New Releases Spotlight: Week of November 16, 2015

This week in The Music Lounge, music director Paul Abella takes a look at music from a Chicagoan, a former Chicagoan, and three fusion legends with an uncharacteristic new disc!

First up, those three fusion legends!  …bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Bireli Lagrene and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty have combined to put out the disc D-Stringz.  All three have strong pedigrees, placing them prominently in the fusion hall of fame: Clarke’s scorching fretboard playing in Return to Forever; Lagrene’s muscular playing with Jaco Pastorius; and Ponty’s playing with both Mahavishnu Orchestra and Frank Zappa’s early bands.  Put the three of them together, and they make… wait for it… an absolutely gorgeous all-acoustic album.  They play beautifully on "Too Young To Go Steady" and "Nuages," swing mightily on "Bit of Burd," and settle into a nifty little funk groove on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy."  Those might be highlights, but really, this whole album is fantastic.   Stanley Clarke is in town this Friday, November 20 at SPACE in Evanston

Organist (well, on this album anyway) Michael Kocour considered Chicago home for a while before heading out to Arizona about 10 years ago.  Mike’s been busy, putting out three discs this year!  The latest is Spiffy, matching him up with Chicago-based saxophonist Eric Schneider, West Coast guitarist Bruce Forman and drummer Dom Moio.  This is some straight-up swingin’ music evoking more than a hint of Jack McDuff’s early ‘60s band with George Benson.  "Chunky" and "Da Good Stuff" are right in the pocket, while "Collapso" is a nice calypso-flavored jam.  There’s lots to like here, and I reckon you’ll hear an awful lot of it over the next few weeks. Mike Kocour will be in town next weekend (Nov. 26 -29), playing with Benny Golson at The Jazz Showcase.

Finally, vocalist Paul Marinaro has released a live disc One Night in Chicago recorded at the High Hat Club (formerly Katerina’s).  Joining him on the date are pianist Ben Paterson, guitarist Andy Brown, bassist Joe Policastro and drummer Mikel Patrick Avery.  The CD features a nice collection of standards, done effortlessly by Marinaro and company.  Paul sounds fantastic on "No Moon at All," "Devil May Care" and "I See Your Face Before Me."  But really, the standout here is "The Moon Was Yellow."  According to Marinaro’s telling of the tale, it dates back to 1935.  It’s the first time I’ve heard this song, and it’s really nice.  Paul has a lot of fans in town, and if you’re one of them, you’ll love this disc.  And if you’re not one of his fans yet, One Night in Chicago might just turn you into a Paul Marinaro fan, so make sure you listen for this one.

Next week, I’ll be back to check out more new music!  ‘Til then… keep your ears open!