There are
certain venues that become a home away from home for many musicians. Places
where the vibe is right, the crowd is always involved and management is
friendly. The Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, California is one of these
places and the favorite venue of pianist Benny
Green. Returning to the site where he recorded a live album on his 30th
birthday, Green recorded “Live in Santa Cruz” to mark both the 20th anniversary
of that gig and his 50th birthday. The night and the performance were
magical, as the trio featuring bassist David Wong and drummer Kenny Washington
lit up Kuumbwa with a program of all original compositions by Green.
“Passion
World” from vocalist Kurt Elling certainly
lives up to its title. It is indeed his most ‘worldly’ CD to date, as Elling
casts his net far and wide, from Brazil to Ireland, Germany to France, Scotland
to Cuba to Iceland. In terms of its conceptual scope and its breadth of
influences, it’s the most ambitious project yet from the preeminent male
vocalist in jazz. It is also Elling’s most star-studded disc, featuring a small
battalion of guest collaborators working in tandem with the singer’s
much-traveled quintet. The guests include veteran trumpeter Arturo Sandoval; the
widely lauded young vocalist Sara Gazarek; German trumpet star Till Bronner;
French accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano; the Scottish National Jazz
Orchestra and its founder-leader, saxophonist Tommy Smith; and the world-renowned
WDR Big Band and Orchestra from Germany, featuring pianist Frank Chastenier.
Also this
week, pianist and composer Aaron Diehl
follows up his 2012 debut with “Space, Time, Continuum,” as his core trio is
joined by the iconic tenor saxophonist Benny Golson and the magisterial baritone
saxophonist Joe Temperly; 11-year-old jazz sensation and piano prodigy Joey Alexander debuts with “My Favorite
Things”; and guitarist Al Di Meola
introduces his new six-piece band on “Elysium”.
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