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Dabin Ryu - The Wall

7/31/2021

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Dabin Ryu has released her debut album, Wall. A gifted pianist, trained in classical piano since the age of three, Dabin is a remarkable composer and arranger. In addition to all that, Dabin produced the album.

The 10 songs on Wall were all written by Dabin. She moves effortlessly from trio to quintet to nonet and gives us one track of piano with vocals by Anthony Marsden and one track of solo piano. She shows many facets of her skills and proclivities. Her classical orientation comes through with the written-out pieces like Wall (Pt. 1) and Wall (Pt.2). Then she displays her Jazz proficiency with hard bop and improvisational fluidity. This flexibility reflects the character and experience of who Dabin Ryu truly is. She is a gifted composer and arranger and improviser.

The artists with her center around herself on piano, Benjamin Young on bass, and Willis Edmundson on drums. Joining the core trio on various tracks are Fernando Ferrarone on trumpet, Jack Kotze on trombone, Nathan See and Zoe Obadia on alto sax, Boyce Griffith on tenor sax, Jarod Apple on baritone sax, and Kevin Scollins on guitar.

It is the nonet and The Light that kicks the album off. The large ensemble arrangement is well-conceived and sharply executed. Dabin’s piano solo gives a great foretaste of what more will follow in the album. That foretaste is not disappointed with the quartet format of I’ll Never Know and the fascinating changes and structures. The hard drive of the rhythm section propels the cool guitar of Kevin Scollins.

The sextet with trumpet, alto and tenor saxes follows with Temple Run. The hard bop is brilliant and the musicians show off the depth of their talents with aplomb. Pay attention to Edmundson on drums.

After the written-through Wall (parts 1&2), the quintet brings back the improv for Moon. With Nathan See and Zoe Obadia on alto saxophones, their duet call and response opens the way for Dabin’s piano with a nearly Saint-Saens approach to harmonics and textures. Enter bass and drums and the full Jazz flow is opened up. Wonderful.

Stillborn
is the only solo piano piece on the album. It is a bit haunting, perhaps even melancholic, but the song is delicately liquid and movingly tender. Then the alto sax quintet returns with its precision and prowess for Suspicion. The quirky tempo and spot-on delivery is excellent.

Taxi Driver
is the longest piece on the album with only the core trio taking on the evocative imagery. So well done. It very well may be my favorite track on this splendid album. The album closes with We Will Meet Again and the alto sax quintet. Benjamin Young’s bass gets the intro and the piano and drums join in for the opening ride before the alto saxes come crashing in. You to love the harmony of those saxes atop the drive of bass and drums. But it is Dabin who gets the attention and deservedly so. By the end of the album, you come to expect the outstanding from Dabin and she does not disappoint. Not once.

​Dabin Ryu’s Wall is a fierce and fluid album that crosses style and format with the ease of the most seasoned pianists and composers. For any album, it is remarkable. For a debut album, it is wonderful.
 
 
                          ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Blue Muse confesses It Never Entered My Mind

7/30/2021

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Tenor saxophonist Sarah Lee formed the band Blue Muse in 2013. The band is comprised of Jazz musicians whom Sarah met while attending Jacksonville University. Having released a live debut album, Blue Muse Live, the group has now released It Never Entered My Mind, a studio album of Jazz classics with half of the compositions by the great Wayne Shorter.

With Sarah are Jarrett Carter on guitar, Cody Wheaton on bass, Javian Francis on piano, John Medico and Jack Miller on drums, Steve Strawley on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Sarah Lee on tenor sax. This is a hard swinging band and their focus on harmonies are exemplary.

The Wayne Shorter tunes are the framework for the album, leading off with One by One, the cool West Coast Jazz sound with great horns and a brilliant piano solo from Javian Francis. Sweet n Sour appears in the middle of the track list. The great groove of the waltzy number is highlighted by Jarrett Carter’s guitar solo. Smoking horns accent the piece and the rhythm section is on top of it all. The album concludes with Shorter’s Ping Pong. The hard bop of Ping Pong makes a great end to the album but the song itself is deserving of rapt attention.

Within the Shorter framework appears Rodgers & Hart’s It Never Entered My Mind where harmonies take preeminence in the Jarrett Carter arrangement. Strawley’s muted trumpet calls forth the spirit of Miles Davis and all is right with the world. The sweet horn backing is lush and wonderful. Then Carter takes another cool guitar pass. This one deserves repeated play. And I did.

Horace Silver’s Nutville gets a great treatment from the band. The basslines are worth the price of admission and it kicks off with the hot drumming before Cody Wheaton takes off on that hopping bass. Everyone gets a good look in this hot track. Sarah Lee herself burns the tenor sax solo. So fine.

Joe Sample’s Freedom Sound is more of that West Coast cool. The harmonies again take the lead but I found myself paying special attention to Javian Francis’ piano backing. Of course, you’d have to on a Joe Sample tune. The piano and bass cooperation is a great listen.

​It Never Entered My Mind
is a swinging, fun album and Blue Muse is the band to make it their own through their arrangements and performance artistry. That’s what good Jazz does—here, make this song your own. Blue Muse does just that.
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Falkner Evans' Invisible Words

7/29/2021

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Pianist and composer Falkner Evans has expressed what, for most, is inexpressible. In Invisible Words, Falkner describes the solo piano recording as “a recording I never planned to make.” It is the heartbreaking—nearly overwhelming—musical portrait of his wife, Linda, who took her own life in May of 2020.

Usually recording in collaborative formats, Evans took to the solo piano for this endeavor. After all, who could express his grief and gratitude appropriately alongside him? But don’t call it a tribute, as Evans himself refers to the recording as a “snapshot” of Linda, seen through the lens of his own heart.

Evans explains, “I was trying to capture the spirit of who Linda was. She had a very childlike spirit and a real curiosity about life. And she was incredibly intelligent. We were together for almost 30 years and I knew her better than anybody. So this has been something of a catharsis for me and something that I’m really proud that I was able to do.”

Unable to even come near the piano for three-and-a-half months, writing and recording Invisible Words was part of his healing process. Maybe even the start of it.

Linda was an artist, both as a teacher and as a painter. When Evans was packing up Linda’s studio, he found a handwritten quote which read, “Music is the invisible word, made visible through sound.” This album is a reckoning with that idea.

The album opens with Invisible Words. The tender melody is, at once, melancholy and memorable. But what is also so very clear is the gratitude in every note. Evans’ gratitude for having known Linda at all permeates every tone throughout the whole album. It begins with the first track and never lets up.

As Evans himself admits, the album became “not only something I wanted to do but something I had to do.” The results are extraordinary.

Brightest Light
is his enduring and endearing picture of Linda. It is indeed bright and there are half-beat rests, complete rests, that had an astonishing impact—almost a full stop for his grief amidst his memory.

Made Visible
is the last part of the quote Evans discovered in Linda’s handwriting. I decided to try listening to Invisible Words and Made Visible back-to-back and the results were moving but would have been too obvious if tracked that way on the album. Well done, Mr. Evans.

From Lucia’s Happy Heart (written for Linda in 2006 in honor of her Italian heritage) to The Hope Card (referencing Linda’s interest in Buddhism), the songs paint an exquisite picture of the persona Linda was and what she meant to Falkner Evans.

The album concludes with Invisible Words for Linda. There is love and memory but also hope found there. It is the shortest piece on the album but that’s the way love is, lengthy sentences and many words are not necessary between two people in love. They are a treat and a delight to speak and to hear but, when that loved one is gone, what is there to say but thank you for being you and being here.
 
                             ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Antonio Adolfo assures we will have "Jobim Forever"

7/28/2021

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Let me say it from the top, I can't get enough of Antonio Adolfo. Every album, every song he has ever released is a treasure. Not only is Antonio a brilliant composer and pianist, he is also an arranger without peer. In 2020, he released BruMa, a tribute album to Milton Nascimento. Now, with Jobim Forever, he takes on the Brazilian titan Antônio Carlos Jobim.

The extra delight is that I have never heard that Jobim piece that I have not adored. The song selection on Jobim Forever is the best of the best. Maybe they are not the most famous—missing is Aquas De Marco--but they are the perfect choices for Antonio to work his arranging and performance magic.

With Antonio are some of Brazil’s hottest artists and most of them were on BruMa. Jesse Sadoc is on flugelhorn and trumpet, Marcelo Martins is on flutes and saxophones, Danilo Sinna is on alto saxophone, Rafael Rocha is on trombone, Lula Galvao on guitars, Jorge Helder on bass, Rafael Barata on drums with a guest appearance on drums by Paulo Braga, and Dada Costa on percussion. The amazing Brazilian vocalist Zé Renato joins for one tune.

Standards like The Girl from Ipanema, Wave, and Agua De Beber are flawlessly executed with Antonio’s great piano carrying the lead and that smoking hot band carries it off to perfection.

Sure, The Girl from Ipanema has been accused of being overplayed and some Jazz artists never want to hear it requested again. As for me, it never gets old and there is a reason why it is Jobim’s biggest success. Plus, Antonio Adolfo has a way of breathing fresh life into classics and standards. The same goes for Wave. So many times a guitarist’s tune, Antonio brings Rocha’s trombone to the front and the piano is always a delight.

Part of that is explained by Antonio’s approach to his arranging process. He says, “When I create arrangements for my albums, I played the music literally dozens of times on the piano until I start to feel a kind of partnership with the composer. After I thoroughly absorbed the music, I can start hearing my own voice emerge and I can then create the different harmonies, meters, phrasing, and forms but I adapt to the instruments in my concept.”

From the start, Antonio puts forth the big bossa nova. No doubt, it is in his blood.

A Felicidade
(Happiness) hears Zé Renato on vocals for the only track on the album and it is excellent. It was written for the 1958 film Black Orpheus that captivated my mind and soul when I first saw it as a teenage. The horns capture the sheer depth of the piece but the rhythm section deserves special attention. The lush tones of How Insensitive are so well captured by everyone of the musicians. Sadoc’s horn is gorgeous and, as always, Antonio’s piano captivates.

Agua De Beber
is one of my all-time favorite Jobim tunes. The first time I heard it was on Al Jarreau’s album Glow. It made me go out to my local record store and buy The Wonderful World of Antônio Carlos Jobim. From Ella Fitzgerald to Sophie Milman to Sergio Mendes to Frank Sinatra, the song never grows stale. Antonio Adolfo makes certain that it is as vibrant as ever in his stellar arrangement.

Piano, flute, and acoustic guitar carry the leads on the final track of the album, Estrada Do Sol (Road to the Sun). With the brilliant play of Martins on flute and Galvao on guitar, it is that so fine piano of Antonio’s that keeps the attention.

​Jobim Forever
is a treasure trove of material from the bossa nova master Antônio Carlos Jobim. Enhancing that is the splendid wealth of Antonio Adolfo’s arrangements and performing artistry. Antonio choose the right artists for the right tunes and he (and they) never disappoint. Antonio Adolfo is himself a treasure.
 
                         ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Chris Standring's Wonderful World

7/22/2021

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Wonderful World is Chris Standring’s 14th release as a leader and he has garnered many Billboard Top 10 singles, six of which made it to Number One on the Jazz charts. He is a brilliant guitarist and a prolific composer and imaginative arranger. Wonderful World is proof of all that.

Standring expresses his arrangements through the trio and the orchestra formats and each one is a big pay-off. With Standring on guitar are the great Randy Brecker on trumpet, legendary Peter Erskine on drums along with Harvey Mason and David Karasony, Chuck Berghofer, Darek Oleszkiewicz, and Geoff Gascoyne on bass, and for one tune only, Kathrin Shorr as guest vocalist. It is a dream team line-up performing with a magnificent string orchestra.

The album is not exactly a minimalist approach to reinterpreting the standards and classics but he does find a way to scale back without losing the richness and lushness of the tunes. Standring says he chose the tunes “because I like them but also because they could be arranged for a full orchestra or a trio setting.” He did not fail.

The album opens with How Insensitive by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Of course, any Jobim song is worthy of rapt attention and Standring does not disappoint. Peter Erskine’s effortless playing alongside Geoff Gascoyne’s bass and orchestra conducting is excellent. The trio with orchestra is lovely and Standring’s guitar work is so fine.

Then Cole Porter’s Night & Day keeps Erskine but sees Chuck Berghofer on bass. Standring owns the melody as the orchestra adds that effervescent quality to the trio. Vernon Duke’s Autumn in New York keeps that same trio intact with the orchestra to carry on the gorgeous movement of the melodic lines with such a smooth and savory rhythm section.

The tempo steps up a beat or two with Martino & Brighetti’s Estaté. Standring never assumes an overbearing presence with the guitar but, instead, makes beautiful space for the trio and orchestra. Dave Karasony sits in on drums with Gascoyne on bass. This is a beauty.

Then comes Wonderful World with Kathrin Shorr on vocals with Erskine and Berghofer in the rhythm section again. Standring supplements the vocal melody with, again, an understated elegance that casts a singular spotlight on the vocals and lyrics. Shorr is amazing with an Armstrong-like delivery. You’ve heard the song a thousand times but, trust me on this, you need to hear it once more from Standring and Shorr.

The same is true for 1947’s Green Dolphin Street by Bronislaw Kaper. Most famously done by Miles Davis and Bill Evans—with honorable mention to Return to Forever—this is a swinging arrangement and Standring is brilliant. The song always works but Standring’s arrangement is stellar and his guitar work is exquisite. I hit repeat several times for this one.

The second half of the album is full of sweet surprises. It begins with Burt Bacharach’s Alfie from the 1966 movie of the same name. Even Bacharach called this his favorite of all his compositions. Hearing it played by Standring with Harvey Mason (drums) and Gascoyne (bass) and the orchestra, the beautiful tune is treated with great fidelity with Standring adding his own sentiments. Just beautiful.

Rodgers & Hart’s Falling in Love with Love is from the 1938 musical The Boys from Syracuse and has been covered by everyone from Clifford Brown to Cannonball Adderley to the Supremes. Yes, the Supremes. The Standring arrangement is wonderful and his guitar performance is touching.

This is followed by Standring’s only original on the album, Sunrise. It features Randy Brecker on trumpet. Brecker doesn’t make his first appearance until the 2:43 mark but nothing is lacking up to that point. Standring’s carrying of the melody is worth the price of admission but Brecker adds his voice to the tune and it is rich. The composition is marvelous and Darek Oleszkiewicz (bass) and Mason (drums) render great support.

Maxine is from Donald Fagen’s amazing solo album, the Nightfly.Oleszkiewicz (bass) and Mason (drums) remain in the trio and Standring carries the melody. Mel Torme once told an MTV audience that the music of Donald Fagen will someday be considered Jazz standards and Standring has hastened the arrival of that day.

The album closes with Victor Young’s My Foolish heart. Such as fine way to close out such an excellent album. Only Standring and bassist Gascoyne are with the orchestra and this works well.  The song has not been overdone since its 1949 release and it retains a freshness despite well-known covers from Bing Crosby, Roberta Flack, and Susanna McCorkle. This instrumental version carries all the beauty and slight melancholy in a sweet way.

Wonderful World propels Chris Standring’s reputation—indeed, fame—as masterful guitar artist and savvy arranger. Standring’s ability to pare down standards and classics, while never losing the lush quality of the orchestra, is brilliant. Whether it is his composing, his arranging, or his performing, Chris Standring is deserving of careful attention.
 
 
                                 ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Kenny Shanker – Beautiful Things

7/16/2021

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If you love Bop—and who doesn't—have I got a guy for you! Kenny Shanker is a brilliant saxophonist, pianist, vocalist, and composer. In 2011, Shanker released his first album called Steppin’ Up and followed that, in 2014, with Action City. 2017 saw the release of The Witching Hour, his third recording. Now he releases Beautiful Things, a remarkable album of originals and Jazz standards. The quest for beauty runs like a thread through all of the 12 tracks on the album.

Shanker is on alto saxophone and is joined by Daisuke Abe on guitar, Mike Eckroth on piano, Yoshi Waki on bass, Brian Fishler on drums, and on three tracks by Bill Mobley on trumpet. These guys can swing with the best of them.

Cool Mint kicks off the album with a circumspect work of fine Jazz with great alto sax leads from Shanker and excellent work by Mike Eckroth on piano. Here begins the quest for beauty and it is a diligent search, indeed. Daisuke Abe’s guitar solos are brilliant and Waki and Fishler set a steady pace for the melodies to expand. An original from Shanker, Cool Things is a cool start to a cool album.

Prestissimo
is as quick and lively as the song title indicates. Think of the blistering Bebop of Parker and others and you can see where the influences were born. The Rodgers and Hart beauty It Never Entered My Mind is from the 1940 musical Higher and Higher. Eckroth’s languid and lovely piano opens the piece and Shanker takes on the memorable melody with gorgeous effect. Abe offers a wonderful acoustic guitar interlude that is warm and captivating.

Mirth
is another Shanker original and features Mobley on trumpet in fine lockstep with Shanker. Shanker gives some raw alto punctuations as Waki and Fishler keep a tight pocket for the rhythms along with Eckroth’s percussive piano passes. Both guitar and piano give fascinating leads and the melody has a great hook.

Speaking of great melodies, Oscar Peterson’s L’Impossible follows and is beautifully arranged for the alto sax with bright passages from piano and guitar. Pay attention to Waki’s cool and understated bass lines.

Orange and Gray
is another Shanker original and the transitions between the soloists are intriguing in an avant garde approach. This is followed by Vincent Youmans’ Without a Song with its andante bop. It includes some oof Shanker’s sweetest spots on the album. And Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer’s I’m Old fashioned is just beautiful under the exquisite touch of Shanker and the guys.

Romberg and Hammerstein’s Softly as in a Morning Sunrise gets an excellent Bop makeover with Shanker’s sax acting as the pathfinder. An all-time favorite, this song is finely recrafted and the rhythm section makes for attentive hearing at their up-tempo best.

Things slow down with Jimmy Van Heusen’s Like Someone in Love from the 1944 movie Belle of the Yukon. It is a cool duet between Shanker and bassist Yoshi Waki. Gorgeous.

In Walked Bud
is the Thelonious Monk tribute to Bebop master Bud Powell. And if you think you hear snatches of Irving Berlin’s Blues Skies, you are quite correct, of course. As with anything resembling Powell and Monk, the piano gets a great solo as Waki again makes his bass presence heard and felt but Fishler’s drums get a special feature. All worth the price of admission.

The quest for beauty comes to its beautiful climax with Shanker’s own Beautiful Things. The title tells you everything you need to know. It is a sweet and lovely melody with tone and texture taking precedence over tempo and precision. It is an excellent way to end the quest and so satisfying. Shanker’s tonality is splendid.

​Kenny Shanker’s Beautiful Things is something gorgeous. With echoes of the world and sound of Bebop, it is what we need to hear now. As ugliness seems to grow and encroach all about us, Shanker truly reminds us that we are surrounded by Beautiful Things.
 
 
                           ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Wayne Alpern's Frankenstein

7/9/2021

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Wayne Alpern struck gold with his 2020 album, Jukebox. He is a composer, arranger, historian known for taking Jazz and employing classical discipline and technique. Now, in his latest album Frankenstein, Alpern selects some of the best-loved Pop tunes and gives them his Jazz vision.

To achieve his vision and mission, Alpern brings along David Mann as musical director and reeds man. On trumpet is Tatum Greenblatt and Brad Mason on trumpets, Mike Boscarino and Mike Davis on trombones, the brilliant John Patitucci on bass, Andy Ezrin on keyboards, Kevin Ramessar on guitar, and Clint De Ganon on drums.

The song selection is excellent with spoken word intros and interludes from Barack and Michelle Obama and more besides. Opening with the President celebrating Carole King and Alpern and company playing You’ve Got a Friend. Alpern adds the Jazz with a great slice of Funk to make the timeless classic sing in different tones. Then they move on to Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud before working over Marvin Gaye’s Ain’t That Peculiar. As a huge Marvin Gaye fan, this one almost made me come out of my seat. Alpern’s horn arrangements are hot and you’ve got to love the rhythm section of Patitucci and De Ganon.

Stephen Sondheim’s Send in the Clowns from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music but, of course, made famous by singer Judy Collins. The slight swing and the brilliant soprano sax of David Mann turns this originally maudlin number into a cool Jazz number.

A big highlight is Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island. Nothing not to love about the original or the Alpern reworking of it. Ezrin’s keyboards are spot on and the brass is smoking. Patitucci gives us some of his best moments on the album here. I love this arrangement.

Then things get really swinging with Duke Ellington’s Black Beauty. The horns are sweet and sultry then comes that great piano line from Ezrin and Patitucci’s bass again deserves careful attention. The whole song is a beautiful work of composition and arrangement. And performance.

Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together is brilliantly arranged and adapted for the David Mann saxophone. Ezrin’s organ with Patitucci’s bass and De Ganon’s drums is enough to make you shout. Soulful, yes. Funky, a little bit. But that Gospel tinge is sweet.

Marvin Gaye’s Dancing in the Street--made famous by Martha and the Vandellas—takes the groove to a whole ‘nother place. Patitucci is again at his funky bass best. Can’t get enough.

All I Ask of You is from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. The arrangement is more upbeat and livelier with warm intonations from the brass. Frankly, I like this better than the original.

The album closes with two of the hottest numbers ever. More Than Yesterday is such a great melody and has such a cool groove. It was, as you know, performed by Spiral Staircase and written by their lead singer Pat Upton. The horns are on fire and the rhythm section just nails it down.

Then bass and sax give the riveting intro to Gimme Some Lovin’ by Steve Winwood and Spencer Davis for the Spencer Davis Group. Few songs groove like this one and the rhythm section works it from below while the horns hammer away from atop it all. Cool piano and organ licks and De Ganon is absolutely brilliant on the drums.

Wayne Alpern never ceases to amaze at his talent to reimagine well-known, if not well-worn, tunes into something absolutely fresh and oh-so-appealing. As Alpern says, in the style of Mary Shelley, in his liner notes: “I dreamt some new species, reconstructed and revived, might someday bless me as its creator. My hands trembling, I looked down: blink—it was alive!” Reconstructed indeed. Revived absolutely. Unlike Dr. Frankenstein, however, Wayne Alpern has given us a reason to rejoice with his creation.
 
 
                          ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Max Highstein is on his Tiptoes

7/7/2021

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Max Highstein gets around. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist who takes us into jazz, rock, and classical music forms. He has the remarkable pairing of great melodies and fabulous arrangements.

Highstein has just released his latest album, Tiptoes, in which he displays his agility between soprano, Alto, and tenor saxophones along with the clarinet, piano, organ, and fretless bass. He easily maneuvers between power and warm expression.

With Highstein are Ed Willett on cello, Jeff Pevar on guitar, John Yoakum on flute, and Mark Clark on drums, Udu, Congas, and more. All 11 songs on the album are written by Highstein himself and those songs are impressive.

The album opens with the title track, Tiptoes. Immediately, the fretless bass is heard along with the flute and organ and percussion. The clarinet is catchy and the whole tune is lively and intriguing. A fine start to all that is to follow.

The Listener picks up the tempo and Highstein’s saxes are in high gear and, again, the melody is spot-on. The organ gets centerstage for Meanwhile, In the Back Seat and Pevar’s guitar is straight-up smoking. But you’ve got to love the way Highstein works the sax. I’ll say it again, the melodies are just so cool.

That’s the Spot and All Bounced Up make for interesting rhythms and gliding sax work. But whatever instrument Highstein touches turns to gold. Willett adds a great cello on That’s the Spot but oh, that soprano sax.

Skycap Bevnap and The Reason to Be Happy are both infectious tunes that stick in your head. I went to get something to drink and the latter song was stuck in my head. The rhythm section on Brother’s Keeper is wonderful and the cello adds a mood that is splendid. Highstein’s piano is Vince Guaraldi cool.

The Weaver’s Tale is a beauty that moves along terrific lines between soprano sax, piano, and cello. This was maybe the song that stayed with me the longest. Toe Trucker is a bluesy tune with fine organ work and the hot tenor sax. The cello carries the melody for a bit before the Pevar guitar works it over. Then back to cello. The trades are absolutely righteous.

Path of the Heart wraps up the album and Rusty Crutcher adds his own alto and tenor saxes. The paired horns between Highstein and Crutcher are fantastic with an almost Spyro Gyra feel. And, for me, that’s a good thing. The piano is wonderful and Clark’s rhythm work is flawless. Pay attention to Pevar’s guitar.

Tiptoes is a brilliant display of Max Highstein’s dexterity on such various instruments and a tribute to his profound but accessible compositional skills and talents. The melodies never miss—not once. There isn’t a weak spot or a weak performance on the whole album. The players are well-suited to the tunes and the results are warm and satisfying.

This is an album to be heard and cherished over and over.
 
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Acute Inflections' 400, the music of Bob Marley

7/7/2021

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Acute Inflections are Elasea Douglas and Sadiki Pierre. Elasea is a remarkable singer and songwriter. Her church upbringing had a marked effect on her vocals. Sadiki is a gifted bassist who is at home in almost any genre of music, especially Classical and Jazz.
The current album, 400, is a remembrance and a tribute to the music and message of the great Bob Marley. With only Sadiki’s bass as accompaniment, Elasea’s vocals bring into acute focus the power and love of Marley’s words. The results are truly incredible as Marley’s intelligence, liberation, and love come shining forth like the beacon he was.
As they write in their liner notes: “Bob Marley's music was always playing in our homes and communities. Unfortunately, that familiarity led us to take his mission for granted. We were more likely to sing along or dance to the infectious grooves than we were to contemplate the powerful messages they carried.... We continue to struggle with the same conflicts and divisions that galvanized him. Surely, we need a reminder of his healing messages of Love, Unity, and Freedom.”
The track list includes 19 songs with the 400 Years Interlude, parts 1, 2, and 3, acting as markers and occurring at the beginning, middle, and end of the track list. The oh-so-popular Stir It Up follows the intro and the musical partnership and communication of Elasea and Sadiki become immediately evident. And delightful.
No More Trouble, Is This Love, and Natural Mystic follow right after. Then comes the beautiful rendition of I Shot the Sheriff—resurrecting it from the dreadful Eric Clapton version—before continuing with All Day All Night.
One Love is exquisitely performed by the duo and the message is as meaningful as it ever was. Sadiki’s gorgeous bass work adds so much. Could You Be Loved should be a Jazz standard with the way it is treated by Elasea and Sadiki.
Redemption Song, however, my favorite of all the great Bob Marley songs, is moving and beautiful. So help me, I can’t hear it without tearing-up and this version loses none of that emotional impact. Waiting in Vain has some of Sadiki’s best bass moments and Elasea’s vocals are simply luscious.
Slave Driver and High Tide or Low Tide are brilliant and Jamming is as cool as ever with the Jazz of this version adding the swing we love. The same goes for Get Up Stand Up.
The album concludes with Exodus. Good God, I couldn’t get enough of this. It is the perfect way to end the album, calling on Biblical themes in the cry for Freedom.
Acute Inflections’ Elasea Douglas and Sadiki Pierre are masterful in their interpretations of Bob Marley’s music and prophetic message. As they themselves have said, “He’s been gone for 40 years but his message of Love, Unity, and Freedom are as in tune today as they would have been 400 years ago.”
Those who speak the words of the prophets are themselves prophets.


                          ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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2B3's Jimi is a Work of Hendrix Wonder

7/3/2021

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In December of 2019, Mike Abbott, Mike Marlier, and Jeff Jenkins—collectively called 2B3—went into the studio to record six songs for an upcoming album. Then the pandemic struck. It wasn’t until September 2020, wearing masks, that they managed to record the final two songs for their album Jimi. As the title suggests, it is a reimagining of some of Jimi Hendrix’s amazing songs.

If you’re going to take on Hendrix, you’d better have one great guitar player or rearrange the music to take the heat off of a lesser one. 2B3 indeed rearranged the originals but not because they lacked a guitarist with the proper chops. Far from it. Mike Abbott is a brilliant guitarist and he handles the arrangements exceedingly well.

Then there’s B3 organist Jeff Jenkins who takes brilliant leads and breathes sweet keyboard life into the Jimi guitar tunes. His organ work on Hey Joe is so fine.

I always thought that Mitch Mitchell, Hendrix’s drummer, had the most challenging and rewarding role to play in the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The very same can be said of Mike Marlier who takes on the drumming for the rearranged Hendrix numbers and he just owns them. Having played with some of the world’s finest Jazz guitarists, Marlier knows how to work the genre and does it within the Jazz-Rock framework of Jimi.

Mike Abbott explains, “Jeff, Mike, and I happened upon this Jimi album by accident... that's the way we like it. In the summer of 2018, Jeff asked me to play on Foxey Lady which was to be on another album he was finishing. Although I was overdubbing on tracks that Jeff and Mike had already cut, I felt the energy and potential immediately. I think we captured that in 2B3 Jimi.”

Jeff Jenkins goes on, “I've always been interested in pushing the guitar trio genre into new territory. When I started playing with the Mikes it happened quickly and playing this tribute to Jimi was such a natural outcome.”

The chemistry and camaraderie is explained by Mike Marlier, “When you get a chance to play music you love with musicians you love... that's the most gratifying experience. That is certainly the case with this band.”

They explain that their “musical passions run parallel—not just in Jazz but in Rock, Funk, and Pop.” And all of that is readily evident on this album.

The album opens with Purple Haze and immediately the new arrangement grabs your attention but the guitar and B3 take your breath away. Then you hear Marlier bring the thunder. And we’re off!

Manic Depression has one of the coolest intros you ever want to hear with Abbott’s distorted guitar harmonics and the deliberate drumming of Marlier. Jenkins works some magic with the organ and—so help me—the ebb and flow, high and low, of the song takes on a manic-depressive approach. Brilliant.

Little Wing has that same beautiful tone of the Hendrix original but rewritten in different language from 2B3. Abbott turns on the tonality and it sets up Jenkins beautifully. At this point in the album, I have muttered “Holy crap!” to myself about five or six times. Okay, I didn’t say “crap.”

Foxey Lady is as taunting and aggressive as you would hope. You need to hear this. Seriously.

Hey Joe is a fine back-and-forth between Jenkins and Abbott with some of the coolest Jazz lines on the album. It has a Blues streak with a dash of Funk thrown in.

Fire is one of my favorite Hendrix tunes and 2B3 does not disappoint with their arrangement and treatment. Those changes are fantastic and the same driving rhythm is enough to make you sweat. Then Etched in Stone turns on the Gospel in full force. Seriously, Jenkins makes you want to go to church on this one. But the Blues guitar of Abbott reminds you that you really might need some church. I could not get enough of this one.

The album closes with Jimi. It is a beautiful tribute to Hendrix—haunting, melancholic, extraordinary. All three of the artists simply pour their love and respect and admiration for Jimi Hendrix into this final piece on the album. Such a remarkable song. This was worth the price of admission alone but it need not be—the whole album is something wonderful.

​2B3 Jimi is something truly special. For Hendrix fans, it is a new and exciting excursion in a familiar land. For Jazz fans, it is great Jazz with Blues, Funk, and Gospel to tighten things up a notch. For those who love Jazz and  Hendrix…you are in for a treat.
 
                               ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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