The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman are back with a new album "Open Road". The Rippingtons are a Grammy-nominated contemporary jazz group, founded by guitarist and composer Russ Freeman in 1985. The group has passed the thirty year mark, and continues to innovate. Under Freeman's production, the group has released 22 albums, all of which have attained top 5 Billboard status, with 5 of them reaching #1. Their debut album, "Moonlighting", which Jazziz magazine has called "the number one most influential contemporary jazz album of all time."
Splinter Group/Destiny Road is a remarkably good value for anyone interested in the comeback of Peter Green. Combining the self-titled debut of the Splinter Group along with Destiny Road, this two-fer offers a good snapshot of the man's return…
Lee Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass in the legendary music group The Stray Cats. Grammy-nominated, The Stray Cats have sold nearly 10 million albums and garnered an astounding 23 gold and platinum certified records worldwide. Founded by Rocker, Brian Setzer, and Slim Jim Phantom, The Stray Cats remain a radio staple, were music video pioneers at the infancy of MTV, and repeatedly brought rockabilly music to the top of the charts.
When Metheny celebrates his cerebral side, he usually follows up with something more accessible. After his difficult yet rewarding collaboration with John Scofield, I Can See Your House from Here, Metheny stresses accessibility with this captivating live album. The primary focus is on his Brazilian-influenced material from Still Life (Talking) and Letter from Home, and the very cohesive Pat Metheny Group offers characteristically expressive versions of such favorites as "Have You Heard," "Beat 70," and "Better Days Ahead." While he could have offered a wider variety of material and perhaps revisited some of his early gems, everything that he does include comes across as honest and heartfelt. Thankfully, Metheny's emphasis on accessibility and crowd-pleasing doesn't come at the expense of his artistic integrity.
With a unique sound founded on a persuasive mix of American and African jazz, Armitage Road, originally released in 1970, was the only studio recording released by South Africa’s Heshoo Beshoo Group. As a highly prized collector’s item, a re-issue and re-appraisal of this lost gem from the apartheid era has been long overdue. Heshoo Beshoo loosely translates from the inter-tribal lingo of the townships as either ‘going by force’, or ‘moving with force’. That is certainly the case here. With its undeniably funky element Armitage Road combines graceful and moving playing with invention and passion, and it does not disappoint from start to finish.
Here they are, one of the mighty pillars of Motown: the original Four Tops—Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Peyton—live in concert. They sound sublime on "Baby I Need Your Loving," "I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)," "It’s the Same Old Song," "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)," "Reach Out I’ll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "Bernadette," "Walk Away Renee"…16 hits spanning the ’60s to ’80s! Sunset Blvd.