braff, Max Kaminsky and Wild … [Read more...]
DVD: Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims, In A Sentimental Mood (MVD) We see the tenor saxophonist sitting on a couch telling bassist Red Mitchell about his treasured old horn. Then the two and guitarist Rune Gustafsson play “In a Sentimental Mood.†Sims tells about Benny Goodman stealing his apple, and they play “Gone … [Read more...]
Book: Hershorn on Granz
Tad Hershorn, Norman Granz, The Man Who Used Jazz for Justice (California) In his biography of the concert, recording and equal rights trailblazer, Hershorn praises Granz’s achievements as thoroughly as he examines the impresario’s notoriously abrasive manner. In the balance, Granz emerges as … [Read more...]