Category Archives: Reviews

What The What: a Small Gem

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What the What_coverAlbums like the eponymously titled What The What serve to remind us, if we needed
reminding, that we needn’t travel to New York, Los Angeles, or Wherever The Wherever to hear top-drawer music—not if we live in Santa Fe or Albuquerque anyway. What The What—a trio featuring J.Q. Whitcomb
(trumpet), Jon Gagan (bass), and Robby
Rothschild (percussion)—could play
anywhere, and each of them has, in one
aggregation or another.

The album includes five compositions from Gagan and one from Whitcomb. They are all straightforward, easily accessible tunes, and they all have quirks that hook pleasantly into the ear. The performances ride on Gagan’s rhythmic horse, propelled by Rothschild’s unobtrusive percussion, and against that rhythmic foundation, Whitcomb’s long, lyrical lines create a nice musical tension. Continue reading →

Vinicius Cantuária Celebrates Jobim and Opens the NM Jazz Fest

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digipak 4pVinicius Cantuária, Vinicius canta Antonio Carlos Jobim (Sunnyside Records)
A Review

The New Mexico Jazz Festival gets up and
running this week with a “new trend”—or as it is more familiarly known, bossa nova—in the person of guitarist, composer, percussionist, and vocalist Vinicius Cantuária. Cantuária, who moved from his native Brazil to New York City in the ’90s, made a name for himself in the neo–Brazilian music world and in NYC’s Downtown scene, itself noted for new trends. On this recording, Cantuária hews close to the classic style, with subtle jazz shadings, and makes Jobim the star of the show. Continue reading →

The Inclusive Composer/Arranger

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jpegJohn Hollenbeck, Songs We Like a Lot
(Sunnyside Records)
A Review

Percussionist/composer/arranger John
Hollenbeck has a well-earned reputation as a musician who embraces many traditions,
mixing genres the way a chef mixes disparate ingredients. You can taste traces of the
individual ingredients in the final dish, but the overall result has a character all its own.

With Songs We Like a Lot (Sunnyside Records; available June 23), Hollenbeck applies himself to an equally disparate selection of tunes, from pop to ecclesiastical to techno, and texts, from Rumi to Kenneth Patchen. He cooks up
sumptuous arrangements and compositions that are stunningly performed by the Frankfurt
Radio Bigband, along with vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry and keyboardists Uri Caine and Gary Versace. Continue reading →

The Cool Water of Redemption

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Album artwork by Bianca Sanchez.

Album artwork by Bianca Sanchez.

Gabrielle Jackson, Lotus, the EP (All Bad Records)
A Review

Had singer/songwriter Gabrielle Jackson’s
debut recording, Lotus, the EP (All Bad Records), come to me over the transom or via a publicist, the chances are that it would not have found a spot anywhere near the top of the “Listen” pile. No doubt the press release would have gushed about her youth (she was 19 when she recorded this; she’s now 20), her beautiful voice, and the unique circumstances of the recording process. (The album was recorded at Warehouse 508, Albuquerque’s Youth Art and Entertainment Center.) The release would also likely have played on the hardships this young woman has faced—poverty, domestic violence, and homelessness, just for starters. None of this would have moved me to push the album higher up the pile—just the opposite.

Lucky for me, I did not find Jackson’s album in my mailbox. Instead, I heard it for the first time a couple of weeks ago on Brandon Kennedy’s Freeform radio show on KUNM. Thanks, Brandon. Thank you very much. Continue reading →

Overturned Expectations

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Shadowbox coverRob Reich, Shadowbox (BAG Records)
A Review

Like a good cut fastball that seems headed for the heart of the plate but changes course at the last millisecond, accordionist/pianist Rob Reich’s music doesn’t always end up where you expect it to. It dips and slides and curves out of one genre and into another—that is, when you can identify a genre. On Shadowbox (BAG Records), recorded live,
direct-to-tape at John Vanderslice’s Tiny
Telephone studio in San Francisco, Reich
assembles a crew adept at confounding expectations, including Todd Sickafoose on bass (and coproducer with Reich), Eric Garland on drums, Ben Goldberg on clarinet, and Ila Cantor on
guitar. With that lineup, you expect high-minded playfulness, virtuosity, and a seat-of-the-pants thrill, and that expectation is fulfilled. Continue reading →