jazz2love

Album Review:  Begin the Agora from Greg Diaz and the Art of Imagination Jazz Orchestra Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.reverbnation.com/gregdiazandtheartofimagination Strolling, strutting, bobbing, and shimmying in a freestyle manner, Greg Diaz takes his saxophone and clarinet through a rambling ride on his new recording Begin the Agora.   Joined by the 15-piece ensemble called the Art of Imagination Jazz Orchestra, Diaz takes audiences along a journey that is exploratory for both them and him. The gospel-tinged rhythm of "Brother John" is a mixture of bopping blues with a spiritual voicing in Diaz's register as he wails jubilantly.  Puffing and tooting, the horns add to the plume of revelry, stirring up a carousing mood as the trombones, trumpets, and saxophones enter into a romping banter.  Changing gears, the band travels into a swinging groove through the mash-up with "2nd Line Strut/Iko Iko," spinning the horns into a heated chatter....