There was virtually no prior planning for this meeting between organist Jimmy McGriff and altoist Hank Crawford, but none was needed. The veterans had already recorded four prior albums together, so they simply jammed through blues, ballads and a few basic originals without any difficulty; Crawford could play this material blindfolded. McGriff sets the grooves expertly with his foot-pedal basswork, with assistance from guitarist Rodney Jones and drummer Jesse Hameen. The overall result is an enthusiastic session of foot-tapping music. No real surprises occur, but lovers of hard-swinging organ combos have nothing to complain about.
This was the first recording by the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, made just a short time after co-leader Thad Jones surprised everyone by suddenly quitting and moving to Europe. Although Jones was gone, the band was still performing his arrangements, and all six of the charts on the set were his; plus, he was the composer of five of the tunes. With such soloists as pianist Jim McNeely, altoist Dick Oatts, trumpeter John Marshall, and the tenors of Bob Rockwell and Richard Perry (along with plenty of tight ensembles), it was clear that the orchestra would live on. Worth searching for.
It is easy to have low expectations for this CD because Jeremy Davenport was clearly being positioned to be "the next Chet Baker," though he did not succeed. The seven cover boy photos make it a little difficult to take him seriously and the originals that he contributed to the set (particularly "Was It Something I Did?," which has abysmal words) are not too memorable. But, on the other hand, he plays trumpet well, his vocals, which sound much closer to Harry Connick, Jr. than to Baker, have their charm, and Davenport is fairly rewarding on the standards (such as "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "I'm Old Fashioned," and "I'm in the Mood for Love").
There is no denying that Dave Brubeck's hit sides for Columbia permanently established him in the popular jazz consciousness, but that's also a limiting factor: he cut great music before and after his tenure there. The Definitive Dave Brubeck, a double-disc, 26-track collection issued just in time to celebrate the pianist's 90th birthday and to coincide with the documentary film Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Time (whose executive producer is Clint Eastwood), fills in key points in the rest of the story. This compilation was assembled by Russell Gloyd, Brubeck's manager, producer, and conductor since 1976…
Planet Jazz gives the impression that guitarist/keyboardist Ed Hamilton has sublimated more adventurous instincts to stay on target with his handlers' bid for mass appeal. Only occasionally does he hint at having a voice of his own: for example, when executing an unexpected turn of phrase in a high-speed run up the neck or in moments when his jazz, rock, and pop confections coalesce into glimmerings of a direction worthy of further exploration. Overall, though, the focus on this 1996 release is on sweet, hummable hooks rather than swinging improvisation. Still, on a couple of the 12 Hamilton originals here, the young Philadelphian impresses with some nice Wes Montgomery-inspired work.
On Beyond Standard, her fifth album and the second one under the group name Hiromi's Sonicbloom, the always adventuresome pianist doesn't so much pay tribute to standards such as Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and Rodgers and Hammerstein's "My Favorite Things" as break them apart, put them back together in a way that best pleases her and generally deconstruct the whole idea of paying homage to old songs.
While it's true that Oscar Peterson compilations appeared with regularity form the early '60s on, only a few of them – as with most recording artists – have any real merit. This two-disc collection from the Concord Music Group's Telarc label, is one of them. Appearing less than a year before his death, this compilation concentrates on recordings issued from the '50s through the middle of the '80s on Dizzy Gillespie's Pablo label, and those made for Telarc between 1990 and 2000. Many live dates are included here from both labels, including "Tenderly" with Herb Ellis and Ray Brown at the J.A.T.P. concerts in Japan; the trio dates at Zardi's in 1955 ("How High the Moon"), in Copenhagen with Joe Pass, Stéphane Grappelli, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen in 1979, and Mickey Roker in 1979 ("Nuages")….