by Nick DeRiso Though not the hoped-for third-act triumph, Ella and Oscar still has its enduring charms. See, Oscar Peterson, a hard-banging piano genius as bluesy as he was inventive, should have made the perfect foil for Ella Fitzgerald on this stripped-down date, set for reissue on March 15 by Concord. It seems that too much time, however, had passed [...]

by Nick DeRiso The King has been dead for nearly a half century. Not that you’d know it with all the reissues, television specials and creepy rip offs from Nat Cole‘s daughter over the last pair of decades. He’s funny that way. Cole has had more output over that period than many living jazzers, and he’s brought more surprises — [...]

by Something Else Reviews In many ways, television is a technological wonder these days, what with remote controls, digital signals and DVRs. But, for those who fell in love with the old-school opening theme, it’s not all gravy. Today, you’re more likely to simply see the word LOST charging toward the screen, followed by a suitably ominous thud. Cool, sure. [...]

by Nick DeRiso A group of cross-country friends with day jobs got together to produce Rochester Express, this chummy, Woody Herman-style amalgam of galloping jazz joys. By day, the members of Rochester, Minnesota-based TakeTwo work as a cardiovascular surgeon, a respiratory therapist, and an IBM engineer. In this two day recording session, however, they emerged from their shiny office edifices [...]

by Nick DeRiso Every so often, a singer gets so dispirited, laid so low, that he’s simply got to talk back to the blues. I love those songs. Think Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning Heartache,” and this one — recorded by Jimmy Rushing with a sizzling early edition of the Count Basie Orchestra. Included on the Decca date are Lester Young [...]

by Mark Saleski I’m going to begin by saying something that will probably horrify many a jazz lover: I never liked Duke Ellington or Count Basie all that much. It’s true. I know that a jazz writer shouldn’t be admitting to such things but sometimes you have to stick with honesty. OK, and while I’m at it? I got annoyed [...]

by Nick DeRiso You hear Beatles songs remade by jazz musicians with notable frequency, some more successful (Jaco Pastorius‘ glorious reading of the oft-covered “Blackbird” from “Word of Mouth”; a just-right “All My Loving” on “Basie’s Beatles Bag”; Ramsey Lewis‘ underrated “Hard Day’s Night” from “Finest Hour”) than others (almost all of the rest of that un-Fab 1966 Count Basie [...]

by S. Victor Aaron Another record by a jazz drummer? Heck yeah! Ulysses Owens, Jr. isn’t just a young up-and-comer percussion specialist with a radiant smile. Behind the cheerful expression is a serious commitment to his craft. A graduate of the world renowned Julliard School, Owens has been touring with Christian McBride and recent Grammy winner Kurt Elling. Before that, [...]

by Nick DeRiso An honorable, if ultimately somewhat superficial, tribute to the thing that makes Robert “Jr.” Lockwood such an important element to modern blues. Lockwood was something of a stepson to Robert Johnson. The doomed Delta bluesman would stop in to stay with Lockwood’s mother in Helena, Ark., during early 1930s road trips along the chitlin’ circuit, and they [...]

by S. Victor Aaron Oftentimes the battle for getting the recorded music of experimental and forward-thinking musicians out to the public is largely undertaken by hundred if not thousands of tiny record labels. These labels are not founded by those with the idea of making a lot of money, but are started up my folks who have a real passion [...]