Terry Perkins

Larry Coryell honed his guitar chops as a teenager and college student on the Seattle music scene, so somehow it seems appropriate that his latest recording captures him in concert in his hometown at Sky Church, the concert venue at the Experience Music Project. Backed by some of the top musicians on the Seattle jazz … Read More “Larry Coryell: Laid Back and Blues: Live at the Sky Church in Seattle”

In terms of talent on the Hammond B3, the apple certainly didn’t fall far from the tree in the DeFrancesco family. Joey DeFrancesco burst onto the jazz scene in a big way back in 1988 when, after his graduation from high school, he toured with Miles Davis. Joey’s prodigious talent on B3 got a tremendous … Read More ““Papa” John DeFrancesco: Desert Heat”

Take 20 top jazz musicians and arrangers, add a swinging vocalist, put them on stage at the intimate, acoustically excellent Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh, count off a downbeat, start recording and what do you get? Dizzy’s Business, a recording by the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band that pays tribute to the legendary trumpeter and … Read More “Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band: Dizzy’s Business”

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was still at the height of his creative powers when he recorded these sides in Hamburg, Germany, on March 3, 1972. Kirk’s wonderful live recording Bright Eyes (Rhino) dates from the same time period, and his stunning studio works Prepare Thyself to Deal With a Miracle and The Case of the 3 … Read More “Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Brotherman in the Fatherland”

As Frank Morgan approaches age 73, he’s now completed two decades of a remarkable comeback from the heroin addiction that derailed his musical career from the mid-1950s until 1985. During the remarkably prolific period that followed the release of his first comeback recording, Easy Living, through 1996, Morgan released 15 recordings-then didn’t record again until … Read More “Frank Morgan: Reflections”

Ray Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington’s orchestra, where he played trumpet and occasional violin from 1940 until 1963. Nance didn’t release many recordings as a leader, so this 1969 date, originally released on the Solid State label, is a most welcome reissue. Nance focuses solely on violin for this … Read More “Ray Nance: Body and Soul”

Guitarist Mike Stern has touched quite a few stylistic bases over the course of a three-decade career that’s included stints with Miles Davis, Billy Cobham, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn and Steps Ahead-and a dozen recordings as a leader. With Who Let the Cats Out, his first recording for Heads Up, Stern has assembled an all-star … Read More “Mike Stern: Who Let the Cats Out?”

At 83, vocalist-pianist-songwriter Bob Dorough shows no signs of slowing down-especially on Small Day Tomorrow. This time around, Dorough pays tribute to fellow songwriter Fran Landesman, whom he met in St. Louis in 1960 at the famed Gaslight Square club, the Crystal Palace. Landesman, whose songwriting credentials include classics “Spring Can Really Hang You Up … Read More “Bob Dorough: Small Day Tomorrow”

The new Swiss record label Kind of Blue has come out swinging with several fine recordings in recent months, and this set of standards recorded by alto sax great Phil Woods and his longstanding quintet is clearly a winner. Surprisingly, pairing Woods and his band with a set of classic tunes from the Great American … Read More “The Phil Woods Quintet: American Songbook”

The title of Frank Catalano’s latest recording references the late Hammond B3 master Charles Earland, with whom Catalano had the opportunity to play several years back. But it also describes the 27-year-old tenor sax player’s own take-no-prisoners approach on this recording. Featuring four tracks from a set at the Green Mill in Catalano’s hometown of … Read More “Frank Catalano: Mighty Burner”