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Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Wild Horses Rock Steady

by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
Born John Robert Smith on December 16, 1933 (in jny: Louisville, KY), formerly known as Johnny Hammond Smith, and later as Johnnny Hammond, one of the all-time best jazz organists passed away on June 4, 1997, in jny: Chicago, Illinois. For some of his early fans, some of the best albums he recorded were done for Prestige in the Sixties. A younger generation, who grew up listening to the hip-hop influenced jazz sounds of the 1990s, prefers Johnny's over-produced sessions ...
Continue ReadingCTI Acid Jazz Grooves by Various Artists

by Arnaldo DeSouteiro
The CD you are holding in your hands is a very special compilation. It's the celebration of CTI as one of the most sampled" labels on Earth! For the past ten years, many CTI tracks have been cut up, sampled, scratched and looped to create new songs for a new audience. Many of the selections on this album (all of them produced by Creed Taylor and engineered by Rudy Van Gelder) represented the basic inspiration and major influence in the ...
Continue ReadingJean-Luc Ponty: Open Mind

by Peter Rubie
If Individual Choice was the sketchbook of Jean-Luc Ponty's (JLP) decision to take his music in a new direction, Open Mind (1984), released the following year, was a deeper exploration of the emerging world of synthesizers and sequencers and their impact on live (studio) performance. Here, complex rhythmic patterns shift in the background while new sounds appear and disappear on the surface in colorful bursts, and outstanding jazz improvisors create familiar music in new settings. It's almost an audio version ...
Continue ReadingHank Mobley: The Complete Hank Mobley Blue Note Sessions 1963-70

by C. Andrew Hovan
The music world has changed considerably since Michael Cuscuna and Charlie Lourie founded their boutique reissue label Mosaic Records back in 1983. From its inception, vinyl was still the preferred format, shortly to be overtaken by the popularity of the compact disc. At the cusp of vinyl's recent resurgence, Mosaic briefly got back into that format only to find themselves on the brink of closing up shop. Fortunately, the powers that be have forged on and recent CD boxed sets ...
Continue ReadingJazz At Juan 2019

by Martin McFie
Jazz at Juan Opening Weekend Juan Les Pins, South of France July 12-21, 2019 Jazz at Juan-Les-Pins has always been the boutique quality jazz festival of the South of France. The stage beside the blue Mediterranean Sea, was open-backed leaving a view through to the sunset over the Bay of Angels. The audience of 3,000 was all seated in bleachers. Live big screens showed the detail of performances. This year 2019, is the 59th edition ...
Continue ReadingCGI Rochester International Jazz Festival 2019

by Gregory Savage
The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival, held June 21st thru the 29th, was a huge success. The streets of downtown Rochester, New York, are the perfect venue to host nine straight days (and nights) of jazz. The eighteenth annual festival had a little something for everyone, including perfect weather. From high school bands, to rising stars, to NEA Jazz Masters; every level of jazz was heard and seen. The lineup included jazz greats George Benson, Eddie Henderson, Steve Gadd, Harold ...
Continue ReadingFestival International De Jazz De Montreal 2019

by Wendy Ross
Festival International De Montreal De Jazz Various Venues Montreal June 29-July 1, 2019 Billed as the largest Jazz festival in the world, the International Festival de Montreal de jazz has over its 40 years presented some 16,000 concerts with thousands of artists from all over the world. The aim is to offer a space where new and established artists perform side by side in a confluence of genres and cultures. To pull ...
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