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New Jazz Adds – 10/29/2018

Tony Adamo – Was Out Jazz Zone Mad (ropeadope): This appears to be hipster Tony Adamo’s sixth release updating his hip talk over a groove for a later generation beyond Harry The Hipster and Slim Gaillard. Adamo’s groove is musically connected or borrowed from Tower of Power or similar settings which he uses as the base for his commentary, spoken and/or sung. At his best, Adamo is righteous enough and his style definitely on the cool side. He typical performs with a combo varying from organ or keys and drums with occasional guitar, trumpet or sax. Adamo is basically focused on jazz figures and his style frequently lives in the mellower sound of rappers like Grandmaster Flash. Song titles span from “B.B. Kings Blues On Fire” and “Birth Of The Cool” to “Too Funky To Flush”. Musicians include Roger Smith, Wayne De La Cruz, Delbert Bump or Mike LeDonne (organ, keys), Kyron “K-Frost” Kirby, Lenny White, Vince Littleton or Mike Clark (drums, composer), Jack Wilkins, Elias Lucero or Chris Pimentel (guitar), Tim Ouimette (trumpet, valve trombone), Donald Harrison (alto sax), Richie Goods (bass), Michael Wolff (piano), and Bill Summers (percussion). Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.   

Bootsie Barnes & Larry McKenna – The More I See You (Cellar Live): Two tenor sax veterans from Philly, both born in 1937, caught the flame and have performed together for three decades. Also, one would not guess that this pair of 80-year-olds are as smooth and energetic as they are. Remember, Cellar Live only releases live performances. This one, though done in a studio is all live and was recorded on May 7, 2018. They are accompanied by Lucas Brown (B-3) and Byron “Wookie” Landham (drums). The program itself consists of one original from Barnes and one from McKenna and the others are compositions by Jimmy Heath, Henry Mancini, Peter Nero, Hank Mobley and Kurt Weill creating a very nice set. Check out these samples and see what you think! Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop – Abundance (Anzic): This is the second release from Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, which won tremendous praise less than a year ago. Cervini is the drummer and he composed two of the songs on this disc. There is a decided connection to the “outside” musically speaking, but this set is far from difficult listening. In addition to Cervini’s originals, the opening song was composed by Tara Davidson (alto & soprano sax, flute), and another was composed by pianist Adrian Farrugia. The other players are Joel Frahm (tenor sax), William Carn (trombone) and Dan Loomis (bass) who contributed an original composition himself. The listener has to be willing to check out the rhythmic and melodic stretches, but given that the program is wonderful and fun! Click here and scroll down to listen to the songs on this disc.  

Lorraine Feather – Math Camp (Relarion): Singer/songwriter Lorraine Feather, daughter of Leonard and Jane Feather, offers a unique experience in the connections between life and mathematical theory. It may have been triggered by a quote from Richard Feynman: “Physics is not the most important thing. Love is.” Feather looks at the intersection and with assistance from Eddie Arkin and Shelly Berg (musical composition);  Fred Hersch, Shelly Berg, Russell Ferrante (piano); James Genus and Michael Valerio (bass); Terri Lyne Carrington and Michael Shapiro (drums); Gilad Hekselman, Grant Geissman, and Eddie Arkin (guitar); and Dan Higgins (clarinet, alto flute) offers an explanation from the nexus. Be prepared for some homework and extra study! Click here to listen to samples.   

Guiherme Dias Gomes – Trips (Self-produced): Brazilian trumpeter Guilherme Dias Gomes offers his fifth release. The disc features Idriss Boudrioua (tenor & alto sax), David Feldman (piano), Andre Vasconcelos (bass), Rafael Barata (drums) and Firmino (percussion) performing eight original compositions by Gomes. The music itself flows in a mellow way that is easy going and wonderfully melodic. The saxes maintain their cool throughout and everyone else helps to accompany the state of mind. Click here to listen to the song “Cabin 3334” from this disc.  

Brad Goode Quintet w/ Ernie Watts – That’s Right! (Origin): Brad Goode (trumpeter, bassist, drummer, composer, music educator) presents his 18th release as a leader and it is a jewel! He has pulled together a stunning band, including Ernie Watts (tenor sax), Adrian Farrugia (piano), Kelly Sill (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). Goode says the disc is “supposed to be a snapshot of this band…and of the musical relationship between Ernie and myself – the combination of our approaches.” (Liner notes) Watts has played with bands ranging from Charlie Haden’s Quartet West to The Mothers of Invention and though Goode and Watts have played together quite a lot, this is their first recording together. Their interaction is terrific. Seven of the ten songs on offer are originals by the group members: Farrugia’s “Half Moon” is the opener, Goode offers three, and Watts, Sill and Nussbaum one each. The covers are “Blues In The Night” (Arlen and Mercer), “I Want To Talk About You” (Eckstine) and Von Freeman’s tribute to his high school classmate Gene Ammons’ “Jug Ain’t Gone” . There is terrific musical span and interaction on this disc. A total WOW! Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the first two songs on this disc.    

Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra – Flyin’ Through Florida (Summit): Director Mike Vax presents the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra with a diverse live program spanning Kenton’s “Artistry Jumps”, “O Mio Babbino”, a medley of “How High The Moon” and “Ornithology” and a new arrangement of Marvin Hamlisch’s “Through The Eyes Of Love” from “Ice Castles”. The players include Kim Richmond, Phil Hilger, Rick Condit, Joel Kaye, Tami Danielsson, and Bill Prince (saxophones), Scott Whitfield, Dale Devoe, Dave Kim, Kenny Shroyer and Rich Bullock (trombones), Mike Vax, Dennis Noday, John Harner, Jim Oatts and Greg McLean (trumpets), Charlie Ferguson (piano), Jennifer Leitham (bass), C.E. Askew (drums), and Scott Whitfield and Ginger Berglund (vocals). Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the performances on this disc.   

Sam Kirmayer – High And Low (Cellar Live): Guitarist Sam Kirmayer, organist Ben Paterson and drummer Dave Laing present nine songs, including four Kirmayer originals and covers of oldies from Van Heusen and Silvers, Arlen and Koehler and Coleman Hawkins. The program is pretty mellow throughout and its mellow strut is nice. This is Kirmayer’s second release and it is a very nice sound. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Shai Maestro – The Dream Thief (ECM): The is pianist Shai Maestro’s fifth release and his first for ECM. Maestro attended a program at Berklee School of Music and was offered a full scholarship, but he declined the offer and shortly after received an invitation to join the Avishai Cohen Trio. Since that time, he has played on four releases in that trio. Now he has moved to ECM and formed his own group which includes Jorge Roeder (bass) and Ofri Nehemya (drums). This disc includes seven original compositions and two covers, including “These Foolish Things”. This disc is quiet and restrained as are many ECM releases. There are a couple of surprises, however, including his accompaniment of President Obama’s speech about gun violence on the need for gun control, “What Else Needs To Happen”. Truly powerful in it’s mourning. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Keith Oxman – Glimpses (Capri): Tenor sax player/composer Keith Oxman and the other members of his quartet Jeff Jenkins (piano), Ken Walker (bass) and Todd Reid (drums) had the thrill to record with David Liebman (soprano & tenor sax) and it seems he was quite pleased with the interaction as well! The members of the quartet are Jeff Jenkins (piano), Ken Walker (bass) and Todd Reid (drums). The program is swinging throughout, electric while in the center of this swinging set. The disc opens with three Oxman compositions played by everyone and then the shifts begin: next tune is “In A Sentimental Mood” performed as a duo between Liebman and Jenkins; everyone back together on Cedar Walton’s “Afreaka” and Oxman’s “Louminus”, followed by Oxman and band on their own and lastly the title song with Liebman back aboard. This is a delightful set and highly accessible for anyone wary of Liebman’s penchant for stepping outside. Well, it does get a little crazy on the last song, but I don’t think it will chase anyone out of the room. In fact, it’s a great invitation! This appears to be Oxman’s eleventh release. Click here to listen to the opening song on this disc.    

John Petrucelli – Presence (Self-produced): “Hailed by allaboutjazz.com as “a saxophone heavyweight,” John Petrucelli follows up his 2015 debut “The Way” with the ambitious live album “Presence”, recorded live at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theater. Broadening his canvas to include string quartet, Petrucelli builds on the quintet sound of The Way with a strong lineup: pianist Brett Williams, guitarist Peter Park, bassist Paul Thompson and drummer Gusten Rudolph are joined by violinists Melissa Hernandez and Ashley Freeburn, violist Olga Taimonov and cellist Katya Janpoladyan. The music, rich in harmonic color and rhythmic detail, is for Petrucelli “a meditation on our state of being, the idea that we are in process, and this music is as well.” (https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/johnpetrucelli) The blend is terrifically successful, neither giving way fully to the jazz or classical side. The flow itself is truly enticing. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this release.   

Tessa Souter – Picture In Black And White (Self-produced): “Inspired by her discovery at age 28 that her birth father was black, “Picture in Black and White” traces Tessa’s musical “DNA” from Africa to the Caribbean, Celtic Britain and Andalusian Spain – a world of exotic sounds, unusual meters and ancestral ghosts.” (Liner notes) This is composer/singer Tessa Souter’s sixth release and it is a fascinating collection. She composed two songs, created and added lyrics to songs ranging from Wayne Shorter’s “Ana Maria’s Song” to and Vicki Burns’ “Siren Song”, including wonderful versions of McCoy Tyner’s “Contemplation (Ancesters)” and Ornette Coleman and Margo Guryan’s “Lonely Woman”. The performers providing instrumental backing include Yotam Silberstein (guitar, out), Adam Platt (piano), Yashushi Nakamura (bass),Dana Leong (cello), Keita Ogawa (percussion) and Billy Drummond (cymbals, drums). The sound is folkish, often exotic and always mesmerizing. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.   

Kopasetically,

Professor Bebop