George Kanzler
George’s Contributions
May 2010 Albums
Albums — May 2010
When the harmonica is heard in jazz, it is most often the 12-tone chromatic harmonica, not the diatonic “blues harp,” which is associated more with Bob Dylan and Chicago blues. Howard Levy, however, has almost single-handedly developed the full jazz potential...
03/12/10 Concerts
Bible Belt Jazz
George Kanzler reviews recent shows and the scene in Asheville, NC.
03/10/10 Albums
Days in the Life
Robby Ameen
Although he’s been a leading drummer on the Latin pop and jazz scene for over two decades, this is the first album where Robby Ameen has served as both leader and principal composer/arranger. Definitely a drummer’s date, it spotlights Ameen’s versatility...
03/10/10 Albums
When the harmonica is heard in jazz, it is most often the 12-tone chromatic harmonica, not the diatonic “blues harp,” which is associated more with Bob Dylan and Chicago blues. Howard Levy, however, has almost single-handedly developed the full jazz potential...
April 2009 Albums
The Music of Djavan
Lori Bell
Jazz flute and Brazilian music go all the way back to Herbie Mann’s pioneering work, recordings that predated even tenor saxophonist Stan Getz’s crossover hits. Both Getz and Mann embraced bossa nova and collaborated with Brazilian musicians, but Bell, a...
April 2009 Albums
Reflections
Mark Colby
Stan Getz is tenor saxophonist Mark Colby’s stylistic model, and on previous recordings his debt to Getz has been obvious. It’s not a bad model—everyone doesn’t have to sound like Coltrane—especially when you, like Colby, have a strong lyrical bent and can...
April 2009 Albums
The Art of the Trio
Ernie Krivda
You can hear what Joe Lovano has heard in his fellow Cleveland tenor saxophonist Ernie Krivda: a similar rough, wooly tweed tone and same fearless, questing imagination. Seven years older, Krivda has a unique jazz voice, one that has had an impact on Lovano...
April 2009 Albums
Ring Dem Bells
The Johnny Varro Swing 7
In the ecclesiastics of swing, the Johnny Varro Swing 7 would be in the liberal camp. Pianist Varro, irrespective of his associations with neo-traditionalists, is no atavist trying to recreate the swing of yesteryear via musical Xeroxing; he’s more interested...
March 2009 Albums
Unconventional Wisdom
Randy Sandke
It’s appropriate to revive a venerable spelling to describe trumpeter Randy Sandke, for he is in every sense a compleat musician, a true Renaissance man of jazz. Any doubts about his all-around command of his chosen instrument should be dispelled after listening...
March 2009 Albums
High Noon: The Jazz Soul of Frankie Laine
Gary Smulyan
From his first hit, “That’s My Desire” in 1947, Frankie Laine was on the pop charts consistently for two decades, often with country fare like the movie theme that gives this CD its title. So at first he seems an unlikely inspiration for a jazz project led...
December 2008 Albums
Our Delight
The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet
If you’re looking for instrumental fireworks or can’t abide reflection in your jazz, you’ll find no delight here. But if you value the wisdom of elders and the hard-won grace of decades spent mastering the traditions and nuances of the music, this CD is...
December 2008 Albums
The Scene
The Stryker/Slagle Band
In this era of ever-shifting alliances and endlessly malleable bands, guitarist Dave Stryker and alto and soprano saxophonist/flutist Steve Slagle have achieved, for two decades, a contemporary rarity: a band with a distinct, highly developed sound. In order...
November 2008 Albums
O’Reilly Street
Sir James Galway & Tiempo Libre
If a classical musician wants to take a dip in the jazz pool, there’s no better way to start than with the compositions of Claude Bolling, the French composer who blends Baroque and jazz in his suites. Flutist Galway at least dips his toes in the pool on...
November 2008 Albums
Duff’s Blues: Live From the Zoellner Arts Center
Gene Ludwig Trio with the Bill Warfield Big Band
It’s too bad the Hammond B3 organ isn’t showcased more often with a big band. It’s a terrific combine producing a big, deep, meaty sound. Case in point: this CD, putting together veteran B3 organist Gene Ludwig, who got his start four decades ago in Pittsburgh...
November 2008 Albums
Jammin’ Uptown
Alvin Queen
Aside from a bonus track, this CD first saw light as an LP from drummer Queen’s Nilva label, based in Switzerland, in 1985. An expatriate living in Europe since the ’80s, Queen made the sextet session in New York with bassist Ray Drummond doing double duty...
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