Jazz
The life of a working musician is not a second-class life, and Mimi Rabson’s is Exhibit A: “I try to get past the limits of the definitions and get to the joy.”
This live performance recording showcases the Boston-based singer/pianist Kemp Harris’s merrily eclectic approach — it is a thought-stirring and animated musical excursion.
One disc pays expert homage to the late pianist Harold Mabern; pianist Yoko Miwa’s latest album supplies much appreciated exuberance.
On Welfare Jazz, Viagra Boys succeed through their skillful manipulation of pure bombast, spurred on by haywire grooves as well as plenty of oversized personality.
Boston’s Fred Taylor was by turns (and often simultaneously) a recording engineer, promo man, artist manager, talent scout, press agent, newspaper columnist, concert promoter, club manager, nightclub owner, restaurant, and movie house owner.
This is a well-rounded session of disciplined, well-crafted composing and soloing, with established and up-and-coming players mixing it up with style and commitment.
It’s easy to single out each of these musicians, but listeners will hear the three as nearly one, which is surely what this trinity intended.
So Miguel Zenón, who on saxophone has the facility of a bebopper, which he uses discreetly, is here a singer as well as an instrumentalist.
Two from Dave Brubeck: Time Outtakes, the alternate tracks for the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s classic 1959 album Time Out is very good to have; Lullabies is filled with the intimate sound of the pianist’s old age, tender affection, and distilled musical wisdom.
This set proves Monty Alexander a more varied pianist than one might have thought. The Ellis Marsalis album is a final gift from one of America’s treasures.
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