William Ruhlmann

Craig Bailey-Tim Armacost Brooklyn Big Band: Live at Sweet Rhythm

William Ruhlmann

The 17-piece Brooklyn Big Band, formed in 2000, is heavy on saxophone players, starting with its leaders, Craig Bailey (alto and flute) and Tim Armacost (tenor and clarinet). As displayed on this debut recording, Bailey and Armacost’s conception is to explore contemporary possibilities for the big band, in part by reviewing the past. The unsigned … Read More

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Glenn Cashman & the Southland Big Band: Glenn Cashman & the Southland Big Band!

William Ruhlmann

Since Glenn Cashman has spent much of his career in academia (he is an associate professor of music at Colgate University), it is no surprise that his debut album with the big band he leads in Southern California sounds, from track to track, like a history of postwar jazz. It’s possible to hear Stan Kenton, … Read More

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Mike Longo: Sting Like a Bee

William Ruhlmann

In recent years, pianist Mike Longo has alternated trio albums with releases featuring his big band, the New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble. But, perhaps in inevitable deference to Muhammad Ali, he is following up 2007’s trio session, Float Like a Butterfly, with another, Sting Like a Bee. Longo treats the trio more … Read More

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Ruby Braff: For the Last Time

William Ruhlmann

Down but not out on his final show

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Clayton Brothers: Brother to Brother

William Ruhlmann

Honoring the Adderleys and the Joneses

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Al Foster Quartet: Love, Peace and Jazz!

William Ruhlmann

Every veteran sideman deserves to get a turn as a leader now and then, and drummer Al Foster certainly qualifies as a veteran, with a career dating back to the ’60s and including two lengthy stints with Miles Davis (early ’70s, early ’80s). Foster began leading his own quartet in the mid-’90s, resulting in one … Read More

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Dr. Michael White: Blue Crescent

William Ruhlmann

New Orleans clarinetist Dr. Michael White got his Ph.D. in foreign languages, not music, but he is nevertheless a scholar, and his approach to his first album since Hurricane Katrina was carefully thought out. “Blue Crescent is not intended to be another trendy ‘Katrina CD’ or an escape from and cover up of reality,” he … Read More

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Bill Easley: Business Man’s Bounce

William Ruhlmann

Bill Easley is a bunch of great reed players. Although he restricts himself to the tenor saxophone (except for a clarinet solo on “Memphis Blues”), the journeyman musician can play any reed instrument and, as he demonstrates here, he can play them in a variety of voices and styles. It’s not surprising for a player … Read More

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