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Rickey Woodard
Jack Jones Featuring Joey DeFrancesco: ArtWork
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by Nicholas F. Mondello
"Those who know, know" happens to be a soon-to-be-overused phrase to describe the hip, the In," and the very elite of aware." Now in his Mid-80s, Jack Jones has maintained a stellar, cross-media career, all on a foundation of a once-in-a-lifetime voice. Mel Torme, one not easily prone to hyperbole, called Jones, the best pure singer in the business." Torme and others in the Vocal Pantheon knew. With ArtWork, Jones joins forces with the late multi-instrumentalist and ...
read moreJack Jones Featuring Joey DeFrancesco: ArtWork
![Read "ArtWork" reviewed by Jack Bowers](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/117c4b5be7e11e9b3bedb9a9bf9b3a0b.jpg)
by Jack Bowers
If a singer's reputation is so impressive that he or she is able to enlist a full orchestra (with bassist John Clayton conducting) and the late organ maestro Joey DeFrancesco as featured soloist, that is certainly enough to warrant attention. The singer in this instance is two-time Grammy winner Jack Jones, the orchestra an assemblage of some of the Los Angeles area's finest musicians, enlarged by a thirty-member string section. On one hand, Jones remains a smooth ...
read moreDoug MacDonald: Big Band Extravaganza
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by Richard J Salvucci
Some reviewers have been known to complain that contemporary big bands can do most anything but swing. Like all generalizations, there is some merit to the observation. But, like all generalizations, the occasional exception falsifies it. Looking for a big band that pushes all the right buttons? Look no further. Doug MacDonald's desert jazz" band is an extremely good one. While it might be difficult to make claims about the novelty of what is on offer, the band is tight, ...
read moreDoug MacDonald: Big Band Extravaganza
![Read "Big Band Extravaganza" reviewed by Jack Bowers](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/0f077e80693e046819260581c53a0297.jpg)
by Jack Bowers
Pardon the superlative, but what a terrific album! Extravanga marks the debut of guitarist Doug MacDonald's seventeen-member Jazz Orchestra, and he has guaranteed that it swings with gusto by writing nine perceptive and luminous charts that are sure to bring out the best in any ensemble, especially one as well-equipped as this. During his decades-long career as one of the West Coast's foremost guitarists, MacDonald has recorded fifteen albums with groups ranging from solo to duo, quartet to brass and ...
read moreThe Scott Whitfield Jazz Orchestra West: Postcards from Hollywood
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by Jack Bowers
While many people have been excited or enraptured by the music scores accompanying Hollywood's most beloved films, few know (or perhaps even care) who wrote them. That's a shame, as these composers (and their contemporaries) were musical trailblazers whose names should be enshrined forever in the annals of artistic brilliance. One who does care is composer/arranger Scott Whitfield who has dedicated the latest album by his Jazz Orchestra West, Postcards from Hollywood, to their remarkable (and too-often overlooked) legacy.
read moreDoug MacDonald: Overtones
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by Jack Bowers
The term all-star" is not one to be used lightly. Be that as it may, the appellation fits guitarist Doug MacDonald's Los Angeles-based octet as snugly as a glove; he and his colleagues are among the finest, most experienced and in-demand musicians on the West Coast. On Overtones, recorded in September 2021, the ensemble shows its mastery by gracefully skating through seven of MacDonald's upbeat themes and one standard, Ram Ramirez' ardent Lover Man." Three of MacDonald's ...
read moreSidney Jacobs: If I Were Your Woman
![Read "If I Were Your Woman" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/f40502fd539665303ea6ad80b8407457.jpg)
by Richard J Salvucci
Take a deep breath. Whether or not Sidney Jacobs came up with the somewhat offbeat title of this album (originally the property of Gladys Knight and the Pips) is irrelevant. What would matter is that there is a clear line of sonic and stylistic descent from Al Jarreau to Jacobs. Fans of Jarreau's style are going to enjoy Jacobs. He operates in a lower register and, all respect to Jarreau, with the same authority and, if anything, more power. Years ...
read moreJazz This Week: Rickey Woodard, Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project, Trio Tres Bien, Chamber Project St. Louis, and More
![Jazz This Week: Rickey Woodard, Craig Russo Latin Jazz Project, Trio Tres Bien, Chamber Project St. Louis, and More](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/stlouisjazznotes100.jpg)
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
It's shaping up to be a fine weekend in St. Louis to get out and hear some live sounds, and fortunately, our local presenters of jazz and creative music would seem to have a variety of potentially worthy attractions in the offing. Let's go to the highlights... Tonight through Saturday, Cabaret St. Louis continues its season at the Kranzberg Arts Center with A Salute to the Rat Pack" from the group Three Men and A Baby...Grand, aka singers Brian Lane ...
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Jazz This Week: Pat Metheny, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, Denise Thimes with Rickey Woodard, and More
![Jazz This Week: Pat Metheny, Jazz St. Louis All-Stars, Denise Thimes with Rickey Woodard, and More](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/stlouisjazznotes100.jpg)
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St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
Though fall-to-spring academic and not-for-profit presenting schedules are winding down, and summer won't be here for a few weeks yet, there are still some noteworthy shows coming up over the next few days in St. Louis for fans of jazz and creative music.The big news of the week is guitarist Pat Metheny's Orchestrion tour, which finally reaches St. Louis on Saturday night at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. If you're a regular reader, you know that ...
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