Sam Sklair=20
LEE RITENOUR/LARRY CARLTON: Larry and Lee (GRP)=20
IF you are into contemporary jazz/fusion guitar playing,=20 you can’t do much better than this CD. It gets together two=20 of the most skilled and versatile players of this genre,=20 and it is almost impossible to decide which one is playing=20 solo at any time. Lee Ritenour and Larry Carlton are=20 similar ages, 42 and 47, both born in the Los Angeles area=20 and influenced by jazz greats Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel=20 and Joe Pass, as well as legendary blues man BB King. Both=20 have won Grammy awards and worked with the biggest=20 recording names — Carlton with Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan=20 and the Crusaders; Ritenour with Quincy Jones, Herbie=20 Hancock and Pink Floyd (that’s him all over The Wall). Half=20 the tracks were written and arranged by Ritenour, the other=20 half by Carlton. Pairing two big names doesn’t always work.=20 This does, superbly.=20
SPYRO GYRA: Love and Other Obsessions (GRP)=20
SPYRO GYRA have been on the scene for a comparatively long=20 time for the contemporary jazz market. This is their 18th=20 album release since 1977, and this time leader Jay=20 Beckenstein is leaning towards modern R&B and “African”=20 influences. An interesting track is Serengeti, written by=20 Dave Samuels. It is kind of Africa-meets-the-Caribbean, but=20 to my ears owes more to the West Indies than to Africa, in=20 spite of the Swahili chanting. Nice keyboard playing from=20 Russell Ferrante. Another African-oriented track is On=20 Liberty Road (for South Africa), written by bassist Scott=20 Ambush. The rhythm patterns are more African than the usual=20 Latin-based feel. Two nice vocal tracks and the evocative=20 and jazzy Group Therapy make this CD an interesting and=20 varied package.=20
DAVE BRUBECK: Nightshift (Telarc Jazz)=20
THIS was Dave Brubeck’s first nightclub gig in 20 years. It=20 was recorded at the Blue Note in New York’s Greenwich=20 Village, October 1953; the place was packed and the=20 audience loved every minute of it. The repertoire for this=20 CD was chosen from tapes made during the week he spent at=20 the club. Brubeck works with a basic quartet: Jack Six on=20 bass, drummer Randy Jones and saxman Bobby Militello.=20 Guests featured are Bill Smith on clarinet, an old=20 colleague of Brubeck’s since 1946 when they both studied=20 with Darius Milhaud; and his son Chris, who blows trombone=20 on four of the tracks. His style is in the Vic Dickenson or=20 Bill Harris style as opposed to the contemporary post-bop=20 style. The repertoire consists mainly of standards, like=20 Yesterdays, Ain’t Misbehavin’, You Go to My Head and I=20 Can’t Give You Anything But Love. It sounds typical of a=20 jazz club session. Nice one.=20
JON HENDRICKS AND THE ALL STARS: Boppin’ at the Blue Note=20 (Telarc Jazz)=20
Another live recording from the Blue Note in Greenwich=20 Village. Jon Hendricks’ ability to combine musical and=20 literary intricacies made for the success of Lambert,=20 Hendricks and Ross, a trio famous in the 1950s which=20 influenced virtually every jazz vocal group that followed.=20 To borrow Dizzy Gillespie’s apophthegm on Louis Armstrong,=20 “No him, no me”: no Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, no=20 Manhattan Transfer. Hendricks works here with a great band=20 including Wynton Marsalis, Al Grey, Red Holloway and Benny=20 Golson. They sound like the little “jump” bands which were=20 around from the 1930s to early 1950s. Lots of great solos=20 on this CD, as well as wonderful groovy scat singing from=20 Jon Hendricks. I love it.=20
HIT PARADE=20
1 LEE RITENOUR/LARRY CARLTON: Larry and Lee (BMG)=20
2 DAVID SANBORN: Pearls (Warner Bros)=20
3 GEORGE DUKE: Illusions (Warner Bros)=20
4 ARMIK: Rain Dancer (Baja Records)=20
5 WYNTON MARSALIS/ELLIS MARSALIS: =20
Joe Cool’s Blues (Columbia)=20
1 ANNIE LENNOX: Medusa (BMG)=20
2 VENESSA-MAE: The Violin Player (EMI)=20
3 SHERYL CROW: Tuesday Night Music Club (Teal)=20
4 THE EAGLES: Hell Freezes Over (BMG)=20
5 THE CHIEFTAINS: The Long Black Veil (BMG)=20
Based on sales at CD Wherehouse, Rosebank=20