Guitarist Jimmy Ponder (1946-2013) was a mainstay of many an organ combo throughout his half-century career. Starting as a teenager in Charles Earland’s trio to a long stint in Jimmy McGriff’s band, Ponder wound up heading his own organ trio with veteran B-3 bomber -and fellow Pittsburgher – Gene Ludwig (1937-2010). But the self-taught Ponder’s…
Stanley Turrentine: The Blue Notes of Mr. T – 1975-81
Tenor sax great Stanley Turrentine (1934-2000) recorded a remarkable 15 albums for the Blue Note label between 1960’s Look Out! and 1970’s lesser-known Another Story. But Turrentine waxed a substantial number of sessions for the label during that period that were never issued until well into his better-known and far more popular albums on the…
Bill Frisell “Orchestras” (2024)
Orchestras is a welcome, though not entirely satisfying, addition to guitarist Bill Frisell’s eye-popping and wonderfully wide-ranging discography. This double-disc set pairs the guitarist and composer with two distinctly different “orchestras,” both mostly arranged by veteran composer and orchestrator Michael Gibbs. The first “orchestral” disc released under Frisell’s own name, Orchestras would seem to be…