2008-02-16
First and foremost, Matt Savage is something of a child prodigy. I think he’s 15 or so and this is his eighth album of jazz compositions! He’s been on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz,” which gives him street cred in and of itself. The liner notes and press release on this one reads like a resume, with appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien among others. Most of the songs, including the salsa-flared “Muy Caliente,” are Savage compositions. He even takes on the giants with Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven.” Recorded live at Tufts University’s Distler Performance Hall in Boston, this is a polished set of work. That being said, that’s just what this recording is – polished. To me, it was very “recital.” A talented musician, no doubt, but this is very thin on substance. - Daniel J. Graeber
STEFON HARRIS
African Tarantella
Afterthought
Jazzgrass
NICHOLAS PAYTON
Bitches
DON BRADEN & KARL LATHAM
Big Fun(k) Live
BEN Wanicur
The Excluded Middle
Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble
Private Astronomy - A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke
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