Friday, October 14, 2011

Jazz legends Stanley Jordan and Christian McBride


Mack Avenue Records have been busy the past two weeks.  Jazz legends Stanley Jordan andChristian McBride both released new albums on September 27th.  
Stanley Jordan - Friends
On Friends, Jordan takes the time-honored path of inviting a handpicked cadre of guests: guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Russell Malone and Charlie Hunter; violinist Regina Carter; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; trumpeter Nicholas Payton; bassists Christian McBride and Charnett Moffett; and drummer Kenwood Dennard. The results proved truly outstanding on numbers ranging from a Bela Bartok piece to a Katy Perry pop smash, a heady original blues and three jazz classics spanning swing, cool and modern. There's a listener-friendly samba, an airy spirit song and an astounding nod to the atonal. Jordan even plays some serious piano on a couple of songs, revisiting his first instrument with newfound confidence and wonder.
or paste http://bit.ly/oK44fY into your browser

Christian McBride - Good Feeling
Good Feeling is McBride’s first album as a big band leader.  Good Feeling features classic big band gems along with a few McBride original compositions.  “The bassist with the mostest,” McBride invites friends including band mate Steve Wilson, Ron Blake, Nicholas Payton and vocalist Melissa Walker to join him in this project – a life long dream of his.
For over 20 years, McBride has appeared in numerous musical settings with just about any musician imaginable in the jazz as well as R&B and pop worlds. From playing with the likes of Milt Jackson, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny; to playing with and/or arranging for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway, Sting and the legendary James Brown—what has always been unique about McBride is his versatility. In addition to his work in the neo-soul arena with The Roots, D’Angelo, Queen Latifah and others, the Philadelphia native has also led his own ensembles: The Christian McBride Band, A Christian McBride Situation and his most recent group, Inside Straight (fresh off their critically acclaimed 2009 effort, Kind of Brown).
(or paste http://bit.ly/ri1xsh into a browser)

If you are interested in CDs for review or embed codes for SoundCloud players, please let me know.
-Jenny

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Jenny Oppenheimer
On Target Media

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