Siren Songs is the perfect title for Jackie Gage’s debut album as she definitely has the voice to stop any sailor on any voyage. Released on First Orbit Sounds Music (FOSM 262), Siren Songs is a charming mix of originals and standards. Those standards were arranged by Gage and are a revelation of her arranging skills alongside her writing skills as evidenced in her originals.
 
Gage is accompanied by Timothy Wat (piano), Dillon Vada (marimba), John Shifflett (bass), Jason Lewis (drums), and the Juxtapositions Chamber Ensemble’s Ilana Thomas (violin), Kristina Dutton (violin), Su Buchignani (viola) and Freya Seeburger (cello). The strings are great enhancements to the pieces on which they perform.
 
The album opens with Siren Songs. It is a beautiful introduction to the album with vocalizations from Gage and accompanied by Dillon Vado on marimba.
 
The cool standard That Old Black Magic by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer—arranged by Gage—follows. Gage’s delivery is beautiful. The piano, bass and drums are fine support. Seriously, her voice is captivating and I’m not just saying that because of the album’s title.
 
It’s Your Love is an original from Jackie Gage and William Bohrer. The marimba is a cool touch, carrying the melody. Then again, Jackie Gage could be accompanied by construction workers with jack-hammers and she would still make them sound like Duke Ellington’s orchestra. Yeah, her voice is that incredible.
 
It is a beautifully written song and the band is remarkable with her.
 
Mine (also written by Gage and Bohrer) is the first piece to be accompanied by the strings. In fact, the strings introduce the song and the melody. The song has a nice groove for the rhythm section and the strings swell the emotional impact.
 
Gage’s delivery is a smoldering flame and the band fans the flame. A great song with stunning performance.
 
Curious? is an interlude Dillon Vado on the marimba. Nice touch.
 
Serves Me Right is the beautiful piece by Martine Tabillo. The strings return for the delicious song of regret and melancholy. Gage proves herself again (and again) that she can handle the tempos and phrasings and melodies with equal ease and poise.
 
Comes Love (Stept, Brown and Tobias, composers) is Gage with the trio. Wat’s piano work is excellent and Shifflett’s bass with Lewis’ drums are right on. The organ is a great add at the end of the piece. A nice swinging piece.
 
Afro Blue is the staggering piece by Mongo Santamaria, arranged by Jackie Gage. One of the greatest Jazz pieces ever conceived, it works so well under Gage’s touch. Her arrangement is finely done and the band works it well. Her voice works the rhythm like the finest conguero.  Really, listen to her rhythmic delivery. Then bask in this siren’s voice.
 
The album closes with Sweet. It is an original from Gage, Bohrer and Timothy Wat. The strings again open the song in the way that the song’s title would indicate. Gage is simply astounding in her delivery. With phrasings sometimes like Eryka Badu (and that’s not a bad thing), she still keeps a unique quality that sounds like no one I have ever heard before. The composition is a wonderful experience.
 
Siren Song is a debut? Jackie Gage sounds like she has been doing this for 30 years and yet she has a fresh and sweet approach that sounds almost innocent. That might seem to be incongruous with music associated with torch songs but she goes far beyond that simple category. She is Soulful. She is Jazzy. She is Wonderful.
 


~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

Myriad3 has been working together for over five years and the musical relationship has deepened to the point where their current album Moons (ALMA Record ACD52062) became an inevitability. It is a phenomenally creative and interactive conversation between artists who know and respect (and expect from) each other so well.
 
Moons is their third album and the complete team of Chris Donnelly (piano), Dan Fortin (bass) and Ernesto Cervini (drums) along with Peter Cardinali (producer) and John “Beetle” Bailey (engineer). For some musicians, that level of comfort could lead to creative catastrophe, for Myriad3, it is a recipe for creative conversation.

Bassist Dan Fortin spoke of the first two albums—2012’s Tell and 2014’s The Where—saying, “the material here is pretty different, and I’d say more thoroughly composed that The Where. I believed we have evolved with each album.” Pianist Chris Donnelly added, “Tell is rather a live off the floor record, with The Where being more of a transition to where we are now with Moons.”
 
The pieces on Moons are agonizingly brief, the longest tracks (two of them) being only 5:33. It makes for intense performance and listening. Themes are often introduced then developed quickly while other pieces have a slower development but are gone too soon.
 
The album begins with Donelly’s Skeleton Key. It is very emotional, even with its rather strident pacing. Donnelly’s piano is matched is mirrored by Fortin’s bass. Cervini maintains a determined half-shuffle while the piano right-hand carries the theme upward. Listen to the bass line in the final two minutes with the drums in locked rhythms. This is the next evolutionary step for Myriad3 and for Jazz.
 
Noyammas is a cool bass dialogue with piano and bass, written by Ernesto Cervini. Cervini is the most aggressive while the piano and bass are more exploratory. The piano begins to develop in different directions from the bass with the result that a triadic conversation takes place.
 
One thing that Noyammas allows is the focused hearing on each instrument. They are collectively marvelous but individually just as exciting.
 
Unnamed Cells is by Chris Donnelly. The piano’s doubled chords are complemented by the two-note motif from the bass as Cervini knocks down the beat. This is a fascinating piece. Donnelly creates a brief eight-note motif with each note played in quads while the bass locks in at 8x. Then the theme notes are played in 16x by the piano. It is a musical mapping of the division of cells, notes (like cells) multiplying exponentially. Intuitive? Sure, but this is the stuff of the intellect, as well. And I like it.
 
Dan Fortin wrote Stoner. It is slowly, almost contemplatively, paced. The intricate changes follow the lines that pass for logic in this state of thinking. Mellow and open, the approach allows great space for thoughtfulness and imagination. The piano’s right-hand arpeggio serves as a platform from which the bass and drums jump off. The music settles and comes to rest.
 
Fortin gets two-in-a-row as the composer of the following piece, Peak Fall. It has to be said again that this trio has developed a rapt rapport with each other and Cardinali and Bailey (this should be called a quintet) know exactly what to do with what the trio lays down.
 
The bass lines are smart and spot-on with Cervini in great support with the brushes. Donnelly provides the gentler piano melodies. It is not “smooth” (mostly because that makes you think of Kenny G) but it is meditative and emotional.
 
Counter of the Cumulus is the only piece not written by the trio. Rather, it is written by electronic master Disasterpeace. It is forward and adventurous with a strong link to music history. Well-written and performed with precision, it is a work that shows a commitment to the advancement and development of Jazz for the future.
 
The trio opens in unison, with bass and drums strident with the piano. The piano immediately erupts into a furious arpeggio from the left while laying down a beautiful melody on the right. This is fantastic stuff. Bass and drums and left-hand piano just hammer the rhythm while the piano turns the melody into a Baroque two-part invention.
 
The pounding passes into something lyrical and thoughtful—like the sweet smell of rain after the thunderstorm.
 
That sweetness continues into Cervini’s Ameliasburg. It is a fine melody brought to life by piano and bass as the brushes and cymbal washes paint a picture of rainy streets. It is like an interlude in a movie drama. Beautiful.
 
Sketch 8 is by Chris Donnelly. The bass and drums are in full-force as the piano lays down a three-note idea that lightens the sounds. The drum then adopts a military beat and the bass and piano move into something more Jazzy. Even with the three-note motif continuing, the melodic line follows a cool idea and the bass follows.
 
Ernesto Cervini wrote the title track, Moons. It is one of the two longest pieces on the album and thank the moon for it. Not precisely haunting, it is more of a space-age nocturne with reflective imagery and thoughts of the future. There are passages of sheer loveliness as the piano moves alone trough the void.
 
After the midway point, the bass moves alongside with a delicate propulsion as the brushes are added ever-so-lightly. This was a slowly developing piece as the drums are fully heard with only one minute left in the track. The bass (with the cool effects) also reaches its zenith with not much time left and the piano closes the song as it began.
 
Brother Dom is also by Cervini. It is based on odd beats and Jazzy breaks and the melody emerges with smart rhythms. Eventually, the piano is just as percussive as the bass and drums and the melody is swallowed up in rhythm. A nice groove is woven in and out of the piece. Nicely constructed.
 
Exhausted Clock by Dan Fortin closes the album. The clock’s ticking is heard breaking down and turning into brush work by Cervini before Donnelly brings the melody alive, Fortin close at hand. The melody is a charming line and the bass lines are beautiful. It is like life slowing to stillness.
 
 Myriad3 has achieved something truly remarkable with Moons. The intuitive understanding between the trio and the loose structure of many of the pieces allow them to present, develop and conclude delightful musical ideas in their own pace. Pointed to the future, Myriad3 believes in the present life of Jazz and strengthens it for the move to come.
 
 
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

Drummer Zane Rodulfo has released his debut EP Pathways bringing to life his own compositions based in the musical traditions of Trinidad. With a playing time just over 33 minutes, Pathways still manages to give a broad spectrum of the rhythms and melodies of Rodulfo’s home and influences.
 
With Rodulfo is a stellar cast consisting of the incomparable Dayna Stephens on tenor saxophone, Nir Felder and Marvin Dolly on guitar, Noble Jolley on piano and Fender Rhodes, Luques Curtis on bass, and Victor Provost and Earl Brooks, Jr. on steel pan. It is the steel pan that is the hallmark of the Yoruba tradition which scattered throughout the Caribbean and northern portions of South America during the days of the slave trading of the 1600-early1800s.
 
Now Rodulfo creates music of joy and memory, thankfulness and reflection with his chosen artists who share in his announcement that Rodulfo is here…and here to stay.
 
The EP opens with Rodulfo’s original, Abiku. Luques Curtis’s bass initiates the music with the magnificent rhythms in attending. Dayna Stephens quickly adds his talents and tones bringing the hook with him. The guitar is cool and bright against the steady rhythms. Piano and bass are in step with each other as Stephens regains the ascendancy before the return of the guitar. Earl Brooks, Jr. adds the steel pan with much more of a Jazz flair that the “commercial calypso used to bait tourists.”
 
This is not the music to draw tourists; it is the music from the heart of Rodulfo, drawing you to himself.
 
Trismegistus, also composed by Rodulfo, comes from a phrase meaning “thrice-blessed” and was a designation of Hermes, messenger of the Gods and healer to humankind. The listener of this music must also be considered thrice-blessed. The rhythms are fantastic between Rodulfo and Curtis. The melodic lines are carried so well by Fender Rhodes and the guitar. It is an exciting piece.
 
It is the melodic lines of piano, guitar and tenor sax that make Rodulfo’s original, Seek, the beautiful piece it is. The cascading piano is a sweet opening of the piece. The guitar assumes the melody and is soon supplemented by the tenor sax. It is not dialogue between them; it is agreement.
 
Rodulfo’s understated playing is perfect for the focusing of the song on its melody and harmonies. It is simply gorgeous. Curtis’s bass solo is warm and emotional. In fact, the whole piece is full of emotion and affection. The ending of the piece is excellent.
 
Retrospect is the final of Rodulfo’s originals on the EP. Dayna Stephens’ tenor sax gets the spotlight and he makes it pay. This may be Rodulfo’s most exciting drum piece. He proves himself master of rhythms in performance as well as in composing. And I love his composing.
 
Noble Jolley takes the spotlight himself with his delightful phrasing on the piano. The heavy groove creates a current that carries them all along. Rodulfo works his enchantments with the ease of breathing and Curtis’ is right there with him in complete recognition and agreement.
 
The guitar and sax trade licks and keep the listener riveted with expectancy but Rodulfo just owns the piece. You have to love his delivery and his harmonic approach.
 
Hourglass is written by guitarist Marvin Dolly. The guitar, tenor saxophone, and steel pan of Victor Provost is enough to set your soul ablaze. The steel pan and the tenor sax get in some excellent trading. This is fun stuff. Provost works the pan beautifully and Stephens answers in gorgeous response. Jolley gets a great turn on the Fender Rhodes, as well. Rodulfo is hot on it again. He forces your attention and you delightedly surrender it to him.
 
Sure enough and too soon, the Hourglass runs out…
 
It is always a remarkable thing, to witness the arrival of a brilliant new Jazz artist and hear their debut recording. Zane Rodulfo has given the gift of himself—his writing, his artistry, his musicianship—to an audience filled with hope and expectation. He promises a new world in music and he delivers on his promises.
 
 
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

I always loved film noir with the smooth gangsters and crime bosses, the usually broke but noble detectives and those gorgeous women who get you in trouble or got you killed but were, ultimately, to die for, anyway.

I loved it when Jon Anderson wrote The Friends of Mr. Cairo in 1982 and the song ended with the film flapping against the projector. Even in remakes of the genre, Jazz is always the soundtrack of the drama.

Now Lauren White releases Out of the Past; Jazz & Noir (Café Pacific Records CPCD45130) and I couldn’t be happier.  Usually, the music is in the movie but now the movie is in the music. In this, her fourth album, she brings some of the most popular music from those popular films.

With her is a fine cast of hoodlums like Mitchel Forman (piano), Trey Henry (bass) and Abe Lagrimas, Jr. (drums). Other invited guests join in throughout the album. Some stick around and some get dusted after only one song. Life is tough that way.

Her intonation is perfect. I’m using the word perfect here. She has moments where she moves from sly to sultry, funny to fabulous, but always presents it with Jazz cool. A smoky cool.

The album opens with When All the Lights in the Sign Worked. The slow-walking bass introduces the piece with Andrew Carney on muted trumpet and Hitomi on tenor sax. Joe Pasquale and producer Mark Winkler wrote the piece that sets the narrative of the album. The trades of trumpet and tenor sax are the stuff of conflict. And I love conflict.

But it is Lauren who does the most to conjure the image of the settings in her own fine delivery. She sings one line—“And the radio was playing…Jazz”—to perfection. The enunciation of the word Jazz is right on it. She just nails the delivery and the imagery and wraps it all up in herself like one of those film noir women in their long, mink coats.

Yeah, she’s a sweetheart, this one, but don’t be fooled. She’ll break your heart and make you think she’s doing you a favor. And maybe she is. She sings about pushing back her “long, brown hair in a prelude to a kiss.” And you believe her.

Billie Holiday’s He’s Funny That Way was playing in the background in a critical scene of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Andrew Carney gets another chance at it and he makes good on his threats while Lauren even gives the sound and diction of Billie Holiday herself. Maybe Lauren’s a forger. One thing’s for sure, she teases that poor trumpet with no conscience.

Again (Lionel Newman/Dorcas Cochran, composers) comes from Roadhouse with Ida Lupino singing this when she encounters Cornel Wilde. The Lisa Liu String Quartet and Brass Band Eclectic Plus One add the lush and lascivious background arrangement to the number while Lauren draws you close—too close—to the flame. She sings “This will never happen again.” Sure, she’s said stuff like that before and she’ll say it again and again. Bet your old man’s teeth on that.

Mickey Spillane’s novel Kiss Me Deadly was swiped and made into a movie. Detective Mike Hammer nearly runs over the beauty in the trench coat while Nat King Cole sings I’d Rather Have the Blues. The Lisa Liu String Quartet and the Brass Band Eclectic Plus One get a reprieve and hang around for another tune. All because Bostic’s arrangement is something of real value and this gang knows how to perform.

Then there’s Lauren. If I get to listen to her, I would choose the Blues, too. She has the goods and I’m not just talking about the vocal chops. But she does have that. And pay attention to that band of hers. They are slick and their music will rob you blind.

Duke Ellington and Peggy Lee are responsible for I’m Gonna Go Fishing from Anatomy of a Murder. It was part of the instrumental score to the movie. The trio gets to throw down with each other, for sure. Forman gets in some good licks but so does Henry and Lagrimas. It’s fast, it’s funny, but don’t let it get too cute with you. Sure, it’s all fun and games until someone gets it.

The movie Gilda gave us Amado Mio by Fisher, Kaps and Roberts and they want it back. But Lauren brings the Lisa Liu strings back along with Andrew Synowiec on guitar to settle the score. Rita Hayworth was supposed to be singing it in Gilda and she got famous for it, even when they realized she was lip-synching the Latin tune. The fraud.

Synowiec keeps it authentic with nice work on the acoustic guitar. Makes up for the Rita Hayworth trouble. So does Lauren White’s singing. She sings “Love me forever and let forever begin tonight.” See what I mean? She breaks your heart in any language.

As if one song at a time isn’t enough, Lauren gives you the one-two hit of the Laura/The Night We Called It a Day medley. Those rascals David Raskin and Johnny Mercer wrote Laura, probably when they were in the joint together. At least, that’s the word on the street. Laura was the name of the song and the movie. Creative.

But Lauren White sure is. And when she moves on to The Night We Called It a Day (Matt Dennis and Tom Adair, composers), she is at her most beguiling…and dangerous. The song is tough. It wasn’t even supposed to be sung. Some of those moments are a bit tricky but not so much for this singer. She sings like a canary, so keep her from the cops or she’ll tell on all of us.

Jane Russell sang the next number in the movie Macao. The song is You Kill Me. Thank the lights on Broadway that she’s just kidding around. It’s a hard-swinging tune and the trio gives it the business. Good thing Lauren picked these chums as her band because they pack the heat in all the right ways. They prove it to you on this track, for sure. Lauren swings just as hard.

Haunted Heart closes the album. It’s not really a film noir piece but sometimes you just have to make things fit. And Lauren White with Kathryn Bostic on solo piano is the perfect way to call it a night. It recalls the feelings we got when we watched those movies and how we loved to tell the story. And still do.


~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl.
 
 

Back Home (MAMA Records MAA1050) is Socrates Garcia’s debut album and it filled with the “Latin Jazz with a Dominican tinge” that one would hope to find on this great Dominican composer’s album. It has been called “a musical journey back to his roots” and that description is spot-on with the bachata and merengue styles so evident here. Every piece on the album was composed, arranged, conducted and produced by Garcia.

This is a fine big band with over 20 musicians contributing to the grand sound. The rhythm section is at the core with Manuel Tejada (piano), Pengbian Snag (bass), Helen De La Rosa (drums) and guitarists Steve Kovalcheck (on Celebration of the Butterflies) and Socrates Garcia ( on Back Home). Percussionists include Felix “Abuelo” Garcia (tambura, congas, atabales), Rafael Alemgod (atabales, tambu), Josue Reynoso (guira) and Otoniel Nicolas (timbales). The woodwinds list Wil Swindler (alto and soprano saxophones and flute), Briana Harris (alto sax and flute), Kenyon Brennier (tenor sax, flute and clarinet) and Ryan Middagh (baritone and bass clarinet). The trumpets and flugelhorns include Brad Goode, Dave Rajewski, Jordan Skomal, and Miles Roth. Trombones are Joe Chisholm, Frank Cook, Jonathan Zimny, Guillermo Rivera, and Gary Mayne (bass trombone). Quite a corps!

Garcia calls the album “in a way autobiographical and…a ‘dream come true’ to record it.” Garcia said of the album that it was “an arrival and a departure.” He was arriving at a place where he “could combine my heritage and the aesthetics of Jazz; departure, towards a promising future for this symbiotic relationship.” All of that is evident from the opening bars.

The album opens with Vantage Point, based on the merengue style. Once considered the music of the poor, it was elevated to national music during the dictatorship of Trujillo. Now Garcia has deepened the music with Jazz arrangements and rhythms.

It is those rhythms that are encountered first followed by the woodwinds and horns. The motif is a cool hook and the horns and winds expand it masterfully. The brilliance of the composition and arrangement is clearly seen at every stage of the whole album.

Ryan Middagh on the baritone sax has great lines and Manuel Tejada is a fine choice on the piano. The first track alone will turn you into a Tejada fan. The whole rhythm section and percussionists are extraordinary. In front of it all is Socrates Garcia, composer and conductor. This is a beautifully written piece. Merengue never sounded so good.

Calle El Conde a Las 8:00 is a remembrance of the street where Garcia grew up in the Dominican Republic. It is the street where Garcia would fall in love with Afro-Caribbean music. Wil Swindler’s soprano sax is sweet and Jordan Skomal gets a warm trumpet solo. The whole winds and horns section are stunningly precise and the delivery is phenomenal.  Pay special attention to Helen De La Rosa’s drums.

Celebration of the Butterflies is rooted in the resistance movement against Trujillo. The three Mirabal Sisters were murdered by Trujillo’s assassins on November 25, 1960. The sisters were called “The Butterflies.” The United Nations chose this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It also represents Garcia’s “own voice on violence against women.”

Sometimes it takes a rallying song to make things happen. In 1981, Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday rallied people in support of making the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. In 1987, Hugh Masakela released Bring Him Back Home to speak out for the release of Nelson Mandela. And, of course, who could ever forget We Shall Overcome as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.

The song opens with a cool three-note motif that creates a perfect groove line. The saxes and horns push the aggressive line with the rhythm section. Kenyon Brenner’s tenor sax solo is excellent bouncing above Tejada’s piano backing. Steve Kovalcheck’s guitar is lively.

It is a beautiful choice—to celebrate them with upbeat and lively measures—and to rejoice in what the resistance created. It is not, therefore, a remembrance to the hatred and ferocity of Trujillo but is, rather, a celebration of life, liberty and love. So well-done.

Back Home is founded on the bachata style which was created in 1960s Dominican Republic. Pianist Manuel Tejada was one of the true developers of the style into something orchestrated and refined. Garcia builds on Tejada’s innovations from the 1990s and merges bachata and Jazz.

The opening Tejada piano lines are fluid and beautiful. Kenyon Brenner again is featured on the tenor sax to lush and lyrical effect. The woodwinds create a swirling, eddying imagery that must remind Garcia of the beaches and breezes of home. The dancing, dreaming, delicious life of the Caribbean is summed up so well, with the promise of something more to come.
 
The future is declared in the tightly knit big band Jazz that Garcia has written and arranged. At some points, near-Fusion/Rock erupts until the traditional bachata themes reappear, reminding us that the future always has a past that is often rich and always inescapable.

The last three pieces collectively comprise Dominican Suite for Jazz Orchestra. The first movement is called Homage to Tavito in tribute to Tavito Vasquez, the man called the “Charlie Parker of the Caribbean.”

The quick percussion sets up the trumpet of Brad Goode and Tejada on piano. The Bebop mixes coolly with the merengue and this thing just smokes. Goode’s muted trumpet is a hit and Tejada works the piano splendidly. It is no wonder that Garcia, in the liner notes, thanks Don Fortner “for keeping the piano in top shape So manual could destroy it over those two days.”

Helen De La Rosa is masterful on the drums and steals a good bit of the spotlight. Still, the whole band turns in a fantastic performance of a terrifically-written song.

The second movement is Bachata for Two and is dedicated to his wife of over 13 years, Wanda. It is a much more emotional piece than Neil Young’s Kinda fond o’ Wanda. [I don’t know why I included that except that it made me laugh.]

The gorgeous piano introduction is joined by the winds and horns with percussion. The dance imagery speaks of their dance through life and music—although Garcia admits that he is not a good dancer! The big band horns and winds are electrifying and Brad Goode’s trumpet solo takes on a sweeter tone in fine phrasing.

The final movement is also the only vocal piece on the album. From Across the Street is sung by Hovernys Santana, Felix Garcia, Lia Nova and Rafael Almengod.

Contained in the liner notes is Garcia’s remembrance of the subject of the piece. It bears repeating for your pleasure. He writes, “When I was 3 or 4, there was a woman, Martina, who lived across the street from my house. On certain holidays she used to play a genre of Dominican folk music called Palos or Atabales. It includes heavy drumming, singing, and usually large amounts of alcohol. The rhythms and the singing always fascinated me but at the same time it always seemed to scare me to see this big woman playing those gigantic drums (at least that’s what I remember being probably 2 feet tall). All of those memories gave me the idea to include this genre and intertwine it with Jazz.” The lyrics agree with that impression.
Del otro lado de la calle                From across the street
Yo puedo oir                                     I can hear
Del otro lado de la calle                From across the street
Puedo sentir                                     I can feel
 
Como suenan los tambores          The way the drums sound
Como suenan to’ los cueros          The way the skin drumheads sound
Como suenan toa’ las voces         The way the voices sound
Como suenan los panderos           The way the panderos sound
 
Como suenan, Como suenan        The way (all of it) sounds
Como suenan, Como suenan        The way (all of it) sounds
 
This finale opens with the heavy drumming joined by the voices. Gorgeous. The big band takes over from the voices and it is glorious. The percussion is riveting even into the soprano sax solo of Wil Swindler who creates a fine melodic line that is quick and alive.  Rafael Almengod is featured on the tambu and what fun it is! The vocals begin again, singing “Del otro lado de la calle, Del otro lado de la calle…” The full band takes the song out. What an ending!

Back Home is an energetic, charming, sensory, and revealing album. It is all from the imagination and memory, the life and love, of Socrates Garcia as portrayed by the Latin Jazz Orchestra. From his childhood, from his doctoral studies, from his marriage, Garcia shows us what home is for him. And it is sweet.
 
 
 
 
 
 

I’m glad Daria called the album Strawberry Fields Forever; Songs by the Beatles (OA2 Records 22129). That subtitle offers Daria some creative latitude to reinterpret as she sees fit and desires to do. That is to say, she does not sing the Beatles’ classics as mere repetitions, rather she reinvents those classic in Jazzy, sometimes bossa nova, arrangements with Afro-Cuban rhythms.

I’m a bit of a Beatles purist but there have been moments of sheer genius when some have reinterpreted Beatles tunes and done it beautifully. I’m thinking especially of Earth, Wind and Fire’s Got to Get You into My Life. Loved it.

So I confess my skepticism at the beginning. But that was soon replaced by “Holy smokes! I like this arrangement!” You’ll see what I mean.

Her career has been influenced by great Jazz standards and great Jazz teachers and mentors but she was raised on the Beatles. “I’ve been a big fan of the Beatles since I was a kid,” she says. “I feel that their music is the new standard of our time.” She wanted to keep the “essence of each song intact” and she has done exactly that. The chord changes may be different, the rhythms are most assuredly different, and the melodies undergo Jazzy twists, but there is no doubt that you are hearing the songs delivered with fondness and respect.

All of this comes after 10 years of touring with the late Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks group followed by touring on her own.
Daria has a superb line-up with her. Jonathan Alford is on piano, Rhodes and organ, Sam Bevan is on bass, keyboards and guitar, Deszon Claiborne is on drums, with Michael Goerlitz and Colin Douglas on percussion and Jean Michel Huré on guitar. There are several guest artists who appear on various tracks.

The first track is McCartney’s When I’m 64. Daria and Sam Bevan arranged the piece into bit of shuffle. The melody remains virtually unchanged but the rhythm section works it completely differently. Her delivery is certainly more like a Jazz standard that a Pop classic. Melechio Magdaluyo’s saxophone solo is a beauty and Daria’s trades with the trumpets are cool.

Joseph Cohen opens the next track, Strawberry Fields Forever, on the sitar. The percussive piano is a cool touch. Jean Michel Huré’s guitar is a fine addition. Daria, meanwhile, has walked away from the original John Lennon version. It still carries the wistfully psychedelic imagery but in a Jazz bag. Her legato delivery produces a warm effect. Huré works a cool guitar punch against the smoother piano phrasing. Daria adds some psychedelic vocalizations of her own that keep the imagery fresh. Fade out sitar.

John Lennon goes back-to-back with Daria’s rendition of Come Together. Huré’s guitar is a great twist and the Brazilian rhythms plus Jonathan Alford’s organ turn this classic into something that would make Lennon smile that enigmatic smile. Pay attention to Sam Bevan’s magnificent bass.

McCartney’s Fixing a Hole is an excellent turnabout. From psychedelia to Jazz, the transformation is fantastic. Henry Hung’s trumpet solo is right on target. Alford’s piano is straight-up Jazz and Bevan’s bass with Claiborne’s drums and Douglas’s percussion is an impressive quintet backing to Daria’s vocals.

Can’t Buy Me Love is a McCartney composition that Daria uses as a platform for scat improve while Alford turns in brilliant piano Jazz.

What follows is a Beatles-based medley of McCartney’s Blackbird, Ralph Towner’s Icarus and Henderson/Dixon’s Bye Bye Blackbird. She strings the three together with a three-fold cord of ballad, vocales and samba. And Daria nails all three styles, woven seamlessly together. Jean Michel Huré get a brilliant turn on the acoustic guitar and Alford’s piano is always perfect.

The Fool on the Hill is the fourth in a row for McCartney. The hot horns are in full-throated support of Daria’s bluesy intonations. Melechio Magdaluyo sports another smoking alto sax solo that is oh-so-fine. What a splendid arrangement.

If I Fell is John Lennon’s piece that suffers no violence under Daria’s arrangement. The Afro-Cuban rhythms and Matt Eakle’s sweet flute. Again Alford’s piano carries the Latin theme and, when paired with Eakle’s flute and that magnificent rhythm section, the whole arrangement is on fire with Daria and Annie Stocking’s backing vocals.

Julia may be the most heart-breaking of all of Lennon’s songs. Written in memory of his mother who was killed by a drunk driver only shortly after she and John were reunited after years of separation. The cello of Alex Kelly carries the melancholia while Daria continues in a bossa nova vein. The quiet instrumental Jazz approach is a beautiful reinvention of the Lennon’s original.

McCartney’s Helter Skelter suffered a bad name thanks to the Manson cult. McCartney’s subject was the spiral slide found in playgrounds. Sam Bevan picks up the guitar duties and he turns in an electrifying guitar riff or two. The hot horns return in brilliant backing to Daria’s spiraling vocal delivery.

The album concludes with She’s Going Home, a Daria original based on the Beatles tune She’s Leaving Home. In a complete twist of tone, narrative, and tempo, Daria employs the same short-story technique that Lennon loved. Lennon’s original was painful and was often difficult on the emotions, while Daria tells a happy tale.

It is as if she is continuing John’s original story of the girl who left, on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, and is now going back home on Daria’s album. In fact, I pulled out my Beatles album and listened to the Lennon song and followed it with Daria’s song. It is a wonderful way to wrap up the story and to end the album. As much as I enjoyed the whole album, this was my favorite track. I’m not kidding.
 


~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl.
 
 

Jason McGuire “El Rubio” is a master of the Flamenco guitar who combines that powerful and sensuous genre with Jazz. And I love it. It is an exacting art form and combining it with Jazz yields incomparable fruit.

Terceto Kali is the name of both the trio and the album (Jason McGuire Music). With him in the trio are Paul Martin Sounder on bass and Marlon Aldana on drums. All of the compositions are McGuire originals that incorporate Jazz, Blues and other styles.

The album kicks off with Zardoz. It is performed in a Bulerias style with its fast 12-beat rhythmic pattern. The guitar opens the track (and album) gently and warmly. The flamenco bulerias starts on beat 12 so that the accented beat is heard first. It is considered the best style for improvisation but it requires speed and also a good bit of coordination for the necessary toe-tapping that accompanies the guitar-playing.

McGuire is accompanied by Gypsy vocalist José Cortés in one section as, true to the form, McGuire transitions in and out of several different forms. It is fascinating and it is beautiful and it is powerful.

Ratones Ciegos is a tango but listen to the bass in the intro. Sounder is playing Three Blind Mice! Clever. It is not strictly a tango but is built on a tango. This is a hallmark of the music and writing of “El Rubio.” He doesn’t conform strictly to anything except providing exciting and meaningful listening for his audience.

In the 8:31 of this track, Terceto Kali move effortlessly from one distinctive section into another. The introduction is a rhythmic bit of whimsy that moves into a challenging, dynamic exchange with rhythms and melodic expressions.  The third section is more lyrical with a subdued rhythm and bass line. The distinctive melody is carried seamlessly between the parts. A fourth section allows for the bass to carry a melodic line that sounds like the thematic lines from Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. During that section the guitar is quick and energetic with a recessive melody that is fascinating. The final section begins with explosive rhythm and guitar attack. Sounder’s bass is thunderous and the trio pushes tightly and ferociously to the end.

That is followed by the delicate Romance. Written for his dancer wife, the piece is a lovely piece that is bluesy at one point and elegiac at another. It is certainly affectionate and it evokes visions of care and attentiveness and comfort. Aldana’s brushes create a wash of the cymbals and Sounder’s bass is as emotional as the guitar. A delicate and lovely piece.

Mira Mira started as a rhumba but was unfinished before going into the studio. Liking the beginnings that he had, McGuire presented the piece to Sounder and Aldana who began their own work. Aldana laid down the rhythms and McGuire and Sounder started jamming all over it. You can almost hear McGuire shouting “Mira, mira!” at what was happening. Aldana is on fire with a brilliant release of rhythms as McGuire and Sounder vamp and trade. This was a great fun. This was Flamenco Jazz.

A. Liberty is some of McGuire’s most astonishing and thoughtful guitar. It is gorgeous and emotional and is over far too soon.

Contratiempo… A la Luz de la Luna follows the rondeña style, which is an old fandango style. The story of the piece is adorable. When he was first living with his wife, she asked him to compose a song to which she could dance. He watched a video of her dancing, turned off the sound and composed the piece to her movements. It must have been a beautiful sight because it is easy to imagine the movements of the dancer based on the movements of the guitar. Sounder and Aldana are dynamic in their support.

Tio Paco was written in tribute to the great Paco de Lucia. Instead of trying to mimic Paco (who can?), McGuire decided to honor the Master by adding other styles to Paco’s oft-used alegrias form. The results are a bit of funk (listen to Sounder and Aldana) and even some bluesy Gospel. We all miss de Lucia but he must be smiling someplace, if he can hear this.

Zap is in the Zapateado style and it is a great rhythmic structure upon which to build the melodic lines. The familiar Flamenco guitar sounds bounce off amazing chord changes and intricate rhythmic patterns. The guitar is sublimated to the bowed Sounder bass. The bouncing bow provides an instant of percussive pop before Sounder abandons the bow. Aldana plays subdued as McGuire begins to recover the melody. The trio swings in unison for a few bars and the results are amazing. The pianissimo of the guitar for an extended riff is so fine. This was exciting.

Kali is a return to the bulerias style. José Cortés provides the vocals and palmas and Kina Mendez carries the backing vocals with Manuel Guttiérrez also with the palmas. Cortés co-wrote the music with McQuire and wrote the lyrics. Riotously good fun.

Motivation is a more free-form piece. Still containing elements of flamenco guitar and tight rhythms, the trio follows their own directions and improvisations that include moments of lyricism as well as surrealism. It is expressive and introspective at the same time. It is intriguing and mysterious but captivating.

Terceto Kali is one of the most rewarding albums in recent memory thanks to Jason McGuire’s compositional skills in blending so many various styles always with a view to creating something intelligent and creative, emotional and accessible. The trio of McGuire, Paul Martin Sounder and Marlon Aldana are on an odyssey of musical discovery and innovation and “El Rubio” is their Odysseus.




~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

Imagine Nation (Hot Shoe Records HSR109) is the debut album of Darren English, a young South African trumpet player who is a force and a voice to be heard and understood.

In the liner notes, he quotes Nelson Mandela—“It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world.” With that in mind, the album is subtitled A suite written for Nelson Mandela and other works. All I could think to myself was, “Man, this better not suck.”

Darren is a composer, arranger and trumpet player from Cape Town and is already a mainstay in the Atlanta Jazz scene. He is joined by an extraordinary rhythm section in pianist Kenny Banks, Jr., bassist Billy Thornton, and drummer Chris Burroughs. Four guest artists also make appearances on the album.

The album has 10 tracks with four of them composed by English. The rest are standards and classics to which English adds his own tone and touch.

The album opens with Imagine Nation, the first part of English’s three-part suite for Nelson Mandela. The solo piano introduction sets up the arrival of the rhythm section and the first tones you ever heard from Darren English’s horn. “Okay,” I thought, “this doesn’t suck at all!” I was hooked from the first few bars.

I liked the double-entendre of the song’s title. I love the subject matter. Now the music is doing exactly what I hoped it would. I thought back to Hugh Masakela’s Bring Him Back Home from 1987. English is far different from Masakela but it strikes me that Mandela is best represented by the trumpet—like a cavalry call or the sound of the Archangel’s summons. The piece, according to English, is the nation that Mandela struggled to create.

English’s tone is like crystal, clear and flawless. His phrasing is spot-on and his sound is heart-warming and pure. The rhythm section executes his desires with exactitude. Yeah, I’m in.

Body and Soul (Heyman, Sour, Eyton and Green, composers) is a beautiful example of the tone-quality of English’s trumpet but also the finesse of bassist Billy Thornton. The duet of trumpet and bass is gorgeous but the full quartet is wonderful together. There is nothing in English’s delivery that disappoints.

Dizzy Gillespie’s Bebop is as cool as it ever was. The Darren English arrangement is just as smoking and his performance reveals that he has the goods to play anything from anyone. He is playing with seasoned veterans and he makes fine use of their contributions and adds his own. Thornton and Burroughs work this number over from below and English rains down fire from on high.

English takes to the muted trumpet for What a Little Moonlight Can Do. Guest artist and Grammy-winner Carmen Bradford adds her voice to this hard-swinging number. English and Kenny Banks, Jr. get off some dazzling solos while Thornton is all over it. Carmen is a splendid voice to add to English’s horn. The bluesy close is fantastic.

Part Two of the Nelson Mandela Suite is Pledge for Peace. The song opens with the voice of Nelson Mandela, whose voice weaves in and out of the song, speaking of what it means to be a freedom fighter. English and Banks weave in and out with it like the double helix of love’s DNA. It is something wonderful.

It must be noted that English is playing without a mouthpiece. Yes, he is pushing the boundaries of the trumpet’s sound but perhaps he is recreating the struggle within South Africa who had lost their mouthpiece when Mandela was in prison. Sure, there were others like Desmond Tutu or Walter Sisulu but Mandela was the true voice.

Greg Trady’s saxophone was a brilliant addition who also worked with English and Banks, weaving in and out of the Mandela interview.

The Birth is the final movement of the Nelson Mandela Suite. It is about the birth of the new South Africa. Notice that it starts with a one-note piano repetition that is built on by the piano, then bass, then drums until joined by Greg Tardy and English in full expression. The returning motif gives image to the repetitiveness of beginnings, the simplicity of the early stages that must be developed and expanded like the music in this very piece.

Darren’s performance is sterling—moving and emotional and fully of the birth-pangs of beginnings. The piano, bass and drums are inspiring in their cohesion—like the unity sought for and found within the freedom movement in South Africa.

This is fine, narrative Jazz with a horn-player who knows how to tell the story, while using other voices to help with the telling.

Skylark (Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael, composers) sees Carmen Bradford rejoining English for lovely and lyrical piece. English proves again that he is capable of creating so many different moods and expressions. Carmen’s voice is exquisite and beautiful. English’s trumpet accompaniment is delicate and fine as the trio steps lightly in their support. A thing of rare beauty and emotion.

I’ve Never Been in Love Before (Frank Loesser, composer) is a hot-swinging number with Banks opening the door for English’s muted trumpet. The bass glides in and a hard swing develops. It takes a minute before you realize that there are no drums in play. Just piano and bass accompany the horn and they supply all the propulsion necessary.

Bullet in the Gunn is a tribute to Russell Gunn with whom English plays in Gunn’s Krunk Jazz Orkestra. Greg Tardy returns with his sax and runs a dialogue with English’s trumpet. The rhythm section is on fire and they lay down the foundation upon which English and Tardy build the melodies. A riotously good time.

Ray Noble’s bop-piece Cherokee has Russell Gunn and Joe Grandsen adding their trumpets to English’s own. It, once again, shows English working tightly with the best and deserving to be there. So, you’ve three superb trumpet-players firing phrases at each other like Zeus, Thor and Jupiter all hurling thunderbolts at each other. Buckle-up.

I can only imagine that Banks, Thornton and Burroughs must have been having the times of their lives supporting this triumvirate of trumpet gods. Sometimes trading, sometimes overlapping, sometimes in unison, these three create a theatre for the proficient. It reminded me of the fun days in the early 70s when Bill Chase was a force to be reckoned with.

Imagine Nation is only the first sounds to be released from Darren English. Full of bright creativity and amazing compositions, a guy who can play like Darren English has a long and happy Jazz career. We’re so lucky.
 
 
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

Pianist Louis Heriveaux has been an acclaimed sideman for years. Now, with his debut album, Triadic Episode (Hot Shoe Records HSR110), he steps into the bandleader role and is joined by Curtis Lundy on bass and Terreon Gully on drums.

His influences, friends and loved ones are remembered and celebrated on this album and he also re-interprets some of Jazz’s finest pieces. He switches up time signatures on classics and rephrases passages as he bends the music to his considerable will and offers his audience something new and exciting.

The inaugural track on the album is From Day to Day by Mulgrew Miller, one of Heriveaux’s greatest influences. The trio is so well-suited for the music and the direction chosen by Herivaeux. Curtis Lundy is an in-step and crafty bassist and Terreon Gully has been called “a sensitive drummer.” All that is true of both of them and Heriveaux knows how to play to their considerable strengths. All of that is evident from this, the opening track.

The cool swing and the precise phrasing makes this piece something lush and welcome. From the beginning, it is clear that Heriveaux should have been leading his own band for years now. Still, we welcome him whenever he comes.

Gully has some creative moments that make the listener snap to attention while Lundy is straight-up and warm in his choices. A great piece performed well.

Heriveaux follows up the Mulgrew Miller piece with an original of his own, Theme for DosLyn. He wrote the piece in the 90s for an old girlfriend. It has remained a set-piece since. The tune has a fun, little swing (Insert your own joke here) and it is delivered with a smile. Lundy has an understated solo that suits the occasion and the trio carries the piece to the end with tight rhythms and the recurring theme.

Everything I Love is the Cole Porter classic which Heriveaux pulls into an up-tempo rendition with Lundy and Gully coming in hard with a tight drum solo and the song fading out in several full stops. Jazz the way we like it.

One for Simus is remarkably upbeat and optimistic. Heriveaux wrote the piece for a dear friend who was a victim of suicide during the recording of the album. The bass solo carries some of the melancholier motifs but the piano maintains the sweeter melodies. The broken beats of the drums are clearly imaginative of what was happening in the heart of Onesimus. Then the piece begins its outro before coming to a full and sudden stop. The abrupt end was heart-wrenching.

Lundy’s Blues is, of course, by bassist Curtis Lundy. It is a quick blues that is worked over by Gully as the piano and bass work from the outside in.

Body and Soul (Heyman, Sour, Eyton and Green, composers) is a fine showcase for Herivaeux’s most proficient runs for speed while also reminding us of the cool delivery Heriveaux creates. Gully is smooth on the brushes and Lundy takes an equally smooth course on the bass. Still, Herivaeux’s piano work is gorgeous.

Triadic Episode is written by both Lundy and Heriveaux with Lundy writing the first two sections and Heriveaux writing the conclusion. The Lundy section is a bit of warm swing with beautiful melodies and luxurious rhythms Herivaeux’s section taking on a full-blown Blues turn.

The well-known and oft-played Blue Bossa (Dorham, composer) gets a cool time-signature change and Heriveaux makes it his own, as he does every piece he performs. The bass and drums work the new time from cool angles that work hand-in-glove with Heriveaux who makes this piece fresh and fascinating, like it is supposed to be. Love it!

At the Crossroads is a brilliant take on the original. Dig those cool changes from Heriveaux and the righteous bass work from Lundy. Heriveaux’s exquisite phrasings are a wonder. I love the piano work on the last passage.

Jerome Kern’s All the Things You Are is also given a time-signature upgrade. From the familiar standard version, Heriveaux runs it through the 7/4 wringer and the results are fantastic. Gully gives it a little Afro-Cuban twist, as well, and piano and bass work their own magic. The whole trio is just on fire in what was expected to be a rather ho-hum recounting of a classic but is, instead a hot number.

Terreon Gully’s Swing’n Things gets to close out the album. Swing it does. Heriveaux has some excellent episodes in the piece and the rhythm section runs a groove to die for. Lundy’s bass solo is a mellow affair and the trades between piano and drums is a cool conversation.

Heriveaux’s sense of melody and harmony is something extraordinary and deserves all the attention he is now getting and more. Lundy and Gully are perfect partners with Heriveaux and what results is a finely tuned trio effort in Triadic Episodes that calls to the head and the heart in equal voice. Louis Heriveaux has the talent and the heart to make the music that every Jazz fan wants to hear…and should.
 

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

I Can Do All Things (JD Warren Music) is Jeremy Warren’s debut album and, if it is any indication at all, this is the start of something wonderful.

Born in North Little Rock, AR, and raised in music, he was educated at The University of Memphis, graduating with a dual Bachelor’s in Jazz Studies and Music Education. He led his own band on Beale Street in Memphis for two years before moving to New York City. He continued his studies and received a Master’s degree in Music from New York University. He is a first-call musician in NYC and he shows his remarkable skills at full-tilt on I Can Do All Things.

It should be noted that Jeremy fought Steven Johnson’s Syndrome as a child, the effects have followed him into adulthood. He was told that he would not survive, he required four cornea transplants and a revolving-door access to the hospital.

The album is a statement of overcoming those struggles through music. One wonders if he is offering a musical corollary to Paul of Tarsus’ statement “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Being a son of the church, that is undoubtedly true of Warren’s beliefs. But perhaps, for him, music was the instrument through which Jeremy was strengthened.

And you can hear determination in every stroke of the beat.

He brings along the right artists who seize his message and drive it forward with Jeremy’s own bold heart. With him are Gil Defay and J.S. Williams on trumpet, Christopher McBride, Rakiem Walker and Ethan Helm on alto sax (Rakiem is also on tenor sax), Joel Desroches on piano, Sam Carroll on organ, Parker McAllister and Gabriel Otero on bass and, of course, Jeremy Warren on drums. His secret weapon is his own charming wife, Dermel Warren.

Jeremy declares that he included his wife “to make my compositions more interesting and personal.”  Forget that. She’s terrific! He says she is more R&B than Jazz but he envisioned what she could do with Jazz. What she does is beautiful.

The album opens with the title track, I Can Do All Things. It’s not just a statement of faith, I really think Warren can do just about everything. This song, like all the songs on the album, is composed by Jeremy Warren. The Dermel vocalizations with Desroches’ piano, McAllister’s bass, and the horns warm up the song at the introduction. Right away you’re caught by the drums of Jeremy Warren and that gorgeous voice of Dermel. Defay’s flugelhorn is stunning and McBride’s sax is spot-on. Desroches piano solo is excellent stuff.

The final minutes are a clinic from Jeremy on how to create melodic drum lines and in giving space to other artists without diminishing your own mission. Jeremy knows how to kick off an album.

Modern Warfare follows hot on the heels smokes right from the opening rhythms. Rakiem Walker steps in on alto sax alongside Defay’s trumpet. Walker is subtle and melodic and turns in one fine solo. Don’t lose sight of what McAllister and Jeremy are doing together with Desroches. That is a tight rhythm section. This is some of the hottest Jazz you will ever hope to hear. Defay’s trumpet is a thing of ripping beauty. Dermel is forceful against the aggressive horns. Well-done.

I like the mix and mastering of this album, too. Eric “Zoser” Robinson of Zosermusic gets a standing ovation.

Yet Faithful opens with smooth solo piano. Dermel wrote the lyrics and delivers them with the sincerity in which she wrote them. It is the lyrics that only a spouse could write regarding the struggles of the one they love. Defay and Walker are back on the horns and they provide emphatic punctuation to the lyrics and vocals. Walker’s alto sax is so fine. Defay plays a muted trumpet in the background. Desroches does a fine outro on the piano.

Livin’ Way Up features Leon Marin who co-wrote the song with Jeremy. It is drums and rap only and it works well. I love it. Jeremy nails it and proclaims his defiance of those who would treat his life as meaningless. Instead, he’s Livin’ Way Up.

You Got It was composed by Jonathan “J-Dav” Davenport and features Dermel and Baxter Wordsworth with just the trio of Desroches, McAllister and Jeremy. It is a lovely melody that opens the piece then a hard groove takes over. Dermel drones the title for several measures before her delivery of the verses make your heart stop for a beat or two. She intones “You can be Kobe Bryant, Dr. Martin Luther, an astronaut, pastor or preacher” and the background vocals sing “Hallelujah.” You can be anything, she reminds.

At around the 3:11mark, Wordsworth joins in. What a fitting name! Baxter’s poetic lines are just as striking as anything the great William Wordsworth wrote. Funny that William Wordsworth was ridiculed for using “common speech” in his poetry and it is that type of speech that drives the power of Baxter’s poetry. However, Baxter uses lofty imagery. “From philosophy, I mix Dr. King. From philosophy, I mix Dr. Seuss.” Who doesn’t love that imagery?

Then Baxter goes on to mention Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, King Arthur’s sword Excalibur to Alexander the Great and the Gordian Knot. He reminds that everything you need you got in you, a nod and a wink to L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz who told the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man that they already had inside of them what they desired. And anyone who can casually mention Alexander and the Gordian Knot has already won me over.

Dermel and the trio close out the remarkable track.

No Words brings to bear the quartet of piano, bass, Defay’s trumpet and Jeremy and features Dermel and Gloria Ryann on vocals. The heavy R&B groove lifts the soulful trumpet and the fine vocals. This is a beautiful vocal duet and ends far too soon.

Lost Friends follows next and features Dermel.  The hot horns of Williams and Defay (trumpets), McBride (alto sax) and Rakiem Walker (tenor sax) are brilliant. Desroches and McAllister are such a cool match to Jeremy Warren. The musicians are absolutely fantastic and are so well paired with the movement that Jeremy creates.

Parker McAllister gets a gorgeous bass solo and he works it sublimely. It is funky and Jazzy at once, giving way to Desroches’ piano which begins with softly proclaimed chord progressions as Jeremy cuts loose with amazing riffs and rhythms. Piano, bass and drums soften up for the horns to retake the hot spot. The piece ends with a shout chorus that wraps the piece up wonderfully.

Battle with Steven is a quartet piece. Joining Jeremy is Andy Milne on piano, McAllister on bass and Ethan Helm on alto sax. It is a cool straight-up Jazz affair and these four make it work beautifully. The groove provides the foundation for Helm’s alto sax lead which is set back in the mix to extraordinary effect. Piano, bass and drums step forward and the fun erupts between them. Jeremy and McAllister knock down the odd-meter rhythms and keep you listening intently, counting the beat. Then alto sax returns to bring the melody for another pass. Excellent.

Drummer’s Blues is set in the quintet of Jeremy, McAllister, Desroches, Defay (trumpet) and Walker (alto sax). McAllister opens it with a cool bass line that is matched in step by Desroches piano, albeit slightly off in key. Cool stuff.

Defay tears up the trumpet while the rhythm section is working their own trinitarian (piano, bass and drums—not Father, Son and Holy Ghost) groove. You need to focus in on all these artists as they simply tear it up. McAllister gets another bass solo and it is bluesy and fine, laying down a hard groove which piano and drums gleefully assimilate. Jeremy is on fire as he solos and gives it everything in his heart and soul. The horns return for the close and the quintet knocks it down.

J-Dubb’s Step (composed by Jack Cooper) closes out the album. The song features Lenny Picket on tenor sax with Sam Carroll on organ and Gabe Otero on bass, a swinging quartet with Jeremy. You know Lenny Pickett from the SNL band and Tower of Power. You’ll remember him immediately when you hear him solo. The Carroll solo is also some fine, fine work. Otero is bouncing behind in his funky bass style. And Jeremy is fitting in with them all.

This is the thing that is so obviously right with Jeremy Warren, he fits in with anybody and any style. On I Can Do All Things, he unleashes his talents in Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Gospel and he owns them all. I mean, he just owns them. For a debut album, it carries a depth and a maturity that belies the youth of the artist Jeremy Warren. He has defied his doctors and has worked wonders all of his own making.
 
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl