by MICHAEL TUTINO | May 25, 2023 | News
After Anker, it was one more block north to the Harro East Ballroom to see tenor master and composer of many jazz standards, Benny Golson. We arrived just as the first set was ending with a rousing non-Golson standard,“Take The A Train.” When Golson and his...
by MICHAEL TUTINO | May 25, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
Mike Melito’s influences sing from his snare drum and ride cymbal throughout his debut as a leader, THE NEXT STEP. There is an amusing anecdote recounted in the liner notes. It goes something like this: A drummer arrives at a session and asks Rudy Van Gelder if...
by MICHAEL TUTINO | May 25, 2023 | News
Mike Melito. So few hard bop albums today from up-and-coming jazz artists capture the true flavor of this mid-1950s genre. Hard bop isn’t exclusively about blowing. It’s a mix of instrument textures, earthy tones and edge, which many musicians somehow...
by MICHAEL TUTINO | May 25, 2023 | News
Mike Melito wants you to know he loves Blue Note albums from the sixties. He shows this love on his latest CD The Next Step. A hard-swinging quintet plays some fine originals along with classics from the fake book. Melito himself is a cooking drummer who loves to...
by MICHAEL TUTINO | May 25, 2023 | News
There’s a ton of splendid music coming out of Rochester, New York, probably because the first-rate Eastman School of Music is located there. Although few Noo Yawkers would admit it, The Big Apple doesn’t have the state monopoly on stellar jazz, and...