Bman's Blues Report

With his stunning debut album Lineage , trombonist Andrew Kim honors his musical roots while firmly stepping into the spotlight. Far exceeding the scope of a standard senior capstone, this project serves as a vibrant testament to years of dedicated study under jazz titans Michael Dease and Marshall Gilkes . Kim acts as both a brilliant player and arranger, leading an all-star rhythm section and frontline featuring Sharel Cassity , Xavier Davis , Rodney Whitaker, and Ulysses Owens Jr. Mixing historic compositions from Curtis Fuller and J.J. Johnson with five compelling originals, the record crackles with an immediate, irresistible swing from start to finish. 🎵 LISTEN & SUPPORT THE ALBUM ▶ Listen to Album Samples (Click to Expand)                                                        ...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Waking Music: The Music of Gregg Hill & Randy Napoleon and it's solid, inspired and inventive. Opening with Super Moon , you immediately get a sense that this release is going to be a new excursion. Clock like rim shots and unexpected snare/cymbal shots by Quincy Davis , piano rhythm by Rick Roe and featuring Randy Napoleon and Jocelyn Gould on guitar creates a euphoric feel. Breaking to a real nice bop, led by Rodney Whitaker on bass, Napoleon lays down a low slung solo that really creates a groove. Gould picks up the baton and runs with it creating a nasty groove of her own. Whitaker takes center focus and he makes the groove fly. Circling back, Davis recreates the clock like timing and reggae slap. Very interesting. The Speckled Frog has a cool Latino bop feel with super drum and percussion by Davis and walking guitar texture by Napoleon and Ben Turner . Anthony Stanco sits in on trumpet shoveling a heap of...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, City Life , from Michael Dease and it's super. Opening with Willow Walks In , Michael Dease outlines the melody on trombone, backed by Linda May Han Oh on bass Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums. Dease really is stellar on trombone stretching the track and Oh and Watts expand the palette nicely for a terrific opener. With a driving bass line by Oh, Dease creates a sonic environment on Movie Theme with some of the richest trombone solo work I've heard in a while. Watts expands the track with a variety of percussion tones and a tight rhythm and Brooklyn Dease adds color on vocal. Very cool. Sweet Georgia Gillespie is a terrific track with fleet slide and articulation by Dease, a fleet bass solo by Oh gives the track breadth and Watts really works the skins making this one of my favorite tracks on disc one. Claxilever shows Dease in bold form with full throated trombone and Oh again really forms a nicely fluid...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Vibe , from Nanami Haruta and it covers a broad spectrum of colors. Opening with Renee Rosnes' Girlie's World , Band leader and trombonist Nanami Haruta and Xavier Davis on piano setup the framework for this waltz tempo track. With Michael Dease on bari sax adding significant warmth to the track and Rodney Whitaker on bass and Ulysses Owens Jr on drums, this is a cool opener. Original track, Toshi features a really nice trombone solo by Haruta with great tone and phrasing with excellent piano accent by Davis and firm underpinnings by Whitaker and Owens. I like the hot drum rhythm under Christian McBride's Sister Rosa with solid piano counterpoint under the trombone harmonizing by Haruta and Dease. Haruta shows her stuff with smart articulation on her solo and Dease adds a great swinging solo of his own (also on trombone) leading into a rich bass solo by Whitaker making this one of my favorites on the relea...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Found In Space: The Music of Gregg Hill , by Michael Dease and it's an interesting exploration of the music of composer, Gregg Hill. Opening with The Last Pop Tune , Bill Cunliffe plays the intro on piano quickly joined by Virginia Macdonald on clarinet, Matt White on trumpet, Katie Thiroux on bass and Colleen Clark on drums. Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto and Jason Hainsworth on tenor saxs up the ante and Cunliffe develops the melody nicely on piano. Sharel Cassity really flies on flute and Nanami Haruta and Michael Dease on trombone really add strength. One For Rodney shows off the powerful horn section but it's Thiroux's bass solo that really shines. Hainsworth on tenor sax pared with Sharel Cassity on alto really rips and Clark's drum work is stellar. One of my favorite tracks on the release is The Stray Moonduck with a great intro by Dease on trombone and strong flute work by Cassity. A meaty solo by De...