Wikio - CD Reviews

Kirk Knuffke Quartet: Big Wig (All About Jazz)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:05:25 GMT

Since moving to New York in 2005 from his native Colorado, the young trumpet player Kirk Knuffke has performed with composer Butch Morris, singer-songwriter Josh Ritter and Downtown drummers Kenny Wollesen and Jeff Davis, among others. Knuffke initially sought out bassist Reuben Radding and drummer Jeff Davis as trio-mates, but a chance encounter with trombonist Brian Drye yielded a quartet...

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Francois Corneloup: NExT (All About Jazz)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:05:20 GMT

The French saxophonist Francois Corneloup is a baritone/soprano saxophone specialist and a forty-something wild man deserving wider recognition. Last year's release of the U.L.M. Trio recording, with fellow French firecracker Marc Ducret on guitar and the capaciously capable drummer Martin France of Britain, deservedly raised his international profile. This release, falling into the avant-groove category...

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Barry Guy / Marilyn Crispell / Paul Lytton: Phases Of The Night (All About Jazz)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:05:13 GMT

Any subversion of the piano trio tradition as manifested in the clinical virtuosity of a technocratic elite is always welcome, and it's present here in abundance. This is not however to suggest that this trio lacks technique, it's just that the music they produce is so free of the constraints of any overt tradition that the results are compelling...

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Danny Grissett: Encounters (All About Jazz)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:05:08 GMT

When I first heard pianist Danny Grissett a few years back and gave his debut album a favorable review, I anticipated that we'd be hearing more from the Los Angeles native. In fact, his star has been on the rise lately and he's a favorite accompanist to a growing body of leaders including a cache of trumpeters that includes Jim Rotondi, Jeremy Pelt, and Tom Harrell. Now, he returns to Criss Cross for...

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Salongo: Salongo (All About Jazz)

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:05:05 GMT

Like something straight out of Bahia, "Brasilian Sunset" puts one in the mood to samba. The track is one of eight Eddie Allen originals on Salongo's self-titled album, a mix of African, Cuban, Brazilian and even a taste of Santana. Allen plays trumpet, flugelhorn, electric trumpet and performs hand claps and vocals. A versatile musician on the New York scene, he has played big band as well as small...

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Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet: Tabligh (All About Jazz)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:06:04 GMT

For Tabligh, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith has reassembled a Golden Quartet to blow, very Miles Davis-like, on a follow-up recording to Year of the Elephant (Pi Recordings, 2002). But the lineup, excepting the leader, has changed. The sound is, in part, an exploration of Miles' electric period, from 1969-75, albeit in a sparer mode--a rhythm section and the trumpet rather than the guitar-driven, multi-layered...

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Humi: Dune (All About Jazz)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:05:15 GMT

In Hugh Hopper's case, age seems to be bringing with it a certain restlessness of spirit. This duo with Yumi Hara Cawkwell mines a seam of disturbed minimalism the surface of which is ruffled and undermined by Hopper's deft way with lower end sonics and Cawkwell's declamatory yet understated vocals...

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Revolutionary Snake Ensemble: Forked Tongue (All About Jazz)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:05:10 GMT

Feel good. It's okay to feel good in these days of war, floods, pestilence, and (insert the current price of) gasoline. Certainly the tradition of jazz, especially New Orleans jazz, tells us to celebrate the moment, even if that moment is minutes after you've buried a love one. For that you must have a brass band and the troop known as the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble is certainly a worthy one...

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Gerald Albright: Sax for Stax (All About Jazz)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:05:07 GMT

It's all about Memphis with Gerald Albright's Sax for Stax. The veteran saxophonist revisits the sounds of the 1960s and '70s that helped define a label and, to a certain degree, a generation of soul musicians. A native of Los Angeles, Albright has effortless straddled the line between jazz and R&B, making music that is easily accepted by fans of one genre or the other. His inspirations include such...

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Diplomats of Solid Sound Feat. the Diplomettes - untitled CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- This album by the Diplomats of Solid Sound Featuring the Diplomettes exudes the Motown sounds of the 1960s with a little jazz and swing thrown in as well. The characteristic of having the sound accompanied with many female vocals just emphasizes the harmonies and melodies of Motown; the CD follows the lead of the Supremes, minus Diana Ross. These songs could easily be atmospheric music in a very...

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Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Lil’ Wayne is the best rapper alive. Just ask him. On the long-delayed Tha Carter III, that’s all he can think about, eventually saying in no uncertain terms, “I am the best rapper alive.” This all begs the rhetorical question, can you be the best rapper in the world when you only rap about how you’re the best rapper in the world? Hell, even Kanye occasionally sings about something else. If he didn’t...

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Coastline Ending - In the Name of Progression CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Coastline Ending’s In the Name of Progression is a mediocre emo album; it sounds like many other bands, including Taking Back Sunday, just to name one. The melodies and lyrics are catchy, but nothing about this CD stands out as spectacular or captivating. If you like this kind of music then you will probably love it as it is something that does not push the envelope, stand far away from the envelope,...

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Denice Franke - Gulf Coast Blue CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Gulf Coast Blue is full of beautiful singer-songwriter folk songs with lovely deep vocals by Denice Franke. Her lyrics are very simple, straightforward, and poetic. The melodies and harmonies for each track are gorgeous in their minimalism. There are some sounds that, in my opinion, have a Native American feel to them. On many songs, Franke creates vivid images of people through detailed lyrics,...

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Big Head Todd and the Monsters - All the Love You Need Disc 1 CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- All the Love You Need Disc 1 by Big Head Todd and the Monsters is very difficult to categorize because the tracks on this album consist of sounds that are typical of rock, country rock, blues, with tidbits of soul and folk. In order to really define what genre this CD goes under, I went to their MySpace to see what they categorize themselves as and used that. The melodies are clean and straightforward;...

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Sigur R�s - Me� Su� � Eryum Vi� Spilum Endalaust CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós’ new album breaks a longstanding tradition: album titles pronounceable to English speakers. If Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust proves more challenging to the average listener though, Sigur Rós has never been known for ease-of-use. Translated to “With a Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly,” it does seem an appropriate choice for this exploratory, cascading release....

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The Hold Steady - Stay Positive CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Hold Steady albums are a reviewer’s dream. With an album as self-referential as Stay Positive, the best descriptions of the music can be found in the songs themselves. “Our psalms are sing-along songs,” (“Constructive Summer”) . . . yup. “We were kids in the crowd and now we’re dogs in this war,” (“Joke About Jamaica”) . . . well-put. Influences? You don’t need to look hard there either; they’ve...

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Duda Did It - Who Did It CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Duda Did It's newest album, "Who Did It?" is an interesting study in exactly why bands choose to stick within specific genres. This band has enormous potential, as the vocal range of the lead singer is showcased throughout the album, and is quite impressive. However, this album can't quite make up its mind on what it wants to be: is it meant to be an edgy, "alternative" album, or a pop rock adventure?...

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Ism - Urgency CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Here is a fun, rollicking good album for those looking for a fun new alternative rock album. Most of the tracks are pretty great and each has an edgy but fun feel to it. Especially notable include tracks 3, 5, 11. Ism sounds distinctly familiar, so it won't be hard for them to blend right into the top of the alternative/punk rock world atop the Top 40 charts. Ism sounds eerily similar to The Killers,...

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Jimmy G - Kids Totally Rock CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- This album is apparently billed as a children's music album. It is a very strange collection of songs, which ostensibly appear to be made by a man who is gearing his music toward children. In itself, that is an interesting assumption, as plenty of parents, over the decades, have played rock, or whatever type of music was popular in that day, and children grew up with fond memories of it, anyway....

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Theressa Andersson - Hummingbird, Go CD Review (TheCelebrityCafe.com)

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:15:45 GMT

- Once in a while, an incredibly pleasant surprise pops up. Always in a different category, this time the surprise showed up in the form of an incredibly enjoyable audio CD by artist Theresa Andersson. Andersson's newest effort, variously named as "Hummingbird, Go" and "Hummingbird Go!" is a beautiful piece of art that acts like a gift to the senses. This light enough, contemporary, jazz-tinged set...

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