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Album: Mayflower / Sarah Burton / Alt-Americana -Rock
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American
singer-songwriter Sarah Burton, who also enjoys dual Canadian citizen ship
(both her parents are American) will be releasing her new 12 track album
Mayflower during the third week of May and the collection of songs
demonstrates Burton’s ability to perform comfortably and well in a number of
genres.
The album opens with an original country tune “What To Bring,” which is a poignant account of a woman regaining control of her life, taking stock of her few possessions and saying, “I’m packing on up / And getting right out of here.” Burton’s vocals remind one of a couple of iconic country music songstresses from yesteryear, Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette,
Artist: Mindi Abair / Album: In Hi-Fi Stereo / Funk - R & B
by Joe Montague
“I
wasn’t trying to make a jazz record, I wanted something that was a throwback
and that was inspired by older sounds,” Mindi Abair told this writer in a
recent interview, which will soon be published in Riveting Riffs Magazine.
The congenial saxophonist, singer and songwriter, who has continually
welcomed this publication with open arms since our inception, was talking
about her soon to be released album In Hi-Fi Stereo, comprised of a
collection of original tunes and two covers; James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s,
Man’s, Man’s World,” (yes that really is the title) and David Ryan Harris’
“Be Beautiful.” In Hi-Fi Stereo has a good balance of instrumental
and vocal tracks.
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Album: The Hills Will Cradle Thee / Lainie Marsh
by Cheryl Phipps
Mention
Appalachia and most of us think of coal mining and the songs that tell
stories handed down by generations of coal miners. With her new release,
The Hills will Cradle Thee, Appalachian artist Lainie Marsh goes
beyond the coal mines to capture the natural beauty of the mountains, the
faith of the people living there, and the charm of life in Appalachia.
Emmylou Harris has described Marsh’s music as having “a bluegrass element lurking.” That element practically leaps out of the first track....
Album: From Dusk 'til Dawn / Artist: Sass Jordan/ Rock
Reviewed by Joe Montague
The
album from Dusk ‘til Dawn is the latest salvo from former Billboard
Female Rock Artist of the Year Sass Jordan and it opens with her signature
hard, edgy vocals on “What I Need,” which make it easy to understand why she
once portrayed Janis Joplin in the off Broadway production of Love Janis.
The song is introduced with percussion, eventually accompanied by an
electric guitar with simple up-tempo chords, leaving the listener completely
disarmed, for when Jordan’s explosive vocals arrive on the scene
proclaiming, “It’s time for me to shout out what I need / What I need
from you.” At her Canadian album release concert in the fall, Jordan's
performance of the song sent an immediate buzz through the packed out venue.
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Album: Rain on Fire / Jill King / Americana
by Cheryl Phipps
Sometimes
when you refer to the music genre Americana, people become puzzled, because
we are accustomed to relegating music to just a handful of categories, so
for those who are not as familiar with the term Americana, an explanation
is in order.
Americana
is comprised of the following elements; rock, folk, roots blues, with
just a touch of country. With her new release, Rain on Fire, Jill
King gives the listener the perfect Americana experience. In the liner
notes of the album King says, “I didn’t try to make a genre specific album,”
but she says that she made songs that came from her heart, and in listening
to Rain on Fire, that is quite evident.
Music Videos Reviews from ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto
To
be honest the music videos featuring what was billed as “Fresh
Canadian Talent,” featured on the Friday evening of the
ReelWorld Film Festival, were disappointing for the most
part. Displayed on a theater screen at a cinema in Toronto and
programmed with flair by Diego Fuentes, the stage was set well,
for showcasing the artists, but the offering came up short. We
were asked to pick our top five choices and this reviewer could
only come up with four solid videos, out of a selection, which
was dominated by crude, foul mouthed hip-hop and gangsta’ rap
artists who obviously spent more time on planning the next grab
of their genitals than they did in developing their music. The
criterion for evaluating music videos should be pretty
straightforward; the quality of the music, the quality of the
cinematography, asking if the storyline or the images on
Album: New York Rendezvous / Irene Atman / Jazz Standards Vocals
by Joe Montague
Meeting
Irene Atman in person, you are immediately impressed by her
poise, charm, sophistication and the grace with which she
conducts herself, without any air of Divahood, so it should come
as no surprise to the listener that Ms. Atman projects those
same qualities through her music on her new album New York
Rendezvous which she debuted April 16th in her
hometown Toronto. Backed by a superb ensemble consisting of
longtime friend Frank Kimbrough on piano, upright bassist Jay
Anderson, drummer Matt Wilson and saxophonist Joel Frahm, whose
star continues to rise on the jazz scene, Ms. Atman and Mr.
Kimbrough have co-produced an
Album: Mingus Big Band Live at Jazz Standard / Jazz Instrumentals
by Mark Pedigo
A
year that particularly stands out to jazz historians and fans is
1959. Four quintessential albums, all now included on the
National Recording Registry, were released this year; Miles
Davis’s Kind of Blue, The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time
Out, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, and Charles
Mingus’s Ah Um. While the first three albums are arguably
most interesting because of their intellectual merits; Kind
of Blue for modality, Time Out for
non-standard time signatures, and Giant Steps for
“Coltrane changes” and sheets of sound. Charles Mingus’s Ah
Um is highly regarded for its emotional impact, at once
joyful, intense, angry and above all, soulful. “Fables for
Faustus,” was written in response to Orval Faubus, the Governor
or
Arkansas, who defied the United States
