Eddie Palmieri -][- LISTEN HERE [Concord Records]

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Eddie Palmieri, Jazz, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Piano, Regina Carter

Nuyorican composer, arranger and pianist Eddie Palmieri’s recording “Listen Here” absolutely smokes! If you don’t have this gem in your collection … get it today it’s definitely worth your time, money and effort!

Eddie Palmieri - LISTEN HERE (2005)

Eddie Palmieri -][- LISTEN HERE – [Concord Records, 2005]

With “Listen Here” the “latin monk” Eddie Palmieri explores his jazzier roots with guests soloists and his excellent working band with great sucess. It’s fun and upbeat [like Eddie] but it is NOT big band latin jazz. For that turn to Eddie’s cd’s “La Perfecta” and “Obra Maestra”. This cd has more of a small unit jazz flavor with several jazz standards [Monk,Silver] and Eddie originals. Frankly to my ears the originals work better.

Regina Carter [violin] burns on “In Flight” and sax player Michael Brecker [who is very ill by the way] cooks on “Listen Here”. Listen Here seems to work best with the pared down units in the several formats presented here. Eddie’s percussive Monk-like piano playing is particually interesting on La Gitano with great subtle accoustic guitar work by John Scofield. Fans of Eddie’s big band latin jazz may be dissapointed or surprised [I was pleasently] but this is Eddie reaching and stretching his art. I hope he cotinues to evolve. Heck he’s only 68 years old! Recommended. —M. Murphy | Customer Review Amazon.com

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

Flux Music [Jazz] Essentials … featuring [Blanchard, Brecker, & Di Meola]

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African American, Al di Meola, Jazz, Michael Brecker, Terence Blanchard

Flux Music Essentials

Greeting’s jazz connoisseurs, it’s great to return with another intriguing palette of creative music from some of today’s most unique, adventurous and inspiring voices known and unknown artists alike in the world of jazz.

Terence Blanchard - Flow

Terence Blanchard -][- Flow – [BLUE NOTE, 2005]

Terence Blanchard’s “Flow” may seem from the title to be some sort of easy-going smooth jazz effort. Instead, it’s a fairly strong mainstream jazz CD. The core group is a sextet, though it switches around, and Herbie Hancock evens plays on two songs. The three “Flow” songs are all fairly loose quartet jams — just trumpet, guitar, bass and drums. Blanchard lets his bandmates bring the tunes, and despite variations in style the CD flows nonetheless. “Wadagbe” is a good Lionel Loueke song which includes Lionel’s wordless yelps. I could do without the intro, though. “Benny’s Tune” is a slow song, also by Loueke, but it sounds more like a song from a Blanchard album than a Loueke album. “Wandering Wonder” is strong uptempo, mainstream stuff. “The Source” is by drummer Kendrick Scott and builds and gathers song parts like so many eighth notes laying in the grass. Bassist Derrick Hodge’s “Over There” is strong enough to get revisited in Blanchard’s 2007 “A Tale Of God’s Will” CD. Brice Winston wrote “Child’s Play” and it reminds me of something Wayne Shorter might have written. “Harvesting Dance,” by Aaron Parks, is another long, strong tune to close the CD.

“Flow” is a modern, mainstream CD, but there’s much more to it than its title indicates. There’s strong writing and improvisation. Pretty much any jazz fan ought to like this CD. —Anthony Cooper | Amazon.com

Michael Brecker | Tales From the Hudson

Tags

Jazz, Michael Brecker, Saxophone

Michael Brecker - Tales From the Hudson

Michael Brecker ::|:: Tales From the Hudson – [GRP, 1996]

Tales from the Hudson is the strongest of Brecker’s recent jazz releases, following a return to acoustic improvisation after earlier fusion releases with the Brecker Brothers. A modal jazz-fest, with admirable support from bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack DeJohnette and percussionist Don Alias, the album is packed with great tunes including a passionate acoustic reworking of African Skies and Metheny’s Song for Bilbao, both featuring McCoy Tyner.

You could criticize it though for being a light-weight production, heavier on lyricism than rhythmic and harmonic complexity, but complaining that the music is not challenging enough misses the point. This is simply a straight forward album of great jazz, and one that I’d happily recommend to both the casual listener and the jazz aficionado.

..:: Source: Amazon.com ::..

McCoy Tyner Trio | Infinity

Tags

African American, Jazz, McCoy Tyner, Michael Brecker, Piano, Saxophone

McCoy Tyner Trio | Infinity (featuring Michael Brecker) – [Impulse! Records, 1995]

McCoy Tyner - Infinity

This is one of the best matchups of two of the most seminal figures in jazz today. There is no saxophonist alive more worthy of playing alongside the legendary pianist from the John Coltrane Quartet of the 1960s than Michael Brecker. His style is very much influenced by Coltrane’s ideas and harmonic innovations but he still manages to have a completely original voice. His playing on this date is up to his usual standard of excellence and truly seems to inspire and push the trio forward. One of the reasons that Tyner and Brecker play extremely well together is that both heavily employ the use of pentatonics. Their styles mesh amazingly well.

The music itself is mostly written by Tyner with a few exceptions including their take on Coltrane’s classic Impressions. Brecker truly extends himself on this modal standard but the highlight of the album is the first track, Flying High. Both Brecker and Tyner are in top form and play beautifully with extreme intensity.

The Brecker Brothers | Return of The Brecker Brothers

Tags

Jazz, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Saxophone, Trumpet

The Return of the Brecker Brothers is strapped with a festive attitude programmed with hot and tasty beats packed in this delicious recording under the helm of Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen at GRP Records. Out of the box, the legendary saxophonist Michael Brecker and his talented brother Randy on trumpet wrapped their voices together to meet the demands of vigorous interplay while engaged to the elements of jazz meets rock to become a full-blown fusion excursion. Therefore, the BB’s remained bonded as one to their musical prowess became a dynamite duo on the music scene. Meanwhile, the talented duo armed themselves through various mood changes in the music industry to raise the bar as a-lists players on virtually thousands of recordings filled with fiery jazz coupled with their own signature of funk induced horn play. ~ The Urban Flux

The Brecker Brothers | Return of The Brecker Brothers – [GRP Records, 1992] – Weekend Spin

The Brecker Brothers, Return of

By the 1990s, smooth jazz had become such a commercial powerhouse that some established jazz artists were tripping over themselves to get in on the action. It had its own format on the radio, and records were selling briskly. Spyro Gyra, Grover Washington, Jr., George Howard, Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber, and countless others were knocking out near platinum discs almost without trying. As a band, the Brecker Brothers were part of the initial contemporary jazz flowering in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with their seamless, driving mélange of jazz, funk, pop, soul, and fusion.

Saxophonist Michael and trumpeter Randy had issued a slew of records between 1975 and 1982 as the Brecker Brothers, but studio and touring commitments with other units and individuals kept them from recording as a band again for 12 years. Return of the Brecker Brothers was released in 1992 on Dave Grusin’s GRP imprint. Michael on saxophones and the Akai EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) and Randy on trumpet and flügelhorn were supported by a rhythm section that included drummer Dennis Chambers, George Whitty on keyboards, and bassist James Genus. The set’s guests include guitarists Dean Brown and Michael Stern, percussionist Don Alias, saxophonist David Sanborn, and bassist Will Lee. This star-studded affair delivers an excellent jazz-funk record that has far more teeth than other smooth jazz efforts of the period. —Thom Jurek

..:: Source: AllMusic.com ::..