Sunday, December 22, 2013

New Music Monday for December 23, 2013

     It is amazing how hearing a song can bring you back to another time and place. A refrain or a melody sparks an image of the past as well as emotions from that particular moment. Legendary trombonist Roswell Rudd has put together a recording of pieces that have this effect on him. The musical pieces chosen have become standards of American song, most of the selections stemming from Rudd’s recollections of childhood when he would sing the songs in school or in church. “Trombone for Lovers” brings together not only a collection of fantastic music but also a tremendous assortment of musical talent, including John Medeski, Bob Dorough, and Steven Bernstein.

     The Howard Alden/Andy Brown Quartet brings together two distinct voices in jazz guitar. One the top guitarists in jazz for decades, Alden has performed on countless recordings and in a wide array of settings all around the globe.  Jazz Times magazine says, “He may be the best of his generation.” Brown has been one of the busiest guitarists in Chicago over the last decade. He has led his own bands and backed visiting jazz stars all over the city, as well as traveled nationally and internationally with a variety of groups.  Backed by a swinging rhythm section of bass and drums, the pair combine their shared musical influences and inspirations, along with their varied performing experiences, on the new CD, “Heavy Artillery.”

     Also this week, Grammy winner and co-founder of the legendary A and M Records label Herb Alpert is back with a new CD, “Steppin’ Out”; trombonist/composer Alan Ferber presents his own take on the big band tradition with “March Sublime”; and “Odd Man Out” is the third album from Australian-born saxophonist Nick Hempton, a quintet outing also featuring trombonist Michael Dease.

No comments: