New Releases Spotlight: Week of November 28, 2016

This week in the Music Lounge, our music director Paul Abella’s reviews three new discs!

Hey everyone!  Let’s check out some great new jazz on the airwaves of WDCB these days…

Chicago based trad-jazz ensemble, The Fat Babies, have a new disc out on Delmark Records.  Solid Gassuh is the name of it, and, if you’re a fan of the last three discs by The Fat Babies, you’re going to love this one, too.  Playing a repertoire that dates back to the 1920’s and 30’s, these guys are clearly having a lot of fun, with pianist Paul Asaro even taking on vocal duties on a few songs.  My favorites are "Doctor Blues" and the Benny Goodman penned classic, "After A While."  However, with 15 tunes to choose from, including a great rendition of Scott Joplin’s "Maple Leaf Rag," I’m sure you’ll find favorites of your own as we play this one over the coming weeks.

Guitarist Larry Coryell has put out a really interesting album as of late.  Barefoot Man: Sanpaku may nod and wink at one of Coryell’s early masterpieces (1971’s Barefoot Boy), but in practice, this fairly straight ahead album puts his pyrotechnics on display in a way that might make more straight ahead jazz fans give an ear and take notice.  The notable side person here is pianist Lynne Arriale, as she and Coryell make for a great team.  Larry’s knotty playing is on full display here, but with an acoustic quartet (saxophone, piano, bass & drums) backing him up, he depends less on sheer volume to get his point across, and more on his impressive dexterity.  So, while Barefoot Man hearkens back to his fusion glory days, it also lets the more straight-ahead jazz listener in on the fun, too.  The version of "Manteca" here is smokin’, but really, the song to catch is "If Miles Were Here," which gives you a little taste of what made Coryell’s early music so impressive and cathartic.

Finally, with the Christmas shopping season upon us, a new compilation from Verve records is worth noting.  Jazz Loves Disney takes twelve classics from Disney cartoons both old and new.  For some, this might be a release worth grabbing for the kid who loves those Disney gems and hasn’t heard much jazz.  While the program is pretty light, with lots of strings and little in the way of breathtaking soloing, there are some impressive vocalists here.  Stacey Kent does Cinderella’s "Bibbidy Bobbidi Boo" in French, Jamie Cullum does a nice job on "Everybody Wants to Be A Cat," and Gregory Porter steals the show on "When You Wish Upon a Star."  One vocalist I hadn’t heard of before – China Moses – does a really nice version of "Why Don’t You Do Right."

Next week, I’ll tell you all about the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra’s tribute to David Baker, and one of my favorite discs of this year, Dave Douglas’ Brazen Heart.  ‘Til then, Keep Your Ears Open!