Briefs
June 2000 By Nancy Ann Lee
Lose Control
Benyo Music Productions
Vocal chameleon Nanette Natal displays a kittenish quality reminiscent of Eartha Kitt, a gutsy ability to scat, an immersion in rockabilly, blues and funk, and a wide range she exploits with exciting leaps. Peak moments, such as her remake of the pop tune...
June 2000 By Steven Loewy
Structures
LJ Records
Tenor saxophonist Ove Johansson and pianist Susanna Lindeborg may be little known this side of the Atlantic, but the two Swedes dish up a healthy portion of invigorating fare worthy of attention on these dozen original improvisations. The saxophonist seamlessly...
June 2000 By Nancy Ann Lee
Recontres du Cloitre, Volume 1
Jazz aux remparts
Fans of Philadelphia native Shirley Scott who know her as a Hammond organ master, may find this 1996 live-recorded, European solo-piano performance a rare but disappointing departure. In an oddly syncopated, heavy-handed, deliberate acoustic piano style...
May 2000 By Harvey Pekar
Eye on the Future
Ictus Records
Tenorman-composer-arranger Ed Summerlin created and worked at a jazz program at the City College of New York for nineteen years. Prior to that he'd cut a Tristano-influenced 10" LP for Prestige, wrote a well-regarded jazz mass and played with Don Ellis and...
May 2000 By Chuck Berg
Bitches and Fairy Tales
Challenge Records
Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans is a warm-toned modernist whose inside-outside trajectories unfurl with brassy abandon. Recorded in New York with the superb backing of pianist John Taylor, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron, Vloeimans' program of...
May 2000 By Geraldine Wyckoff
Someone to Sing To
Grace
Pianist/vocalist Emme Kemp's theatrical background is definitely in evidence on this veteran performer's debut album. Kemp has the lungs to belt out a song, but the power required for theatrical productions doesn't always translate well to recording. As...
May 2000 By Harvey Siders
Stan: The Big Sur
Sea Breeze
Nothing can compare to the excitement of a big band. But one thing can impede the flow of the swing: over-arranging. Wiegand, an outstanding trombonist, has put together a studio-sized, brass-heavy band that reads (and often sounds) like a Kenton alumni...
May 2000 By Duck Baker
Prophecy
About Time
This 1990 recording is a bit hard to describe. The group sound is very tight, as Murray's compositions reflect classical influence, but there is also a sort of chamber jazz-rock feeling to some of the proceedings, largely because of the heavily synthesized...
May 2000 By Nancy Ann Lee
Modestly's Odyssey
Yobo
A veteran drummer trained in Jazz Performance at New England Conservatory, Brooke Sofferman contributes 12 beguiling originals that pack plenty of emotionality into this robust, modern session craftily navigated by his cohorts. Highlights abound and no two...
May 2000 By Sunsh Stein
Solid State
Ilikai
The chronic problem with recorded bass is that it's often hard to hear, and bassist Bob Stata does himself a disservice playing it low key to his bandmates. You need to turn up to hear him on this set of tunes composed by him and Justin Flynn and David Gibson...
