Spike Wilner Trio; Contrafactus: The Children & The Warlock

This is probably pianist Spike Wilner's most adventurous recording yet as he digs in on six original compositions and one jazz gem, “Theme For Ernie”. His talented and exciting trio becomes a quartet with its addition of the legendary tenor from the renowned Berklee College Of Music, George Garzone. Wilner's writing is intriguing, dense, and is often in challenging, ripping tempos. Garzone takes it all on his shoulders like the champion he is. One might say that this is material for the seasoned jazz listener but it may be a bit “out there” for the newcomer to jazz. There's no denying that this is a new side of Spike Wilner. It might put you to the test, but it deserves to be heard. You be the judge. [other two trio members]

Cellar Music Group; 2025; appx. 49 min.

HAVE SOME FUN WITH GEORGE'S QUIZZES!

Here are lyric portions of songs recorded prominently by Billie Holiday. How many titles can you identify?

1. you old gloomy sight
2. spread your branches down
3. you'll never guess who
4. mama may have
5. when he takes me in his arms
6. scent of magnolias
7. my man is gone
8. wait a while
9. and I'm so in love
10. now it's your turn

Juliet Ewing; 'S Wonderful: The Music Of Gershwin

Most of the songs in this delightful collection were composed nearly 100 years ago! The brothers Gershwin---George-music, and Ira-lyrics---formed one of the most treasured songwriting teams in American history. So here we have the sweet voice of singer Juliet Ewing keeping these gems in our midst. With a solid piano led trio, Ewing is spot on performing thirteen Gershwin classics. Among them are “'S Wonderful”, “Love Is Here To Stay”, “The Man I Love”, “A Foggy Day”, “But Not For Me”, “I Got Rhythm”, and more. In a short life of only thirty-eight years, George Gershwin gave us so many of our most enduring melodies, and Ira provided the perfect lyrics. Juliet Ewing interprets them with love and passion. 

HoneyDiva Music / Lexington Classics; 2025; 52:11

ANSWERS TO HAVE SOME FUN WITH GEORGES QUIZZES!

Scroll down for the answers.....

1. All Of Me
2. Straighten Up And Fly Right
3. My Blue Heaven
4. Exactly Like You
5. My Melancholy Baby
6. 'Tis Autumn
7. I'm Beginning To See The Light
8. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
9. Embraceable You
10. Try A Little Tenderness
11. There's A Small Hotel
12. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
13. We'll Be Together Again
14. But Not For Me
15. Mountain Greenery

HAVE SOME FUN WITH GEORGE'S QUIZZES!

The following are lyric portions from well known songs. How many titles can you identify?

1. I'll never use them
2. cool down papa
3. a little white light
4. she meant me
5. foolish fences
6. now shedding leaves
7. candlelight on the mistletoe
8. could there be eyes
9. just one look at you
10. that same shabby dress
11. with a wishing well
12. under an August moon
13. we both have a lifetime
14. any Russian play
15. two crazy people

GEORGE'S BRIEFS

Silvano Monasterios;  The River Here we have seven original compositions featuring a very together ensemble under the leadership of pianist Silvano Monasterios. Interesting instrumentation is found here, with flute, trumpet, vibes, and tenor sax among others. Percussion thrives here with a clear leaning towards Latin rhythms. This tight knit group is well worth hearing.

Kithara Entertainment; 2024; appx. 50 min.

Geoffrey Dean; Conceptions

Trumpet ace Geoffrey Dean leads his quartet through ten original compositions featuring his beautiful tone and resonant lyricism. On ballads and some medium and up tempo material, Dean and his colleagues give us a pure, no frills jazz session. In my humble opinion we need more albums like this. Straight ahead real deal jazz. There's nothing quite like it!

Cellar Music; 2025; appx. 51 min.

Jenna McLean; For Your Love

Here is a singer with strong jazz feeling and a nice and natural way of scatting. Backed up by a swinging quartet of guitar, piano, bass, and drums, McLean tackles nine tunes including “The Sweetest Sounds”, “When The Sun Comes Out”, and also three well written originals of hers. There's a charming, youthful exuberance in her approach, and she and friends get it all done with pizzazz. 

Jenna McLean Music; 2025; appx. 43 min.

Brent Jarvis; Dragonfly

Pianist Brent Jarvis leads a stellar sextet featuring the warm, beautiful tone flugelhornist-trumpeter Miguelito Valdés. The group is completed with alto sax, tenor sax, piano and Fender Rhodes, bass, and Latin percussion through six breathlessly elegant original tunes. This is music for a special bottle of Malbec or a beverage of your choice.

Self-produced; 2024; appx. 41 min.

Jon Bentley; Go Ahead

If you're into “groove” records, this one might well be for you. Tenor man Jon Bentley puts together a quartet of his saxophone, along with Hammond B-3 organ, guitar, and drums. The tunes are mostly bluesy-funky examples of this kind of instrumentation. Three choices more familiar to you might be these: “Still Crazy After All These Years”, Wayne Shorter's “Down In The Depths”, and Duke Ellington's “The Feeling Of Jazz”. Bentley and crew dive right into these stylistic sounds for B-3 fans.

Cellar Music Group; 2025; appx. 52 min.

WDR Big Band; Bluegrass

Bluegrass meets jazz? “No way”, you'd say. And I'd quickly agree, but here's some “fiddle” music in a jazz setting and guess what---it works! So grab your favorite partner and get those boots out on the dance floor. The fiddler and the big band provide nine rather extraordinary tracks to strut your stuff. And when the CD comes to an end, you may return to jazz normalcy---say, Miles and Coltrane, late '50's, on Prestige. Yahoo!

MCG Jazz; 2025; appx. 70 min.

Trilogy; The Slow Road

Here's even more fabulous music from Cellar with a quartet which simply weaves its way into your heart with nine tracks of perfection. Fortunately for you and me, seven of the nine tracks feature the incomparable Scott Hamilton on tenor sax. His colleagues, all of whom hit it out of the park, include Miles Black, piano; Bill Coon, guitar; and Jodi Proznick, bass. Hamilton is as always, as good as it gets on ballads like “I Thought About You”, “Thanks For The Memories”, and a Jobim rarity called “Luiza”. From the jazz book, there are also more winners in “Moose the Mooche”, “Hi Fly”, and a title I haven't encountered since an early Oscar Peterson record; it's called “Pompton Turnpike” and how nice to reacquaint. All players get five stars for a standout session. 

Cellar Music Group; 2025; appx. 52 min.