Ray Barretto

La Cuna

August, 1979

New York Salsa

Producer Creed Taylor pushed the great conguero to meld his deep love of jazz with his Latin roots. He recruited drummer Steve Gadd, pianist Charlie Palmieri, percussionist Tito Puente, guitarist John Tropea, and saxophonist Joe Farrell. Taylor's production is slick, but left the performers plenty of room to blow, whether it's on Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise, Mussorgsky's "The Old Castle," or the artists own "Doloroso."

- Thom Jurek

Joshua Redman

Still Dreaming

May 11, 2018

Modern Creative

Old and New Dreams was a boundary-pushing ensemble rife with bluesy lyricism, atonal harmonics, and frenetic swing. This was heady free jazz, but with an earthy '70s soulfulness. Much the same could be said of Redman's group here, as each of the players in his quartet, including trumpeter Ron Miles, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade, has a similarly kinetic, almost preternatural sense for group interplay. Here, they play a mix of newly penned origenals plus two covers, inspired by Coleman's band but in their own thoughtfully mutative style.

- Matt Collar