New Albums - Page 173

Derrick Hodge is stepping out front with his debut album as a leader, entitled Live Today. The bassist, who has worked with artists ranging from Mulgrew Miller to Jill Scott, is probably best known for his genre melding work with pianist Robert Glasper. It’s this blend of jazz, hip hop, and R&B that shines through on the effort, which offers...

Regular No Treble readers will instantly recognize the name “Vulfpeck”, thanks in large part to bassist Joe Dart, who first wowed us with the first video we shared of the group. The studio musicians-turned-band has just released their third album, My First Car. As we mentioned in our exclusive track preview last week, the album’s name was inspired by Dart’s...

When renowned jazz bassist David Friesen’s son Scott passed away in 2010, he knew he wanted to honor his life with a memorial CD, and after some time the opportunity arose at the end of a tour with his trio. The resulting album, Brilliant Heart, is a 13-track collection of songs Friesen composed for his son. “My son Scott loved...

Bassist Julie Slick has teamed up with guitarist Peter Alexius and Chapman Stick player Marc Mennigmann to form SAM, a progressive-rock trio that bases all their music on improvisation. They’ve just released their first album, Another Life, and an accompanying EP entitled Yet Another Life. “This record contains some of the essence of one week in the studio,” the band...

The new supergroup known as The Winery Dogs has released their self-titled debut album. Formed by bassist Billy Sheehan, drummer Mike Portnoy and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen, the group worked on the album last year. As we reported in December, the project originally included John Sykes, but due to conflicts in schedules and work styles, the group decided to replace him...

John Scofield’s Grammy-nominated Überjam came out more than a decade ago. And while the guitarist has since released seven albums of his own, and five albums as a co-leader, the followup to Überjam has been in the works. Überjam Deux is the result of that decade-plus of work. “Certain songs have been evolving over the ten years since Überjam; [guitarist]...

Steve Swallow has released Into the Woodwork, a new, multi-textured collection of twelve of the bassist’s original tunes. The album features a revised lineup of Swallow’s quintet with longtime collaborator Carla Bley on organ, Chris Cheek on saxophone, Steve Cardenas on guitar, and Jorge Rossy on drums. “This album is very much about what this cast of characters provoked in...

Seems hard to believe this group started out simply to perform a show at the 2011 Winter NAMM show. The Aristocrats, formed by bassist Bryan Beller, drummer Marco Minnemann and guitarist Guthrie Govan have come a long way since then. This week, the trio released Culture Clash, their second studio album and third overall. Based on the reaction of our...

By the 1950s, Oscar Pettiford had already made a name for himself as a force in the bebop movement and was working as a bandleader. But when the bass legend first arrived in Germany in 1958, he was lauded even more than he could believe. His signature style and use of bass as a solo instrument was extremely popular with...

Tom Kennedy newest acoustic CD, Just Play is out today. Bringing together many of the people Kennedy has performed with over the years, the album has a truly all-star cast of musicians. The core band is Renee Rosnes, Dave Weckl and George Garzone along with guests Mike Stern, Tim Hagens, Lee Ritenour, John Allred and Steve Wirts. The CD’s nine...

Veteran bassist Charnett Moffett has released Spirit of Sound, his thirteenth album as a leader and companion to his solo release, The Bridge which debuted in April. While Spirit of Sound is not a solo bass album like The Bridge, it does center heavily on Moffett’s bass virtuosity. The new album finds Moffett building upon the “Harmolodic Free Jazz” concepts...

Thundercat, aka bassist Stephen Bruner, has returned with his second full-length album, Apocalypse. Continuing Bruner’s unique hip hop meets jazz meets indie rock style, the effort centers on the cycle of life and all its ups and downs. The topic has been heavy on the bassist’s mind since the passing of his close friend and fellow musician, Austin Peralta, who...