Available Today–Simpatico Trumpet Master Claudio Roditi’s New Release on Resonance Records

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Claudio Roditi, Jazz, Trumpet

Roditi’s New CD Follows His 2009 Grammy-Nominated Brazilliance X 4

Claudio Roditi - Simpatico

In the wake of his acclaimed and Grammy-nominated (in the “Best Latin Jazz Album” category) 2009 Resonance Records release, Brazilliance x 4, trumpet/flugelhorn player Claudio Roditi has created Simpatico, another tuneful showcase for his patented blend of Brazilian samba and bossa nova with straight-ahead jazz. But where last year’s recording included works by such Brazilian legends as João Donato, Durval Ferreira, and Johnny Alf, Simpatico spotlights both Roditi’s playing and his composing talents.

“To me,” Roditi remarks, “the main difference of this album from everything else I have done is that for the very first time these are all my compositions, all twelve of them. There are some new pieces, some a little older, but these are mostly things I haven’t recorded, and some of them I haven’t played live.”

Joe Henderson | In Japan & Power to The People

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African American, Jazz, Joe Henderson, Saxophone

Joe Henderson| In Japan – [Fantasy Records, 1971]

Joe Henderson - In Japan

This CD will amaze you. It’s a recording of a 1971 date in Tokyo, and it ranks right up there with the great live jazz recordings of Parker, Coltrane, Dolphy, Davis, Mingus and others. Henderson, backed by a group of Japanese musicians, blasts through 45 minutes of music that will leave you wondering why this release ever went out of print.

His solo entry on Monk’s “‘Round Midnight” sets the release off, and after pianist Hideo Ichikawa joins him, Henderson shows why why he’s the best living saxophonist since Coltrane. He honks, he bleats, but he never loses the essential beauty of the tune. It’s a wonderful tribute to Monk, equal to Coltrane’s great solo on the tune while he was with Miles.

Throughout, the Japanese bandmates prove equal to the task of playing with Henderson. Ichikawa, in particular, is powerful on electric piano, particularly on the set closer, “Junk Blues.”

Henderson is the rare player who managed to listen to all of the major influences — Parker, Young, Hawkins, Coltrane — and absorb them all without losing his own voice. Thankfully, as of this writing, he is still with us. Everyone should listen to this release as a tour-de-force of tenor sax playing, released at a time when people were ready to dismiss jazz as a viable form. Not so quick, the Japanese said. They finally reminded us that some of our best products — such as jazz and Joe Henderson — are homegrown. —Tyler Smith

David Ashkenazy | Out With It

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David Ashkenazy, Drums, Jazz

David Ashkenazy | Out With It – [Posi-Tone, 2009]

David Ashkenazy - Out With It

David Ashkenazy goes beyond with his latest release “Out With It” available now from Posi-Tone. Moving boldly forward, drummer, Ashkenazy is joined on the mission by a veteran flight crew of saxophonist Joel Frahm, organist Gary Versace, and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. The sky is the limit as the session takes off swingingly,quickly breaks the sound barrier of the safe and familiar, and heads harmonically for escape velocity off into space.

Featuring a stellar lineup and a balanced program of songs and styles from the straight ahead to the more modern and avant-garde, David Ashkenazy’s “Out With It” will certainly fascinate serious jazz enthusiasts with detailed constellations and compositions while also bringing pure melodic delight to casual listeners tuning in from space stations, satellites, and home bases everywhere.

..:: Source: Posi-Tone.com ::..