北京 幸福大街 Happy Avenue

Kenny Garrett - Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium (2008) {Mack Avenue MAC 1042} (ft. Pharaoh Sanders}
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© 2008 Run Run Shaw / Mack Avenue Records | MAC 1042
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Though it was recorded live at New York's jazz emporium, Iridium, Detroit born saxophonist Kenny Garrett makes a return home of sorts with Sketches of MD, his debut on the Motor City's own Mack Avenue Records. His quartet here, with bassist Nat Reeves, pianist/organist Benito Gonzalez, and drummer Jamire Williams, may not possess the star power of some of his studio albums, but this band is more than up for the gig. In addition, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders reprises his role from Beyond the Wall from 2006 as Garrett's foil, creating sparks aplenty.

War got decent mileage from the soundtrack for this B-movie, which premiered near the end of the first blaxploitation era. They ended with two R&B hits, and while they were perturbed that United Artists, the label they had left, reaped the benefits, it at least kept them active and in the R&B hunt.

Cecile McLorin Salvant - Dreams and Daggers (2017) {2CD Set Mack Avenue MAC1120} (Complete Artwork)
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© 2017 Mack Avenue Records | MAC1120
Jazz / Vocal Jazz

That's quite an unusual cover for a jazz vocal album – but then again, Cecile McLorin Salvant is quite an unusual singer – and one who may well be out to change the future of her genre with records like this! The songs are this fantastic blend of original compositions, jazz standards, and other classics – but woven together in this tapestry by Cecile and the group, almost as if they're part of this larger patchwork commentary on the history of vocal jazz – all updated and taken to very personal territory.

Compared To That is that musical happy place somewhere between contemporary/modern jazz but with an old school sensibility. Bromberg is not reinventing the musical wheel. What Brian Bromberg does so incredibly well here is expand his sound and push the music forward. Guest artists include such diverse talents as Jeff Lorber, Bela Fleck and Randy Brecker combined with a deceptively subtle swing of a walking bass line punctuated with attitude so if this release doesn't make your musical back leg shake you may want to see if your autopsy report is ready.

An often overlooked and underrated part of War’s legacy was their instrumentals, many of which were quite imaginative. War’s members loved jazz, and they expressed that passion not because they had any illusions of trying to compete with Miles Davis or Joe Henderson, but simply for the enjoyment of it. Released as a two-LP set, Platinum Jazz gathered War’s previously released instrumentals (plus one vocal, “Deliver the Word”) with fine results. Jazz fusion material ranging from the unpredictable “City, Country, City” (arguably the band’s best instrumental ever, and certainly their best known) and the salsa-influenced “Nappy Head” to the mellow “H2Overture” and the congenial “Smile Happy” show just how effective War’s members could be without vocals. And when saxman Charles Miller and keyboardist Lonnie Jordan stretch out, it’s clear that as improvisers, they weren’t half bad.