Violinist Tomoko Omura is one of those violinists you need to know. Her 2014 album, Roots, is a pure delight, expanding Japanese folk songs into new creations and she's still going strong. Check her out along with the rest of her Roots quintet of pianist and husband Glenn Zaleski, guitarist Jeff Miles, bassist Pablo Menares, and drummer Jay Sawyer play the song "Kono Michi", … [Read more...]
Kyle Nasser – ‘Restive Soul’
Saxophonist Kyle Nasser recently released a more than serviceable album alongside Jeff Miles on guitar, Dov Manski on piano, Chris Van Voorst on bass, and Devin Drobka on drums that seems to inhabit a darker shade of the pocket. These songs don't languish on the vine, and they aren't exactly sulk-fests. Instead, this album makes unromantic ballads and difficult grooves, as … [Read more...]