Mike Caruso Quintet - Song for Amy - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Honing a hybrid of freewheeling post-bop and social commentary & hellip;Branker incorporates these elements in broad, bold strokes, like a muralist. He has yet to make a bad record. - JazzTimes. For his eighth on Origin Records, composer Dr. Anthony Branker presents this captivating ten-movement suite that speaks to notions of InchPlaceInch and the overarching issues of inclusion and belonging, as well as circumstances of exploitation and zones of refuge experienced by people of color and other global citizens. It is brilliantly performed by the latest edition of his group Imagine, featuring tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, trumpeter Philip Dizack, alto saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf, guitarist Pete McCann, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda May Han Oh, drummer Donald Edwards, and vocalist/spoken-word artist Alison Crockett. Branker's ensemble takes his expansive compositional vision and infuses it with passionate performances drenched with lyrical flow and ingenious rhythmic interplay. Inch(Branker) illuminates the pungent individuality of each musician without compromising the prominence of his own voice & hellip;Inch -JAZZIZ

Like a well - wrought character in a Hollywood movie, Standards From Film, guitarist Mike Moreno's fourth Criss Cross album, exists atop a solid, cogent back story. Recorded in December 2021, when the world and New York City - Houston-born Moreno's home for more than two decades - were no longer on COVID lockdown, it documents the leader's exhaustive investigations into the provenance of ten iconic standards that, as he puts it, Inchare the summer jazz workshop tunesInch - they say you have to learn these songs if you want to be a jazz musician. You learn them very young or in the beginning days of your journey into this music. The Album was recorded December 22, 2021 at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio in NY. Recording engineer Mike Marciano also did the editing, mixing and mastering at Systems Two in NY.

The Mike Keeney Trio brings together all the enjoyable elements of jazz-fusion with jam-bands. Their unique approach to blending funky rhythmic phrasing, (ala Wayne Krantz or John Scofield), with catchy and thematic melodies, (like Bill Frisell), sets a mood that is unrivaled by most instrumental jam bands of today. These musicians formed an alliance based off of the need to finally bridge the gap between rock and jazz. Being tired of subscribing to the arbitrary complexities of most jazz-fusion groups in the current scene, they set out to build a new middle-ground. One that is understandable and fun, yet also rich with texture. The Mike Keeney Trio's Debut CD, (self-titled), has just been released to the public in August of '06.