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Percussion

There's 'A New Kind of Dance' by Mike Reed's People, Places & Things on 482 Music [REVIEW]

For his sixth CD with his longstanding People, Places & Things Quartet, drummer/composer/impresario Mike Reed has concocted 'A New Kind Of Dance' (482 Music). As with previous CDs by this quartet, he has sweetened the pot again by inviting guests. This time Matthew Shipp on piano and trumpet man Marquis Hill (who makes Reed's usual two-sax attack that much more powerful) join in. The result is a wild joyride through originals and carefully chosen covers of tunes you would expect (Billy Strayhorn's "Star Crossed Lovers") and tunes you would not expect ("Fear Not of Man" by rapper Mos Def and "Markovsko Horo," a traditional Bulgarian folk dance).
By Mike Greenblatt

  • Wendy DeWitt's Wette Music 'Getaway' Debut Pushed Hard by Drummer Kirk Harwood (REVIEW)

    Wendy DeWitt teams up with drummer Kirk Harwood on a 'Getaway' (Wette Music) wherein she sings eight blues-drenched originals and covers Chuck Willis and Willie Dixon. It's a balls-to-the-wall affair when you add trumpet, trombone, sax and Sunnyland Slim's guitarist, Steve Fruend.
    By Mike Greenblatt

  • The Dukes of Dixieland are 'Live at 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival' [REVIEW]

    It was a glorious day made even more glorious by the shockingly medicinal music of Louisiana's own Dukes Of Dixieland as they plied their craft in front of us 'Live at 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival' (self-released). When the set was over, we mopped our brow, drank, laughed, flirted and hobnobbed with each other to compare notes of the uplifting -- and almost religious -- experience we had just been through together. Believe me, it was positively cleansing. I know I'll never forget it. Now it's on CD, and everyone can feel the vibe. Soon, I was pushing my way backstage to properly gush.
    By Mike Greenblatt
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