12 Rounds (2009)

2009 five CD live set from the veteran British band. Manfred Mann's Earth Band has toured consistently since their inception in the early '70s. No wonder then, that there are countless bootleg recordings doing the rounds. The band is renowned for shaping their songs on a gig-by-gig basis and this collection shows how the sets have been molded and developed over the years. The CDs contain recordings from various European venues, dating from 1981 to 2007. Apart from Volume One, they are all taken from single concerts. For timing purposes, some sets have been edited, but no other enhancements, re-records or overdubs have been added. The performances on this set were recorded in Europe 1981, Austria 1986, Germany 1991, Norway 1999, and Germany 2007.

This 2009 Blues Bureau International release rounds up highlights from Chris Duarte’s previous albums for the label (hence, the “something old”) and adds the previously unreleased “Outside Man” and three live cuts (“something new”). The new cuts are as reliable slices of modern blues-rock as the previously released tracks, so this winds up being a solid sampler of a sturdy group of records.

Brilliantly played, efficiently conducted, and effectively recorded, these performances of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and selections from his Firebird Suite lack only one thing to make them successful: excitement. There's nothing in these scores the San Francisco Symphony cannot execute, from the most challenging solo writing to the most difficult rhythms, and there's nothing in them that Michael Tilson Thomas cannot masterfully direct, from the convoluted textures that open The Rite to the brutal polyrhythms that close it.

Not All Mellow, Houston Person's tribute to the softer side of jazz has its moments based on the laid-back timbre of his soul rather than a program consisting of only ballads. The tenor sax he wields certainly reflects the tradition established by Ben Webster in its soul-drenched tone, but is not as vocally pronounced or vibrato-driven. The quite capable pianist John Di Martino is the one whose more enunciated notions are harnessed, while tasteful guitar by the underrated James Chirillo rings out in acceptance of Person's embraceable hues. In a program of standards and two blues jams, Person rounds into shape this quintet of true professionals to render themes that are harder to play slow than fast…