Bman's Blues Report

Todd DelGiudice is a heavy-hitting woodwind player who can glide between a smoky jazz club and a classical symphony hall without breaking a sweat. Originally a standout player in the legendary South Florida jazz scene, he’s shared the stage with absolute icons—think Ray Charles, Red Rodney, and Maria Schneider—and even clocked time with the world-famous Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. When he’s not busy blowing minds on stage or shaping the next generation of players as a jazz professor at the University of North Florida, he’s pushing the boundaries of his own music. With his latest release, Más Alto , he takes the ultimate musical tightrope walk by diving into a chordless saxophone trio format. The album's title plays a clever double game—Spanish for "higher," or "more alto." It's a bold move that shifts the spotlight away from the usual tenor-heavy trio sound to let the alto sax really stretch its legs and talk. Backed by a killer rhythm section, DelGiudice chan...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Mirage , from Andrew Moorhead and it's intense. Opening with Faster Etude , Andrew Moorhead on piano creates a thematic melody, altering and varying the speed of it, accompanied by Francois Moutin on bass and Ari Hoenig on drums. With an alteration of the piano accent in the phrase the track has a circular feel and seems to whirl. Intervals is structured along a similar method but with four primary chords, altered with a solid hi hat rhythm and percussive piano under the initial melody. As the track grown the phrasing alternates giving it a refined feel with tight snare work driving the contrast. Very cool. Title track, Mirage , has a smooth, soothing melody with a bouncy drum rhythm and bass accents. A higher keyboard flirtation sets the track off nicely against it's lower keyboard primary melody. Wrapping the release is Boogie , with it's strong boogie piano format. An off timed melody provides a stark contr...

 I just had the opportunity to review  the most recent release, In The Wee Hours , by George Cotsirilos , and it's refreshingly beautiful. Opening with lush, A Nameless Poet , George Cotsirilos on nylon string, acoustic guitar flawlessly executes a super opener. Richie Beirach 's, Gale , is a nice ballad with a smart, call and response between his single lined statements and chorded responses. With rich tones and and quiet background, very nice. Ellington 's, Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me , has classic framing and a minor swing, giving the track a clean approach. Jimmy Van Heusen 's Like Someone In Love has a cool, bop feel, with clean articulation and vibrant chords. The track seems to just hang in the air. Matt Dennis ' The Night We Called It A Day really nicely showcases Cotsirilos' ability to present the melody on a platter with creative, harmonica garnish . A  genuine pleasure to listen to. Wrapping the release is Gordon Jenkins ' classic, This Is...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (April 3, 2026), Buckshot Blues , from Steve Kovalcheck and it's a lively set. Opening with Happy Train , Steve Kovalcheck on guitar outlines the melody with chords and runs the fretboard with confident phrasing. Backed by Jon Hamar and Jeff Hamilton on drums (with exceptional foot work), this is a spring opener. I particularly like the remake of Haggart's , What's New , with it's low slung swing, anchored by Hamar's bass line and excellent guitar lead by Kovalcheck. Check out that funky back beat on Donald's Juke Joint . With snappy cymbal work by Hamilton, bluesy lead by Kovalcheck with an occasional stinger and rich bass lead by Hamar, a definite standout. Latin rhythm on Daydance gives Kovalcheck a great showcase for his guitar work and another exceptional bass lead by Hamar driven by Hamilton on cymbal and rimshots. Laid back. Fast Eddie is one of my favorites o the release with clean, tight...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, All In , by Gil Livni and it's terrific! Opening with Wonder Woman , Gil Livni is hot out of the gate with scorching hot guitar riffs with Amit Friedman on sax sharing the floor. Yonatan Riklis on organ and Yonatan Rosen on drums round out the band for one of the hottest openers I've heard in a long time. Excellent! Bluesy shuffle, All In is led by Friedman on sax and Rosen on drums. Holds it tight. Friedman really gets this track rolling with incredible phrasing warmed by Rikles on organ. I love Livni's jazz blues fusion soloing  with great contrast by Riklis who lines up his own organ attack. Really stellar. A Latin fusion twist on Lennon/ McCarthy composition , I Want You , is so cool. With it's spot on rhythm by Rosen, interesting rework, excellent guitar lead by Livni, and earthy exploration by Friedman and deep organ tension by Rikles... wow! Granted has that R&B funk sound powered by the fl...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Reach For Tomorrow , by Anna Kolchina and it's hauntingly elegant. Opening with Schwartz and Dietz song, Dancing In The Dark , Soviet born, Anna Kolchina quietly controls your breath with her easy music gait. Accompanied by Ilya Lushtak, a beautiful opener. Peter Bernstein lends his cultured electric guitar work to Kolchina's vocals on Anthony Newley's Who Can I Turn To? . Sure footed and smooth, a very nice track. Jazz classic, All or Nothing At All , sung in understated poise, again backed by Bernstein on electric guitar is a solid addition. Romero Lubamo really adds flavor with his excellent Spanish guitar styling on Gilbert Becaud's french classic What Now My Love? . Holding to the standard, nicely done. Harry Barris' Wrap Your Trouble In Dreams is smoothly handled by Kolchina and really nice electric guitar soloing by Paul Bollenback really shines. Another elegant track is Johnny Mercer'...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, So It Goes , by Kate Olson and it's full of life. Opening with energetic, bebop track, Bumbling Thumbs Blues , Kate Olson on soprano sax and Conner Eisenmenger on trombone lay the framework for this ultra cool track with it's eccentric melody. Eisenmenger stretches the melody in a great way, chased by Evan Woodle on drums and Olson follows with concentrated melodic extensions of her own. Tim Carey on bass shows his nimble chops and the 4 some sounds like a morphing big band/ Dixieland quartet wrapping it back down tight. Solid opener.  All Pear-Shaped has a searing bottom line and a jagged but coherent melody feeding into Eisenmenger's inciteful trombone solo. Olson on sax lays back in the groove feeding the flames with a solid bottom by Carey and Woodle. Another extended bass solo by Carey and rotating lines by Eisenmenger, Olson and Woodle make for fun work. Soulful ballad, So It Goes , really fills th...

 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, Peace Vibes , from Ted Piltzecker and it's a solid combination of original and classic covers. Opening with Benny Golson's Whisper Not , Ted Piltzecker on vibraphone begins the melody joined by Brad Goode playing counter melody on trumpet. Gonzalo Teppa on bass and Paul Romaine on drums provide a tight rhythm section for a lush exploration of this well known classic. Piltzecker's strokes float on air and Goode's trumpet work is really crisp. Excellent opener. Toots Theilemans' Bluesette has a terrific Latin rhythm emphasized by Vinicius Barros on percussion, reinforced by Romaine on drums. Piltzecker's vibes really fill the air and Goode's trumpet lead it enthusiastic and fun. Miles Davis' Nardis features Goode on lead on trumpet, his noted caressed in warm vibes tones. Romaine lightly drives the beat as Piltzecker extends the melody and a real nice bass solo by Teppa adds another dimens...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Everything Sacred, Nothing Serious , from Kelsey Mines and it's really strong. Opening with Self-Alchemization , Kelsey Mines on bass and vocal and John Hansen on piano create a certain ambiance which develops into a super interesting groove. With Elsa Nilsson on flute and Beserat Tafesse on trombone playing in tandem, the sketch of melody is cast. Hansen takes the first solo with nicely illustrated piano lead, backed by Danilo Silva on guitar, Mines on bass, Machado Mijiga on drums and Jeff Busch on percussion. Nilsson rolls out a real nice flute solo with super bass and drum work supporting. Excellent! Sitting and Not Waiting has a really nice shape, Mines driving the bottom. Tafesse really wails on trombone with finesse and precision, punctuated by Mijiga and Hansen. Hansen really has great chops on piano, further expanding the track over the ever driving bass of Mines. Pluriverse is a real interesting track...

 I just had the opportunity to review the debut release, Identity , by Peter Lin AAPI Jazz Collective and it's quite good. Opening with Emperor's Stride , featuring band leader and trombonist, Peter Lin (trombone), Erena Terakubo (sax) and Mike Bond (piano) on this Asian flavored opening, you get only a taste of what's to come. The track explodes with energy starting with Lin and Brandon Choi on trumpet laying down a melody, Daseul Kim on bass and Wen-Ting Wu on drums feeding the fire. Bond on piano takes the first solo and really winds it up. Terakubo on sax holds nothing back ripping a great solo and Lin shows a no prisoners attack on trombone really smoking the slide. Powerful opener. A Town With An Ocean View is an unexpected surprise with a beautiful melody played by Choi on piano, paired with Terakubo on flute. Bond takes the first solo and plays another lush solo that literally floats on air, guarded by a super bass line by Kim and Wu. Choi steps back up with anoth...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Door Is Open: The Music of Gregg Hil l, by Randy Napoleon , and it's quite engaging. Opening with The Lost Tune , a lush melody with a Latin rhythm really is a solid opener. With rich vocals by Aubrey Johnson and well phrased guitar lead by Randy Napoleon, this tune floats. With Rick Roe on piano, Quincy Davis on drums, and Lucas LaFave on bass, sit back and let it flow over you. Light and aiery, Escape to Cat Island has a brisk Latin feel with a real nice trumpet solo by Anthony Stanco. Roe, always on top of things on piano is a key contributor and the slashing cymbal work of Davis and energetic bass lines of Rodney Whitaker really gives this track zip. Napoleon and Johnson work nicely to create a united front on Motel Blues , a slower blues with a samba rhythm, supported by Stanco, Walter Blanding on tenor sax and Andrew Kim on trombone. A real nice bass solo by LaFave leads back to Napoleon on guitar for one of ...