The Marsalis family was bred to the traditions of New Orleans, and trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis maintains a residency at a Crescent City nightclub, Snug Harbor. Recording with his big band, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Marsalis’ Jazz Party is meant to capture the flavor of his Snug Harbor shows. The music is as diverse as New Orleans, with echoes of Latin America, classic R&B and blues. He goes Crescent City funky on “So New Orleans!”—one easily imagines the band decked in “Indian” feathers and marching down the street for Mardi Gras. Everything is sleek and precise; even the cacophonous moments sound carefully engineered within the arrangements.
Rick Wakeman is an English keyboardist, songwriter, television and radio presenter, and author. He is best known for being in the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004 and for his solo albums released in the 1970s…
The second live album by Italian soul/jazz vocalist Mario Biondi, recorded during his 2010 Spazio Tempo Italian tour, featured two jazz bands facing each other. In this double set, Biondi performs his most recent studio effort, If (2009), in its entirety, and adds a medley, a cover of "Nature Boy," three songs featuring acid jazz combo Incognito, and a studio version of the previously unreleased title track.