Ron Wynn
Ron’s Contributions
January/February 2006 Books
The Language of the Blues
Debra DeSalvo
The blues is both an art form and a lifestyle. It's a wondrous, fascinating, perplexing and magnificent sound, and often the music's greatest exponents aren't necessarily the finest technical players or singers. Journalist and musician Debra DeSalvo understands...
January/February 2006 DVDs
New Guitar Summit: Live at the Stoneham Theatre
Jay Geils, Duke Robillard and Gerry Beaudoin
Guitarist Jay Geils is more associated with sprawling bar-band numbers and updated renditions of Chicago blues standards than participating in jam sessions like the splendid three-part ax-harmony date spotlighted on New Guitar Summit. But those who only...
January/February 2006 DVDs
King of the Vibes
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton brought the percussive dynamics and flexibility of a great drummer (which he was) to the vibes, showing that it could be far more than a novelty instrument within the jazz ranks. His explosive, teeming solos and willingness to allow his band...
January/February 2006 DVDs
Spontaneous Inventions
Bobby McFerrin
The phase "improvising vocalist" more accurately describes Bobby McFerrin than the term "jazz singer." From his uncanny ability to imitate instruments to his fluidity with lyrics, charisma on stage and rhythmic skills, McFerrin is a dominant performer. This...
January/February 2006 DVDs
A Special Evening With Duke Robillard and Friends
Duke Robillard
Guitarist Duke Robillard can deliver supple, disciplined riffs for swing arrangements, extensive and intricate solos for exacting jazz pieces or stinging accompaniment for blues and R&B shouters. A Special Evening links all these aspects of his musical personality...
December 2005 Fused
Undefined Psych-Chromatic G.R.I.D.
John Carey
Bass virtuoso John Carey calls his music "organized chaos" in the CD liner notes, and this live date ventures outside about as far as anything that's come my way in recent memory. Indeed, benchmarks commonly used to evaluate improvisational sessions don...
December 2005 Fused
The King Crimson Songbook, Vol. One
The Crimson Jazz Trio
The Crimson Jazz Trio's lineup of pianist Jody Nardone, bassist Tim Landers and drummer Ian Wallace has been careful not to distort King Crimson's melodies, but they do lots of tinkering, restructuring and harmonic adjustments on Songbook. Songs like "21st...
December 2005 Fused
Soleil 12
The Forgas Band Phenomena
The Forgas Band Phenomena's latest release blurs idiomatic considerations so extensively they render stylistic definitions irrelevant. No one can accuse bandleader and principal composer Patrick Forgas of being tame or conservative in his writing and arrangements...
December 2005 Fused
Blueberry Cave
Garaj Mahal
The San Francisco band Garaj Mahal will never be accused of stylistic timidity. Indeed, they try so many things on Blueberry Cave that sometimes they get too ambitious. Kai Eckhardt is a fantastic bassist, one of fusion's finest groove players, but he's...
December 2005 Fused
Thanks for Flying With Us
The Mats/Morgan Band
Swedish multi-instrumentalists Mats Oberg and Morgan Agren mix funky, groove-oriented influences with aspects of trance, rock, jam band and 4/4 jazz on Thanks for Flying With Us. The 16-track CD contains studio and live cuts, and the best pieces are those...
December 2005 Fused
Airback
NDIO
Former Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper's current band, NDIO, offers some exciting pieces on Airback, though the insertion of distracting samples sometimes detracts from rather than improves the composition. That's particularly true on "Stromboli," where...
December 2005 Fused
Organik
Niacin
At its best, Niacin's surging, highly personalized music is almost as frenetic and sophisticated as that crafted by the late B3 master Larry Young. While that's high praise, there are at least 10 tracks among the 13 featured selections from Organik that...
December 2005 Fused
Love Press Ex-Curio
Charlie Peacock
Nashville keyboardist and bandleader Charlie Peacock has amassed such a reputation as a gospel and pop producer as well as a session player that his early roots in jazz aren't widely known. Peacock revisits his jazz heritage here with a set that won't excite...
December 2005 Fused
Gospel for J.F.P. III:Tribute to Jaco Pastorius
Various Artists
The songs on this tribute that will most remind listeners of electric-bass giant Jaco Pastorius' greatness are those featuring guitarist Hiram Bullock or bassists John Patitucci and Marcus Miller. Bullock teams with fellow guitarist Bireli Lagrene and the...
November 2005 Albums
Native Lands
Will Calhoun
Will Calhoun displays his adaptability and instrumental mastery in numerous roles on the musically diverse, thematically appealing Native Lands. Calhoun works in solo, duo and combo situations, his duties rotating between sympathetic accompanist, flashy...
November 2005 Albums
Multiplicity
The Dave Weckl Band
Dave Weckl's an excellent, flamboyant drummer, and his band makes joyous, entertaining music on the nine-song Multiplicity. They include snippets and references to such genres as reggae (the foundation of "Elements of Surprise") and funk (forms the framework...
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