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CD Reviews
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Thursday, 17 March 2005 |
 Photo by Andrea Canter Early
in her career—before the realities of family—Carole Martin was
heard for nights on end at local clubs such as the Point Supper Club,
Mar-key Club, the Radisson, and later at the Artists Quarter and
Dakota. Her first recording, The Music That Makes Me Dance,
was released back in 1968, and audiences had to wait more than 35
years for Pieces of Dreams. With her children now grown,
Martin gradually resumed public appearances, special engagements and
finally a return to the recording studio.
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Friday, 18 February 2005 |
Photos by Andrea Canter
 "With unbridled freedom, he jams with potent montunos and high-energy timba to solos that can melt snow off the sidewalk." -- Jesse "Chuy" Varela, Latin Beat Magazine
Most
Twin Cities' jazz fans are already familiar with the blistering Cuban
piano grooves of Nachito Herrera. Since his arrival in Minnesota four
years ago, Herrera has been wowing audiences, students, and fellow
musicians with monster technique, bottomless energy, and infectious
enthusiasm for his homeland and its eclectic rhythms. His live
recording with his first local band, Puro Cubano, generated a lot of
hot ink, prompting City Pages critic Britt Robson to note
that "the fact that a magnificent, south-of-the-border pianist like
Herrera purposefully transplanted himself to our frozen tundra was the
best local music news of 2002. And Live at the Dakota is proof of that
fact." In the past two years, Herrera has joined forces with a group
of master Afro-Cuban musicians currently working throughout the U.S.
but who converge periodically for a "Cuban All Stars" gig at the Dakota
in downtown Minneapolis. After churning up local stages, Nachito and company took their
sizzling groove into the studio, and the result—Bembé en mi Casa (FS Music)—is poised for national release on September 6th. |
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Written by Don Berryman
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Monday, 07 February 2005 |
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 "Day and Age" is the new release
from the Twin Cities' premiere progressive
'chamber jazz' trio Triplicate. This is the second
release from this band. Triplicate is composed of top Twin
Cities' musicians Joel Shapira on electric
guitar, Bruce "Pooch" Heine on acoustic & electric
bass, and David Stanoch on drums. This CD
satisfies the listener with a variety of tunes with passages evoking
emotions from broody contemplation to giddy
exuberance.
All members of this band display their
compositional skills on this recording. It opens with "Hit on
Twelve" penned by Joel Shapira. This tune
has a haunting middle-eastern melody that rides over an
infectious groove that evokes the exotic and sets the stage
for the rest of the album by preparing us to listen to something new,
even in the familiar. This CD is thinking man's music that doesn't
leave out the body or soul and engages the listener on different
levels. Like the oft-recorded standard "On Green Dolphin Street"
which is presented with a fresh approach. Beginning with gentle
chords and a light Latin treatment on the
drums, the bass is mainly petal point during Joel's guitar solo then
suddenly Pooch changes to a walking bass line and the drum work is
more swinging and the tune just opens up like an orchid
revealing it's delicate beauty. . |
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Tuesday, 11 January 2005 |
 What happens when a consummate veteran bassist gathers four simpatico drummers and seven pianists in varying combinations and turns them loose in the recording studio? The concept was first realized by Twin Cities' master bassist Gordon Johnson on his debut recording, Trios, released by Igmod in 1996. Noted Jazz Times, "... The results of this simple format are hardly simplistic....these trios remind us that with back to the basics, less can be more." Proving lightning can strike twice, Johnson came back with Trios V.2 (Tonalities, 2002), this time paring down to five pianists and four drummers. Of the follow-up, NPR's Leigh Kamman wrote, "It's class performance, and it's a blast!" And now, Johnson proves that you can't have too much of a good thing, with the release of Trios Version 3.0, to be celebrated with a CD Release Party at the Dakota on January 16. The new recording features "only" four pianists—Giacomo Aula, Matthew Fries, Jon Weber, and Benny Weinbeck (all with local ties but only Weinbeck is based in the Twin Cities)—and four drummers—Jay Epstein, Steve Gadd, Phil Hey, and Joe Pulice (all but Gadd currently working in the area). About Gordy Johnson Although best known throughout the region for his sublime acoustic bass, Gordy Johnson graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a major in flute. Primarily playing electric bass, he toured with Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and the Paul Winter Consort. Focusing on a 19th century upright bass in recent years, Johnson has appeared on over 50 recordings with a who's who of jazz and pop artists, and has kept time for most local and many visiting musicians, including a recent appearance with Bill Carrothers at the Dakota. When he is not holding down rhythm sections with his bass lines, Johnson can often be found inside the piano, tuning it up at the top clubs and concert halls in the Twin Cities. |
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Written by Pat Courtemanche
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Sunday, 03 October 2004 |
Photo by Don Berryman
 Lucia
Newell & Departure Point's Steeped in Strayhorn has arrived.
The-long anticipated CD release will be celebrated with a show at the
Dakota in Minneapolis on Thursday, October 7. The show will start at
8:00 PM (with complimentary "Stray style" appetizers served at
7:30 PM).
Legions
of music fans hear the tune "Take the 'A' Train" and immediately
think of Duke |
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Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor
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Saturday, 25 September 2004 |
 In promoting Billy
Holloman's first-ever recording, "This Is Organ Night," City
Pages "critic" (and I use the term lightly) Britt Robson
manages to both celebrate and denigrate a popular Twin Cities'
artist in one short "review" (and I use that term lightly as
well). Clearly Robson liked the CD, at least he describes it as a
"time tested recipe" of "crowd pleasers," which he reports is
intended to promote "Holloman's Tuesday night gigs at St Paul's
Artists Quarter-- and succeeds in spades." But hardly disguised in
this superficial praise is Robson's apparent disdain for organ as a
jazz vehicle, which he describes as "the music's most predictably
pleasurable pick-me-up, as easy to make and satisfying to consume as
fried chicken." This recording--and the artists-- deserve more
serious consideration. Or maybe I just don't appreciate the
complexities of fried chicken.
I can say patently that
I do not come to this recording as a die-hard fan of organ jazz. In
fact this is the only jazz organ recording I own and this one was
given to me. Until I attended Joey DeFrancesco's gig at the Dakota
last winter, I had intentionally avoided organ dates. I was not
totally converted by Joey D, but I was warming up. Then I heard the
amazing Dr. Lonnie Smith with sax veteran Lou Donaldson in August,
and the fabulously subtle Mike LeDonne (with Eric Alexander) just
last week, and I was even closer to admitting that the Hammond B-3
was a powerful jazz voice. Now, hearing local "organizer"
Holloman with his regular Tuesday Night Band, I have arrived--count
me among the believers. This is jazz, not stadium or elevator music,
and while it is indeed "satisfying to consume," it requires as
much effort and musicianship to reach artistic nirvana as any jazz
endeavor. "Easy to make?" Maybe as easy as a critical review.
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 Monday, 13 October 2008
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