Bob Sneider plays with a glassy, clear tone, a touch of the blues and a countrified sunshine, all of which are reminiscent of Herb Ellis. Spending time as a sideman for Nat Adderley, Nick Brignola and Freddy Cole, among others, Sneider has only recently begun recording as a leader. On Out of the Darkness (Sons of Sound SSPCD010; 60:10), his sophomore effort, the guitarist plays well but lets his good sense fail him in broader contexts. On the two Cole Porter tracks featuring strings, for example, the arrangements are pretty lame, and the presence of strings, particularly on “Ev’ry Time We Say Good-bye,” induces some of Sneider’s most maudlin playing. A friendly stroll through Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan” contains a fine performance by the leader, but misses the delicate beauty of the tune. The briskly paced hard bop of the title track suits Sneider much better, and also features quality trumpet work by the guitarist’s brother, John.
Originally PublishedRelated Posts
Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee: Backwater Blues
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading

Jonathan Butler: The Simple Life
Jonathan Butler’s optimistic music belies a dirt-poor childhood growing up in a South Africa segregated by apartheid. Live in South Africa, a new CD and DVD package, presents a sense of the resulting inner turmoil, mixed with dogged resolve, that paved the way to his status as an icon in his country and successful musician outside of it. Looking back, the 46-year-old Butler says today, the driving forces that led to his overcoming apartheid-the formal policy of racial separation and economic discrimination finally dismantled in 1993-were family, faith and abundant talent.
“When we were kids, our parents never talked about the ANC [African National Congress] or Nelson Mandela,” he says. Butler was raised as the youngest child in a large family. They lived in a house patched together by corrugated tin and cardboard, in the “coloreds only” township of Athlone near Cape Town. “They never talked about struggles so we never knew what was happening.”
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading

Scott LaFaro
Previously unavailable recordings and a new bio illuminate the legend of bassist Scott LaFaro
Kurt Elling: Man in the Air
Nate Chinen makes the argument that Kurt Elling is the most influential jazz vocalist of our time