New Jazz Adds – 6/5/208
New Jazz Adds – 6/5/2018
Bill Anschell – Shifting Standards (Origin): Veteran pianist Bill Anschell has released seven discs as a leader and predominantly in a trio. On this release, Anschell decided to perform a set of standards and the result is terrific. His dazzling style creates a new notion of many of these gems and I found that listening to the disc without having looked at the program resulted in several “ah-ha’s” as it dawned on me that a particular song was a wonderful turn around on a song like “Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered”, “All Of You” and others. Anschell is accompanied by Jeff Johnson (bass) and D’Vonne Lewis (drums) and the combination is beautiful. Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.
Erik Applegate – Three’s A Crowd (Artist Alliance): Bassist Erik Applegate offers a pot potpourri of trios with the only constant being his own playing. He also composed two of the songs on this disc. The other players are Steve Kovalcheck (guitar, 2 songs); Jim White (drums, 5 songs); Greg Gisbert (trumpet, flugelhorn on one song each); Dana Landry (piano, 2 songs); Julia Dollison (vocal, 2 songs), Kenyon Brenner (tenor sax, 2songs); and Brian Horton (tenor sax) and Julian Carey (vocal) on one song each. There’s a good bit of diversity across the disc. The program itself is quite inviting. Click here to listen to samples of each of the performances on this disc.
Roni Ben-Hur & Harvie S – Introspection (Jazzheads): Guitarist Roni Ben-Hur and Harvie S (bass) are the headliners with Tim Horner on drums. The trio is smooth and precise in their interactions. Their program spans from Joe Henderson’s “Serenity” and Thelonius Monk’s “Introspection” to Billy Strayhorn’s “Blood Count” and George Shearing’s “Conception”. The music flows beautifully and mostly in a soft mode as one might expect given the disc’s title. Click here for an introduction from Ben-Hur and some sample playing.
Freddy Cole – My Mood Is You (HighNote): Nat’s brother Freddy, who sings in that quiet and slightly breathy or raspy tone, issues what appears to be his seventh disc. He is accompanied by Joel Frahm (tenor, soprano sax), John di Martino (piano), Randy Napoleon (guitar) and Quentin Baxter (drums) and performs a mix of ballads and standards. It is hard to listen to the singing without making the comparison and Nat would probably sound more like this if he were performing now. Click here to listen to the title song.
Theo Hill – Interstellar Adventures (Posi-Tone): Theo Hill is a rising pianist who grew up in New York and has continued to grow in his home state and now NYC. Hill has performed with Jeff “Tain” Watts, Charles Tolliver, Wallace Roney, Jeremy Pelt, Bobby Watson, Roy Ayers, Frank Lacy, Essiet Essiet, The Charles Tolliver Big Band, The Captain Black Big Band, The Josh Evans Big Band, Eddie Henderson, Nicholas Payton, Dave Liebman and he is currently a member of The Mingus Big Band. This is his third release as a leader and he is working in a trio with Rashaan Carter (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums, percussion). He composed half of the songs on this disc and his facility on the keys is terrific. He does play both acoustic and electric piano, which also adds variety to the overall disc as does his style shifting from one song to the next. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Mike LeDonne & The Groover Quartet – From The Heart (Savant): Veteran B3 player Mike LeDonne has been tickling the ivories for the past thirty years and on the evidence on this disc, he is still in great form. He has performed with Milt Jackson, George Coleman and Benny Golson before beginning the Groover Quartet. The members of the group are Eric Alexander (tenor sax) and Peter Bernstein (guitar), with Joe Farnsworth and Mike Clark trading off on drums. The group also gives a great show of their enjoyment from doing hip versions of soul and R&B tunes. This disc includes Ray Charles’ “Come Back Baby”, Stevie Wonder’s “Fun day” and Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”. Soul blues shines bright here. Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Bongwool Lee – My Singing Fingers (Origin): “Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Bongwool was exposed from an early age to a wide range of music by her parents, and was quickly considered a musical prodigy, winning Korea’s acclaimed Samik Competition at age 7. As the years progressed, Bongwool’s focus shifted from Classical music to the world of Jazz upon hearing Oscar Peterson on the radio.” (https://www.bongwoollee.com/about) She now lives in New York, where she has played with Dave Liebman, John Reilly, Gary Dial, Bobby Sanabria, and Phil Markowitz, among others. This appears to be her first release. She is accompanied by Luques Curtis (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums) with a guest appearance by Taylor Eigsti on Fender Rhodes on one song. Click here to listen to samples of two of the songs on this disc.
Harold Lopez-Nussa – Un Dia Cualquiera (Mack Avenue): This is composer/pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa’s second release available in the US and released by Mack Avenue. Lopez-Nussa is a versatile pianist who can play with such amazing grace one moment and then shift to the most fiery Cuban music you can imagine. He composed seven of the eleven songs on this disc and arranged the others. He is accompanied by Gaston Joya (bass) and Harold’s younger brother, Ray Adrian Lopez- Nussa (drums, percussion). The blend of styles, Cuban and American, truly give this disc a unique flavor. Click here and scroll down to listen samples of the songs on this disc.
Ben Markley Quartet – Basic Economy (OA2): Pianist/composer Ben Markley follows up his big band tribute to Cedar Walton with a quartet session that features eight original tunes written with alto saxophonist Greg Osby in mind. Markley and Osby are joined by Evan Gregor (bass) and Dru Heller (drums) to complete this solid modern jazz quartet. Markley and Osby also make a fantastic duo whether soloing or playing counterpoint with each other. These are totally solid performances from beginning to end. Click here to listen to the songs on this disc.
Nolatet – No Revenge Necessary (Royal Potato Family): Nolatet – a band from New Orleans without the Quar, but with a stronger jazz inflection than street funk. This is a quartet featuring Johnny Vidacovich (drums, percussion, timpani), James Singleton (bass, pocket trumpet, bass melodica), Mike Dillon (vibes, marimba, tabla, percussion), and Brian Haas (piano, melodica). They certainly have their own style and notion of rebuilding one of the basic and most celebrated musical styles in the US. Click here to listen to one of all of the songs on this disc.
Venture – Life Cycle (ropeadope): Here’s a quartet featuring Mark Sherman (vibes, piano), Mike Clark (drums), Felix Pastorius (bass) and Chase Baird (sax) with eight original compositions, six by Sherman, one by Baird and one by Clark and Jed Levy. While all of the program is solid, the most unique songs in the set are when Sherman plays vibes emphasizing “lots of harmonic movement and intricate heads.” (Liner notes) These tunes fully capture the imagination and are the standouts, though the songs with piano are quite nice, but simply more familiar sounds. Click here and scroll down to listen to the songs on this disc.
Jerry Weldon – Those Were The Days (Cellar Live): Sometimes, I think we hear so many Hammond B3 couplings with drums and guitar, that we are tempted to forget the dynamic between tenor sax and B3 is. Thanks to Jerry Welden, this disc is a fantastic reminder of just how fabulous that combination can be. Weldon joins Kyle Koehler (B3) and Colby Inzer (drums), with a guest spot by percussionist Daniel Sadownick in a set that spans songs authored by Bacharach & David, “Walk On By”, Kaempfert-Singleotn-Snyder, “Strangers In The Night” to Earl Hines’ “Rosetta” and Jimmy Smith’s “The Sermon”. Weldon even adds one of his own compositions. The music swings and soars and also gets way down in a blues groove. Very nice, indeed! Click here and scroll down to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Kopasetically,
Professor Bebop
