Having reviewed several Time-Life boxed sets, I've learned that there are some basic truths about them. First, you can always count on these guys to have access to just about every recorded piece of music in existence. You also know that they'll work diligently to make intelligent selections from among those songs, trying their best … Continue reading REVIEW: Various Artists – Four Decades Of Folk Rock
Category: Review
REVIEW: Eddie Daniels – Homecoming — Live At The Iridium
Woodwind wizard Eddie Daniels is an artist who garners enormous respect from his contemporaries and from jazz aficionados, but is somewhat of a mystery to casual jazz fans. His newest release, Homecoming -- Eddie Daniels Live At The Iridium, a 2-CD set just out on the IPO label, offers listeners an opportunity to solve that … Continue reading REVIEW: Eddie Daniels – Homecoming — Live At The Iridium
REVIEW: Acadien Cajun Band – All Night Long
Although the 2nd anniversary of Katrina's slam-bang of Southern Louisiana has passed, the area is still very much in the news and in the thoughts of a lot of people -- not only those who still live there, but many others who have spent time in the area and retain fond memories. With that in … Continue reading REVIEW: Acadien Cajun Band – All Night Long
REVIEW: 50th Anniversary Collection – Dick Clark’s American Bandstand
If you're in the business of producing boxed sets of CDs, and your intent is to put together the Big Kahuna of oldies collections, one that includes the best from the 1950's through the 1980's, I can't imagine a more potent combination than Dick Clark and Time-Life. Think about it. A company that has corralled … Continue reading REVIEW: 50th Anniversary Collection – Dick Clark’s American Bandstand
REVIEW: Monk’s Music Trio – Monk On Mondays
One thing you can say about Monk's Music Trio, the group performing on Monk On Mondays, a new album coming out soon from CMB Records -- they don't make a secret of what they're all about. In case you haven't figured it out by now, they're proud to call themselves a Thelonious Monk repertory group. … Continue reading REVIEW: Monk’s Music Trio – Monk On Mondays
REVIEW: Curtis Stigers – Real Emotional
Although his teen years were spent in rock music and blues, Curtis Stigers seems to have found a home in jazz, judging from the string of albums he's put together during his career. The latest, Real Emotional, newly released on the Concord label, continues a trend that over the last decade and a half has … Continue reading REVIEW: Curtis Stigers – Real Emotional
REVIEW: Ella Fitzgerald – Love Letters From Ella
Does the world need another Ella Fitzgerald collection? Concord certainly hopes so, since they've combined with Starbucks (bet you didn't see that coming) to produce their latest tribute to a musical legend. Love Letters From Ella, which is tagged as celebrating what would have been her 90th birthday, includes ten tracks that are described as … Continue reading REVIEW: Ella Fitzgerald – Love Letters From Ella
REVIEW: Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble – Expectation
The title says it all. Expectation, a brand new release from the Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble on the Kind Of Blue label, creates a couple of expectations of its own. First, the name of the group would suggest a claim as LA's official - or at least semi-official - jazz group, but I doubt that … Continue reading REVIEW: Los Angeles Jazz Ensemble – Expectation
REVIEW: Flower Power: Music Of The Love Generation
Every time I see another collection from Time-Life, I am once again floored by the skill and determination they exhibit in assembling these things. I can almost picture a room full of elves, all with little phonographs spinning furiously as they listen to endless oldies, deciding which to include in their latest boxed set. The … Continue reading REVIEW: Flower Power: Music Of The Love Generation
REVIEW: Joe Warren Cormier – Pure Cajun
I've been fond of Cajun music for a long time, and one of these days I'll write more about my memories of Cajun Country, that area of Southern Louisiana famous for bayous, music, and larrupin' good food. But my purpose today is to review a (sort of) new album from Cajun performer Joe Warren Cormier … Continue reading REVIEW: Joe Warren Cormier – Pure Cajun
Geezer Music Club 