NEW! Jerome Sabbagh "Plugged In" on Bee Jazz, Ronnie Cuber "Boplicity" on Steeplechase!

 Two ends of the spectrum, new releases from young tenor Jerome Sabbagh and veteran bari Ronnie Cuber.

Sabbagh's "Plugged In" is exactly that - a quartet with the Fender  Rhodes of the amazing Josef Dumoulin, bass is a Fender, and of course both tenor and drums are acoustic. Dumoulin is the star here. Right off the bat, he gets down to fuzzing the Rhodes and using a modulator to get a distorted, rock sound. Jerome plays with fire. The music is modern and totally in the pocket, today, but also coming straight out of 70's Miles, and Herbie, and lesser sung heroes like Eddie Harris, who Sabbagh reminds me of a lot tonally. Dumoulin and Sabbagh are the primary writers. The tunes are tight, focused. What a way to ease into summer! A smoking hot date. Play it loud!!

 http://www.beejazz.com/en/album/plugged-in/

Bee Jazz doesn't put out a lot - but everything they do is unique, superlatively recorded, and uniquely presented. Mastered at Sterling. Everything about this label is stellar and "Plugged In" goes straight to the top.

 http://www.beejazz.com/en/

At the other end of the jazz spectrum is the 2012 release of Ronnie Cuber's "Boplicity", a tribute to the bop era, Parker and Dizzy tunes dominate, Cuber comes from the Pepper baritone school, is playing at an absolute peak, and although this is a very 'traditional' date, it is hot and thoroughly enjoyable, showing a great bari player cutting loose in front of a world class trio, very well recorded, and thoroughly recommended.