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Tom Ranier Leads a Path to the Heart on This Way

6/13/2020

This Way is Tom Ranier’s first album since 2006. That’s not to say he hasn’t been busy. Far from it, he has performed regularly at the Grammys, Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes and any other high profile awards shows and performers you care to enumerate. He is a much-in-demand recording artist for so many famous acts like Barbara Streisand, Donna Summer, Natalie Cole, Joe Pass, Placido Domingo and many, many more. Plus, there is all the TV work and the movies Forrest Gump and Frozen.In fact, it can be said, he has not had time for his own personal projects.

This was worth the wait.
A photographer as well as a composer/pianist/multi-reedist, Tom Ranier is a master of imagery and never more so than on This Way.

Renier composed six of the eight tunes on this way. You'll hear him on the piano and synthesizer in addition to soprano, Alto, tenor, and baritone saxes. He is just that adept at the B flat, bass, and contralto clarinets. Performing with him or some of southern California's first call musicians. Trey Henry is on acoustic and electric bases, Ralph Humphrey is on drums, and Thom Rotella is on guitar.

Tom has said of This Way, “Every recording is a snapshot in time of where the artist is right at that moment. This album is the culmination of all my experiences and musical influences over the last 15 or so years.”

The album opens with Blue Aria, a Tom Ranier original. The depth and beauty of Ranier’s composition and artistry is warm and evocative. That does not let up throughout the whole album. Each of the compositions create a mood-scape of remembrance and reflection.

Yes, Kloose is a nod and wink to drummer Ralph Humphrey, nicknamed Kloose. Ranier calls Humphrey “One of the absolute masters in the whole world at playing odd time signatures.” Humphrey proves it on this track.

When we get to the first cover, Secret Heart, that is also a heartfelt reminiscence from Randy Brecker and Eliane Elias regarding the incomparable Michael Brecker. Brecker was a master soloist and Ranier has transcribed Michael’s soprano sax for an arrangement for soprano, baritone, and three clarinets. Somewhere, Michael is smiling.

Trio Vision gives range to Trey Henry’s bass in what can only be called an exquisite acoustic trio. The piano-bass-drums trio is my favorite format and these guys just own it.

The second cover and final track of the album is Jobim’s Desafinado. Ranier’s beautiful piano work is enhanced by the four clarinet/bass clarinet passages. You can’t go wrong with Jobim and Ranier takes the already beautiful piece and expands on it.

This Way is indeed worth the 14-year wait. It is veritably impossible to separate the impression and impact of the eight pieces on this album. Each track moves from depth to depth. The album is a session in musical therapy as Ranier plumbs the profundities of life’s experiences.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Antonio Adolfo's BruMa Celebrates Milton Nascimento Beautifully

6/13/2020

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I first encountered the music of Milton Nascimento when, in 1994, I heard the album Deseo by John Anderson. Singing in duet with Anderson on the very first track, Amor Real, was Milton. I was so taken with his talent, his voice, his emotion, that I bought every album I could lay my hands on. In all the time since, and in all the albums since, his music was always of the highest standards.

Now Antonio Adolfo, one of the great talents to emerge from Brazil, has released BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento. Antonio first met Milton in 1967 when they were both participants at Rio de Janeiro's International Song Festival. The next year Antonio and his trio performed with Milton, first in the recording studio and then a two-months run of their show in Ipanema.

This album represents the culmination of over half a century of respect in friendship. Antonio says for this album, “I immersed myself in the music of Milton and his partners. I have been working on this project for six months… adding my Brazilian jazz vocabulary. I once again concluded that Milton Nascimento is the most modern and profound composer in Brazil.”

Milton was nominated for three Grammys and six Latin Grammys, winning one and four, respectively. Antonio himself has been nominated for one Grammy and five Latin Grammys. His albums have garnered worldwide attention as a phenomenal instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. With BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento, add interpreter to his list of accolades.

Before going into the album proper, it must be noted that BruMa in itself means “mist” but the true impact of the word is that it is drawn from the first two syllables of Brumadinho and Mariana, two cities in the state of Minas Gerais that have suffered untold sorrows resulting from ruptured earthen dams that flooded Mariana in 2015 and Brumadinho in 2019—disasters that left the waters below toxic and barren. Milton was always a key figure in preserving the memory of what has happened there.

Antonio is the producer and arranger for the album, as well as manning the piano. With him or Jorge Helder on double bass, Rafael Barata on drums, Dada Costa, Rafael Barata and Claudio Spiewak on percussion, Jesse Sadoc on trumpet and flugelhorn, Marcelo Martins on tenor sax and alto flute, Danilo Sinna on alto sax, Rafael Rocha on trombone, with Lula Galvao, Claudio Spiewak, and Leo Amuedo on guitars. This is one hot band.

The album is kicked off with Fe Cega, Faca Amolada (Blind Faith, Sharp Knife) from Milton’s 1975 album Minas. Rafael Barata’s drums is the first thing you hear and he will remain a precise and powerful presence throughout the album, both on drums and percussion. Marcelo Martins adds his own cool sax but keep your ears open for Antonio’s great piano work and pay attention to these great arrangements. Claudio Spiewak provides some sweet Jazz guitar and it is those hot horns of Martins, Danilo Sinna and Jesse Sadoc that carry the song away to the end in high fashion.

It is the piano and horns that introduce Nada Sera Como Antes (Nothing Will Be As It Was) from the album Perfil (Profile). Jorge Helder’s bass is understated but don’t miss it. Sinna’s cool alto sax is a beauty and Antonio’s bluesy piano is worth the price of admission. Add Rocha’s warm trombone for extra fun.

Outubro (October), from the 1969 album of the same name, is soulful and captivating. Antonio’s piano is accompanied by Spiewak’s acoustic guitar and the result is incredible. Sadoc’s trumpet is gorgeous and that smooth trombone of Rocha’s is so fine. In Brasil, October is in the Spring and this Springtime melody is a wonder of beauty and imagination.

Cancao Do Sal (Song of the Salt), from the 1967 debut album Travessia, is a percussion-lover’s delight. Antonio’s piano and Spiewak’s guitar set up great moments from Rocha’s trombone and the bouncing bass of Helder is right on target.Enter Marcelo Martins on tenor sax and the whole band gels into something quite extraordinary.

Encontros E Despedidas (Encounters and Farewells) from the 1985 album of the same name is a lush and lovely ballad. The piano, of course, replaces the sweet flute intro only to be joined by Marcelo Martins’ alto flute. It is a very nice touch. The trades-then-unison of Antonio and the flute are beautiful. All the while, the rhythm section keeps a solid and steady undercurrent flowing so well.

Following that is Tres Pontas from the 1993 album of the same name. It is named for the city of Milton’s birth. It opens with a vibrant and rhythmic piano and bass that paint an image of an equally vibrant city. The gorgeous textures of the horns depict the changes and growth of the not-overly-large city of only 60,000 or so inhabitants. Jorge Helder gets a fine bass solo with very well-placed runs and touches. Brief but beautiful.

Cais (Harbor) is from the 1972 album by Clube da Esquina, a Brazilian music collective. The album is considered a watershed moment in the storied history of great Brazilian music. Lula Galvao makes his first of only two appearances on the album on electric guitar. The horns are splendidly paced and spaced while the piano and rhythm section holds it all together. Sadoc’s muted trumpet adds mesmerizing touches over the piano and bass lines and carries much of the song’s melody. A specifically gorgeous track on a completely gorgeous album.

Caxanga is from the 1983 album Ao Vivo. Galvao is back on electric guitar and he and Antonio keep things tight between them while Sinna adds his great alto sax leads. Galvao’s guitar takes over the lead while the horns and rhythm section keep the song anchored. Percussion and horns with Anotnio’s cool piano take the song away.

The album closes with Tristesse (Sadness) from the 2003 album Pieta. Martins’ alto flute and Antonio’s piano introduce the song with tones that are of palatable emotions. The sadness never becomes despair but, rather, speaks of a sadness that is not without hope or, at least, remembrance. Leo Amuedo contributes a beautiful electric guitar, his only appearance on the album. But it is Antonio’s piano and his incredible arrangements of the incredible Milton Nascimento that makes this album the wonder that it is.

Antonio Adolfo breathes new life into the work of the maestro in a time when Milton Nascimento’s vision and voice should not be forgotten.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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The Brecker Brothers' Live and Unreleased

6/4/2020

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If you were listening to Jazz in the 70s and 80s, you heard the Brecker Brothers in all their power, finesse, and glory. I remember well when they disbanded in 1982 and their last album, Straphangin’—their sixth—would occupy a place near and dear to me. They would reunite for a 1992 album, Return of the Brecker Brothers, and for me it was like the sound of the archangel announcing the Second Coming.

Live and Unreleased is a live recording from their July 2, 1980, gig at Onkel P’s Carnegie Hall in Hamburg. Everything and everyone was on and they truly never sounded better. Randy Brecker commented on brother Michael’s performance and said, “Brother Mike was at the top of his game—well, he never wasn’t at the top of his game—and we were clicking as the Brothers horn section.”

According to Randy's liner notes, it was also a time when Michael was writing more and more and a full four tracks on this double-CD are Michael’s original compositions and five are from Randy. And, seriously, the liner notes from Randy and the insert booklet from Bill Milkowski are both worthy of careful attention and enjoyment.

With Randy and Michael Brecker is the amazing Barry Finnerty on guitar, Mark Gray on keyboards, Neil Jason on bass and sometime vocals, and Richie Morales on drums. This was a band who swing, drive, and create the most bone-crushing funk you could ever hope to hear. In a decade full of great Jazz-fusion bands like Return to Forever and Weather Report, the Brecker Brothers never lost their Be-Bop sensibilities and yet could roll as hard as any rock band you care to name.

Thankfully, it is a 2-CD set covering nearly two hours.

The album opens with Michael’s Straphangin’. It is kicked off with the horns almost fanfare intro before Neil Jason’s bass thunders the transition. Mark Gray accompanies on the keyboards and he early and often leaves no doubt how he landed this gig with the Brothers. Then comes the solos. Randy takes off in a run to make Rimsky-Korsakov do a double-take. Michael’s sax solo is a beauty even though Randy intimates that his brother did not always enjoy the song. Still, Michael’s roomy solo is not rushed and it gives space to the others’ contributions. The song concludes with the same fanfare as it began.

Tee’d Off—another Michael piece—is one of four pieces from the album Détente. Michael’s cool sax takes the lead before a glorious combo with Randy then into a tough-as-nails duck and punch with Jason slap-funking the daylights out of his bass. Barry Finnerty cuts loose on some brilliant guitar work, melodic and harmonic. Listen carefully to Morales’ drumming throughout the album.

Sponge is a Randy original and was originally released on 1975’s The Brecker Brother. As my cousin said at the time, “This mother smokes.” Randy and Michael both turn this song from their debut album loose with Finnerty, Gray, Jason, and Morales earning their pay over and over. Randy’s trumpet solos make other world-renowned trumpeters sound like kids with kazoos. And you just can’t get enough of Finnerty. Gray’s keyboard solo is fascinating while Jason and Morales anchor the funk. Smokes.

Funky Sea, Funky Dew (Michael Brecker, comp.) comes from the 1977 album Don’t Stop the Music. Michael takes centerstage on this one and the original 6:13 is stretched to a riotous 18:41. Again, Michael doesn’t fill up his time with aggressive runs but takes time to lay it out slowly and give room to everyone else. Finnerty gets in some excellent chops. Even at almost 19 minutes, it seems too brief.

Side 1 closes with another Michael original, I Don’t Know Either is the second track from the Détente album. Gray and the horns are tight together and Finnerty’s strumming adds a funky bite to the bit. Randy’s hot trumpet cools off for a moment in micro-trades with Finnerty. Some serious stretching going on here, too. But, after all, this was a live recording and you got to give the people what they want.

Mark Gray gets his extended solo in Inside Out, Randy’s composition originally released on the 1978 Live album, Heavy Metal Be-Bop. The thunderous bass line from Jason is a shaker. Randy’s trumpet solo is coolly bluesy and the Michael sax bit is equally cool. Again, everybody gets to offer some beautiful passages along the way. This track just tore it up. It wound up being my favorite track on the album. Listen and you’ll know why.

After such tight Jazz, the Funk returns with Baffled from—once again--Détente. Morales gets the attention with an long and developed solo that shows why he’s aboard. The Latin groove is fantastic. The band returns to more melodic Jazz after Morales’ solo. Composer Randy serves up some beautifully delicious trumpet morsels. The tightknit delivery of Gray and Finnerty is worthy of close hearing.

Some Skunk Funk (Randy’s composition from The Brecker Brothers) is furious and, like Randy says, “has become something of a rite of passage for young musicians.” Michael’s effected sax is stunning and then comes the bass-solo-to-end-all-bass-solos. This song is the stuff legends are made of. The whole band closes out the piece to uproarious applause before the band leaps into the…

East River. Bassist Neil Jason co-wrote the piece with Cash Monet. His real name? Randy says, “He was just Ralphy from Brooklyn, as far as I knew.” Finnerty again gets fantastic guitar work in and Jason takes on the vocals along with the hot bass. The song first appeared on Heavy Metal Be-Bop and the funk is fabulous.

The album closes with Don’t Get Funny with My Money from, of course, Détente. Get this: Luther Vandross co-wrote the lyrics with Randy Brecker. Vandross arranged the vocals and appeared as a backing vocalist on the Breckers’ second album, Back to Back. The song sounds like the lovechild of Rick James and Frank Zappa.

What a way to end a concert and an album. If the ideal is always leave them wanting more, then Live and Unreleased does just that. Even at nearly two hours, you never want the album to end. Maybe it’s because of the early passing of Michael Brecker in 2007 or because we will never get to see the Brecker Brothers band again. Or maybe it’s just because this is one hot album full of amazing artistry and composing and arranging that fills what your heart longs to hear.

Yeah, that’s it.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Spanish Harlem Orchestra brings The Latin Jazz Project

6/3/2020

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The Latin Jazz Project is what we have been waiting for from Spanish Harlem Orchestra. With six previous recordings, they have given us glimpses and splashes of Latin jazz. Thanks to Artistshare, a fan-funded project program, SHO have given us a full length recording of pure Latin jazz. Their last album, Anniversary, was the Grammy winner for Best Tropical Latin Album. A wonderful album.

But Musical director Oscar Hernandez, with two brilliant Latin Jazz albums under his belt, has brought his full creative force to bear with SHO for another album of wonder. The Latin Jazz Project will certainly be a Grammy contender.

On this album, with seven of the eleven tracks composed by Hernandez, a veritable all-star guest cast adds their remarkable contributions. Hernandez produced the album.

The members of SHO certainly deserve to be recognized. Oscar Hernandez is on piano. Hector Colon plays trumpet and flugelhorn as does Manuel Ruiz on five tracks and Jonathan Powell on alternate five tracks. Doug Beavers, the coproducer and in charge of mixing the album is on trombone with Noah Bless. Jorge Castro plays baritone sax with Mitch Frohman on one track with him. Luisito Quintero is on timbales, shakere, shakers and chimes. George Delgado is on congas and Jorge Gonzalez is on bongos. Gerardo Madera is on base with Jeremy Bosch on flute. Bosch, Marco Bermudez, and Carlos Cascante all contribute vocals on track 11.

The album opens with a Hernandez original, Ritmo De Mi Gente. Jeremy Bosch is featured on flute along with Hernandez on piano. The alternating horns and percussion highlights are so hot. Wait for the last note with the baritone sax adding the exclamation point.

Bobo is a Marty Sheller composition and features the fantastic Bob Mintzer who makes every phrase, every note, count. Hernandez and the percussion are so tight. Colon and Powell with Beavers and Bless and Castro just cook the horn passages. Pay attention to Luisito Quinetero’s percussion work.

Invitation (Kaper and Webster, composers) brings along Kurt Elling’s vocals and Miguel Zenon’s sax work. Elling, of course, is world-famous and Zenon is world-class. Zenon’s sax is a vocal as Elling and the two of them together is like watching Zeus and Thor trading thunderbolts. But again, Hernandez with those horns and percussion…

Angel Fernandez’ Acid Rain features Bob Franceschini on sax and Jonathan Powell on trumpet in this instrumental piece with its fascinating horn runs atop the cool rhythmically rainy beat. A smoking groove.

Trumpeter extraordinaire Tom Harrell is featured on the Oscar Hernandez original Las Palmas. Cool and beautiful piano solo from Hernandez. George Delgado’s congas are a cool treat.

Hernandez brings together two of the baddest cats in the business on his Silent Prayers. A sweet piano introduction is joined by saxman Dave Liebman who slides into an equally tasty solo. In the background for the first 1:44 of the track, bassist Jimmy Haslip comes aboard with that incredible bass solo before Bosch adds his flute. The loveliest song on the album, Silent Prayers is enough to make you say a prayer of thanks for the incredible artistry of the composer, soloists, and the whole band. Liebman returns to give wing to the prayers before piano, horns, and percussion take us home.

Thelonious Monk’s Round Midnight is one of my favorite pieces of all-time. Hernandez takes the Gene Amato arrangement to a Latin paradise. The piano melodic line holds true with that great percussion and horn treatment. Powell is featured on trumpet and the whole song sounds like Monk in San Juan or Havana. Hernandez, of course, steals the show.

Hernandez’ Fort Apache features trumpeter Michael Rodriguez who joins the horns in a raw and aggressive foray against Hernandez’ steady piano with a spot-on percussion section. Powerful stuff.

Vibraphonist Joe Locke takes the lead on Latin Perspective with time given for Bosch’s flute. Locke is a master artist and always lights up the proceedings wherever he appears. Bosch fits like hand in glove with Locke and Hernandez. The solos of Bosch and Locke are worth the wait. They depart the track en corps before fading into the 36-second improv between Locke and Hernandez, titled Joe and Oscar.

Descarga De Jazz wraps up the album with chorus vocals from Bosch, Marco Bermudez, and Carlos Cascante. Mitch Frohman’s tough and tight baritone sax gets the feature but it’s Hernandez and the percussion that keep setting up the horn passes. You gotta love the vocals and that baritone sax just rattles your spine.

Oscar Hernandez and Spanish Harlem Orchestra have created an album of raw energy, tight grooves, beautiful melodies, and compositions to thrill and amaze any listener. The Latin Jazz Project was wroth the wait.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Tom Ranier Leads a Path to the Heart on This Way

Antonio Adolfo's BruMa Celebrates Milton Nascimento Beautifully

The Brecker Brothers' Live and Unreleased

Spanish Harlem Orchestra brings The Latin Jazz Project

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