Artist: aStridd
Title: Colliding Galaxies
Label: self released
Genre: nu jazz/nu soul
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Once in a while a really interesting CD will just fall into your lap. This is how Colliding Galaxies, the new EP by aStridd came to me. aStridd, the Brooklyn based duo of guitarist / composer Yasser Tejeda and vocalist Jill Peacock have produced a really engaging debut release.
Artist: Nils Wogram Root 70 With Strings
Title: riomar
Label: nWog Records
Genre: jazz with strings
CD Review by Matt Cole
When last we heard from German-born trombonist Nils Wogram, he was leading a lively septet consisting of six horns and a drummer. This time around, on riomar, he uses an entirely different band, with his quartet Root 70, consisting of himself, Hayden Chisholm on alto sax, Matt Penman on bass, and Jochen Rueckert on drums; joined by a string section with Gerdur Gunnarsdottir on violin, Gareth Lubbe on viola, and Adrian Brendel on cello. riomar is just as creative as Complete Soul, while covering different (though overlapping) sonic space; and while just as energetic, is a bit gentler than Wogram’s all-but-one horn septet, as might be expected.
Artist: Alex Garcia’s Afromantra
Title: This Side of Mestizaje
Label: self produced
Genre: Latin jazz
Review by Dawoud Kringle
In New York City, in the autumn of 1997, a Chilean – Cuban drummer and composer Alejandro “Alex” Garcia formed a group he called Afromantra. Using the rhythms of North and Latin America as a foundation, they built their jazz inspired compositions and explorations with elements from several Latin traditions. They’ve performed throughout the bets venues in NYC (a sample: Izzy Bar, Studio 54, Nell’s, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Jazz Gallery, etc.) as well as festivals throughout the US. They’ve also been immortalized in the book Caliente, Una Historia del Jazz Latino” by Luc Delannoy.
Artist: Shoukichi Kina / Pascal Plantinga
Title: Washinnayo
Label: Ata Tak Rec (Germany)
Genre: Okinawa electronica
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
When Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (DooBeeDoo’s editor, publisher, and founder) handed me some CDs to review, one of them was an elaborate, ornate folder containing two vinyl 45s and a mini CD. It definitely stood out from the usual CD packaging that one sees. But, as we all know, packaging is not everything.
Artist: The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet & Drums
Title: Tiny Lower Case
Label: Spoot Music
Genre: genres from micro-big band, gospel, bluegrass, and Balkan to whimsical jazz and nocturnal funk
Review by Dawoud Kringle
What happens when you draw inspiration from micro-big band, gospel, bluegrass, Balkan, whimsical jazz, nocturnal funk, New Orleans “second – line,” Afro-Cuban, Balkan, Klezmer and beyond? The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet & Drums! Hailing from New York, Seattle, and Eau Claire, the band has been composing and performing their music in the US and Europe since their beginnings in 1993.
