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Bryan Lubeck – Midnight Sun

8/19/2021

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At last, the new album from guitarist extraordinaire Bryan Lubeck. Following on the incredible success and artistry of Tuscan Sky, comes Midnight Sun. In fact, Lubeck himself states, “It was difficult to envision what could follow the sonic and music writing quality of Tuscan sky. Not only was it my most successful album to that point, it felt like the culmination of my writing skills. It marked a point when the music deserved—and received—the best musicians, producer, engineers, and designers. More importantly, those talented individuals were willing to spend their valuable time on the project. I thought perhaps I had said all I could say musically. But then came a song into my head. I almost immediately named it Midnight Sun… That one song inspired me to embark on a new album after a four-year hiatus from the studio. As soon as I took the “no net” leap, the rest of the songs came easily—like no other time in my life. I guess I had more to say.”

And there is nothing to suggest that he has lost anything that made the previous album such a treat. Lubeck’s signature guitar sound is shot through with Spanish Romanticism. His special gift is the blending—I won’t say fusion—of dissimilar styles into something interesting, emotional, and completely satisfying.

To aid him in his endeavor for the new album, Lubeck brought along a veteran corps of session and touring artists. With Lubeck on guitars and some piano and synthesizers (not to mention flute on track 5), he is joined by Felton Offard and Dave Hiltebrand on guitars, Nick Bisesi on sax on flute, Richard Gibbs on Hammond organ, Neil Artwick on the Fender Rhodes, Katherine Hughes and Erik Rumsa on violin, Matthew Agnew on cello, Kirk Garrison on the trumpet and flugelhorn, Christian Dillingham on the upright bass, Jon Paul and Ryan Herma on bass, Jonathan Marks on drums, and Rich Stitzel and Bob Garrett on percussion.

Nine of the eleven tracks are written by Lubeck with the opening track, Invincible, by guest guitarist Felton Offard and Sarah Smile, of course, by Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Felton Offard plays the electric guitar on Invincible to kick off the album with Lubeck on acoustic guitar. It’s a cool way to start the album with the funky, scratchy electric guitar and Lubeck on the sweet acoustic guitar. The Hammond organ gives a jumping backdrop and the rhythm section joins in the jump. Lubeck’s acoustic guitar shows off the great artistry that we have come to expect. Fun stuff.

The drive of the rhythm section takes off on Rocket Fuel. Lubeck is backed by the electric guitars and the percussion gets in some good licks as the Nick Bisesi sax wails in accompaniment with the Kirk Garrison horns. A rollicking number.

Bisesi stays in the spotlight for Sarah Smile. The acoustic guitar and tenor sax work well to make this instrumental version a, frankly, superior version to the original. Then things gets hopping again with Come Dance, a musical invitation if ever there was one. Lubeck is spot on in front of the Hammond’s swirling support. Bass and drums are relentless and the Bisesi sax again shines. The melodic lines are fresh and lively. Think of Spyro Gyra at their best.

Road to Mackinac
is full of wonderful moments: the trills of the flutes, the delicate touch of the electric guitars, and Lubeck’s tightly precise acoustic guitar. This is worthy of repeated listening. As is If Only You Knew with its swelling harmonies and the determined acoustic guitar of Lubeck. The Spanish guitar sensibilities are evident and the Hammond and synthesizer scaping is lush and lovely. Again the sax takes a prominent role and is excellent in its proclamation.

The title track, Midnight Sun, makes clear how this could indeed be the starting point for more writing and a renewed sense of discovery for Lubeck. The acoustic guitar is charming and thoughtful. The bent notes are well-placed and everything just works. It is followed by Sun Dress which evokes imagery of the very thing it names. It is light and delicate and oh-so-attractive. The melody is sweet and memorable. The Hammond and the Fender Rhodes offer light touches that are wonderful.

Till I’m Found
is thoughtful and captivating. The keyboards play a great part in the saga and the acoustic guitar of Lubeck goes from cool to warm in fine passages. The flute plays a great part in Alex Arrives. Lubeck takes over the piano for this one and shows himself masterful in everything he touches as the electric guitars grab well-deserved attention before Lubeck’s acoustic assumes command. The album concludes with the reverie of Adirondack. It is pastoral and meditative with simplicity and imagination.

Bravo, Bryan Lubeck. To follow up a brilliant album with an equally brilliant one is no mean feat. In many ways, Midnight Sun is a fitting sequel or even companion piece to Tuscan Sky. The composing is undiminished and the performance artistry is nothing short of stellar. Listen again and again—like I did.
  
                       ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Benjamin Schnake Ensemble – The Joy of Playing

8/19/2021

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Chilean-born Benjamίn Schnake does it all, it seems. He plays guitars and mandolins and is a brilliant composer and arranger. He has performed at many music festivals—especially across Chile—and has been leader and composer for several bands. Now, with the ensemble named for himself, Schnake has released the album The Joy of Playing.

The core of the ensemble is Schnake on nylon-string guitar, electric guitar, and mandolin, Santiago Leibson on piano, Gui Duvignau on bass, and Paul Shaw on drums. Also appearing are Dave Petro on alto sax (tracks 1,4), Sunhyun Yoo on alto and soprano saxes (tracks 2,3,6), Tim Struven on tenor sax, John Blevins on trumpet, Eric Quinn on trombone, Jennifer Wharton on bass trombone (all on tracks 1,2,4,6), and Ammon Swinbank on flute (track 7).

Six of the seven tracks were composed by Schnake himself. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat was, of course, composed by Charles Mingus but was arranged by Benjamίn Schnake.

The album opens with Marisol and Schnake’s beautiful nylon-stringed guitar. The brilliant Dave Pietro is featured on alto sax. What a pairing. The horn section add their flash and flair to create a smoking ensemble piece. The rhythm section pushes the horns and guitar nicely.

The Joy of Playing
features Santiago Leibson’s piano and Paul Shaw on drums. The melody has a great hook and the solo by Leibson is catchy, then pairs off with Shaw’s drums in a great passage before returning to that sweet hook. Then Leibson and Shaw stay in the spotlight for Fragment as Schnake and Yoo’s alto sax join them there. The piece opens with solo nylon-stringed guitar before being joined by Shaw’s washing cymbals and the touching piano. The piano solo on Fragment may be the best of the album. The Schnake’s guitar paves the way for Yoo’s warm and wonderful alto sax. This could be my favorite track on the whole album. Good Lord, it’s good.

Eric Quinn’s trombone and Dave Pietro’s alto sax take center stage for She’s Gone. The moody and melancholy piece is exquisitely accented by Leibson on piano. Schnake adds his guitar to the back layers in a wonderfully sad track. That sadness is alleviated by the fiery and fun Ajú with Schnake’s electric guitar and the rest of the core quartet. Leibson brings forward the percussive piano and Duvugnau and Shaw work the rhythms hard. Fantastic.

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
was Charles Mingus great elegy to Lester Young and was released on the 1959 album Mingus Ah Um. Schnake arranges it beautifully for the horn section. When Mingus played the song live, it could go on for 30 minutes and, so help me God, you wish that Schnake took that long with this version. Yeah, it’s that good.

The album wraps with Lakitas, featuring Schnake on mandolin and Ammon Swinbank on flute. Piano and drums flesh out the great original by Schnake.

​The Benjamίn Schnake Ensemble is a cast of remarkable characters, portraying tight and well-reasoned parts under the over-arching vision of their leader. The Joy of Playing is, for us, the joy of listening.
 
                               ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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Kerry Moffit proves What Goes Around Comes Around

8/18/2021

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After 41 years in professional music, Kerry Moffit blesses us with his debut album, What Goes Around Comes Around. Having appeared on over 70 recordings and written arrangements for small and large ensembles, trumpet master Moffit records with his band Turning Circles for a fantastic introduction to himself as bandleader.

Moffit wrote four of the eight tracks on the album and arranged all of the songs presented here. But he fashions the songs around the bridal theme of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” The four Jazz standards are what is borrowed, Jimmy Van Heusen’s But Beautiful is the old, the four originals are, obviously new, and the Blues piece Free for All is what is blue. Nice.

The band Turning Circles includes, with Moffit on trumpet and flugelhorn, Seth Ebersole (alto and tenor sax), Rob Killips (trombone), Altin Sencalar (trombone), Arlene Pritchard McDaniel (Fender Rhodes, piano, Casio Privia), Luther Allison (Fender Rhodes), Terry Newman (bass), and Ian Levine (drums). Moffit says the band is comprised of “new and old friends.”

The album kicks off with Hank Mobley’s This I Dig of You. The piece is introduced by the Newman bass but is quickly joined by Moffit’s trumpet and then the other horns. Ebersole’s alto sax is a beauty and the rhythms are tight and fresh. Milton “Shorty” Rogers’ was one of the founders of West Coast Jazz and Just a Few is a great part of the reason why. The cool swing is intoxicating. The unified horn section is brilliant.

Woody Shaw’s Katrina Ballerina is a hard bop piece with its well-known, smoking trumpet solo. Moffit shows why he is so well-regarded with this flawless handling of the great piece. Arlene McDaniel’s fantastic piano solo is worthy of great attention, as well. Then Jimmy Van Heusen’s But Beautiful is the last of the something borroweds and is also the finale of the album. The beautiful flugelhorn is simply breath-taking and the Fender Rhodes provides a wonderful partner for this duet.

As wonderful as those standards are, the Moffit originals are truly remarkable. Free for All sounds like it could have composed by Billy Strayhorn and this song swings hard. Great drumming from Ian Levine accents the cool piano and hot horns. Life, Love, Loss sounds like something Michel Legrand would be proud to claim. The flugelhorn is warm and melancholy. The whole piece is something extraordinary. Listen to it carefully.

The boogie-woogie intro of 10-4 Jam turns into riotously good fun with the bass clef piano that gives way to the bright horns. The horns make me think of Night in Tunisia but this is something definitely new. Then M.L. closes the originals with tight horns and a rollicking rhythm section. Again, Moffit shows why we have missed him without knowing it.

Yeah, we had to wait too long for this album. With all those years spent in the Air Force Band, Kerry Moffit was honing his craft so that, when he was ready, he could release an album that we longed to hear.

​Maybe we had to be ready to hear him.
 
                      ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Gaetano Letizia's Chartreuse

8/18/2021

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Guitarist, composer, and vocalist Gaetano Letizia may be the leader of a Jazz band but that doesn’t kept him from exploring R&B, Blues, Soul, and some serious Funk. In his latest and eleventh album, Chartreuse, Letizia tackles a “multi-genre Jazz suite” of nine compositions that are all his own. The Gaetano Letizia Jazz Quintet is just the crew to handle it.

The band is made up of old comrades with whom Letizia has performed over the years. Saxophonist Bob Esterle, drummer Bill Ransom, bassist Matthew Derubertis, and B3 player and pianist Theron Brown. This is Letizia’s first outing with Brown.

While billed as a Jazz quintet playing a Jazz suite, the lines get blurred as the music gracefully and effortlessly glides between Jazz, Blues, and Funk with dashes of Reggae and Classical thrown in to spice things up even more. In the liner notes, Letizia explains, “This suite of compositions reflects the combination of many of the modern styles of Jazz genres from straight ahead to Funk and more. I’ve been influenced by so many great musicians, it’s hard to center on just one…I really enjoyed writing and recording this music from my heart.” It shows.

The album opens with the title track, Chartreuse. The song takes its name from a chartreuse ’57 Chevy owned by his aunt. If it reminds you of the way Bach developed and recapitulated themes, it should. Letizia credits Bach as his favorite composer. Letizia’s guitar and the saxophone of Bob Esterle get some cool dialogues going. Nice strum patterns from Letizia and exciting B-3 play from Theron Brown.

Expanding Reality reflects just that with its excellent tonal lines and shifting times. This one had me intrigued from the start and I kept coming back for more. I still do. Pay attention to Ransom’s drumming. A brilliant track with nice piano from Brown.
Letizia acknowledges that Back & Blue was influenced by Jaco Pastorius’ Chicken. You can hear it. This was a great follow-up to Expanding Reality, keeping your listening honest and nimble, with its straight-up Jazz opening, then flirting with the Blues. Sax, B-3, and guitar combine to shake you loose. Then Letizia challenges the listener with Paradise Found. Just when you think he’s gone ‘round the bend and into atonality, Letizia grippingly pulls it from the brink to keep every listener happy.

Genricide needs a passport to cross all the borders it tackles. Jazz to Hip-Hop to Funk with Latin and Reggae passages make this track a true standout. Esterle’s sax takes the early lead before Letizia assumes command with Brown’s swirling Hammond behind. Derubertis and Ransom keep the drive alive with their sweet switches between rhythmic stylings.

Letizia gives a different look with the nylon-string acoustic guitar on Blue Ionosphere. The Latin, even Brazilian, flavors are sweet as piano and guitar mix it up beautifully. Love, love, love this piece. Then Punch Drunk brings on the bone-crushing Funk with Esterle’s hot horn and the raucous propulsion of bass and drums. But its Letizia who steals the show with some of his hottest passages.

Letizia offers an almost-ballad feel with Wandering and its lush sax and organ textures. Gorgeous guitar and sweeping B-3 and the noir sounds of the sax make for fascinating listening. The B-3 leads are stellar and memorable.

Orange Sunset concludes the album with its nice progressions and wicked guitar playing offset by the equally intoxicating B-3 and the powerful sax against the great rhythm section. If Letizia wanted to leave us wanting more, he succeeded admirably.

Gaetano Letizia’s Chartreuse is a splendid adventure of cross-pollinating styles, times, textures, and more. The compositions are brilliant and the performances are remarkable. Nothing disappoints and you keep coming back for more.
 
                                      ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Greg Loughman's Re:Connection

8/12/2021

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Bassist Greg Loughman has gotten around. He has performed with emerging stars of Jazz including Yoko Miwa and established names like Hal Galper. He has performed at all the storied venues you would care to name and has established himself as a first-call bassist in the Boston Jazz scene while also setting himself apart as a composer.

Having performed and recorded with the Man on Land trio, Greg has also released albums under his own name and Re:Connection is his latest release. The title is a nice double entendre of reconnection and regarding (Re:) connection.

With Loughman are Nathan Kay – Trumpet, Dan Elbert - Alto Saxophone, Anton Derevyenko - Tenor Saxophone, Matt Stubbs - clarinet and bass clarinet, Anastassiya Petrova – piano, Tyson Jackson – drums, Nadia Washington – vocals, Faris Ishaq - Nay, Jerry Leake – percussion, and Max O’Rourke - guitar, sounds.

Loughman wrote six of the seven tracks on the album with the first track, Disunion, being a traditional song from the Civil War. Loughman reimagined the song as a discussion of a fragmented nation along the lines of race, politics, and economics. It starts with the solo bass before being joined by piano and drums. Then the other artists bring aboard their own voices amidst a military rhythm that connotes the sharp divisions between strident militarism and hopeful egalitarianism. The divisions couldn’t be sharper.

Isolation
is an exploration into the theme of social aloneness. The bass carries the theme of the individual in solitude, even amidst the crowded life of the city. The horns contribute to the stark echo of isolation. The album is quickly recognized as being as much a sociological statement as it is a Jazz excursion. Throughout the noise, resounds the bassline heartbeat of the individual where individualism loses the meaning of the self in isolation. As C.G. Jung explained, we become our true self in the presence of others. Isolation defeats that.

From All Sides
is the eruption of anger from the disunion and isolation. The outward and inward loathing decrees violence and self-destruction, despair and addiction. The horns carry the mood extremely well with staggering acuteness. This gives way to Transition and the outward interactions that lead to hope and honest self-reflection and the desire—even need—for community, the Gemeinschaft. Transition is carried by the bass, bowed and plucked, in a mindfulness that reaches deep.

Grow
is a beautiful exposition on integration within the self and the community—community of musicians, neighbors, anything. Interaction within the artists on this piece is sincere and moving. The piano gets some of the most touching moments and the horns add a warmth where, in Isolation, there was stark coldness. Home continues the warmth and connection as expressed between piano and bass. Home may be my favorite track on the album.

The album concludes with Horizons and is exactly what you would imagine. A much-needed vision of a bright future built on the love and respect of community. The flute, trumpet, piano, bass, drums, and all weave a united (but not uniform) and tender fabric of cooperation and understanding.

Greg Loughman’s Re:Connection is indeed regarding connection and about re-establishing connection. It is hopeful, self-aware, self-critical, and full of tenderness and love.
 
                           ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Ray Soul – Seu Aprendiz

8/7/2021

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Ray Soul has been a part of the New York City Jazz community since 2007. He learned his bass chops from the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in The New School in New York City. He has striven and achieved in the quest to find his own unique voice in Jazz through what he calls Interactive Jazz. Since 2007, he has released four studio albums and has appeared in numerous tours and Jazz festivals.

When his aunt immigrated to Brazil, Soul found himself fascinated by the wealth of Brazilian culture of language and music. This was the inspiration for his composing of Seu Aprendiz (Your Apprentice), occasioned by the tragic story of his mother’s death and his own quest to reckon with it.

Soul wrestles with social and personal issues through his music, from East Asian career opportunity issues to dealing and helping others deal with the horrific impact of suicide in families. He speaks from the viewpoint of the bereaved and grieving and the impact is both touching and heart-rending. He eschewed his native Korean language and, instead, spoke through Portuguese in order to both distance himself from the event and yet recall it through a different linguistic expression.

Through the use of music and photographs, Soul develops the interactive aspect which allows artist and audience to approach the theme subjectively. That full experience is possible through hearing the music and viewing the photographs at www.seuaprendiz.com. Be prepared.

The Composer/Arranger for Seu Aprendiz is Ray Soul with lyrics by Jair Oliveira. On piano is Art Hirahara with string arrangement by Matthew Nicholl. On cello is Naseem Alatrash with violin by Bengisu Gokce and vocals by Ebinho Cardoso.
The music is moving and melancholy, coming from incredible loss but attempting to come to understanding. Hirahara’s piano is gorgeous with the lush strings of Alatrash and Gokce. Cardoso’s vocals are warm and full of longing.

But it is the interactive element that gives the greatest impact. It is a step forward in Jazz, to be sure. More importantly, perhaps, is the step along the road to healing and meaning.
 
                    ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Adam Glaser's Excursions

8/7/2021

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Adam Glaser’s new album, Excursions, is a collection of 15 originals composed, performed, programmed, and recorded by himself. Following up on his 2019 debut album, Wide Awake, in which Adam explored his expanding Jazz piano chops as well as being leader of a Jazz trio, with Excursions he turns it all loose in a solo endeavor and expresses himself completely.

Glaser is a renowned composer of orchestral works and a brilliant educator. Eminently educated himself, Glaser uses all the tools at his disposal to create an album of brilliance in composing and performing. Using virtual instruments, Glaser says what he wants, how he wants.


The song selection on Excursions has been described as eclectic, ranging from Jazz-Pop to Electronica to R&B and Funk. The dates of the compositions range from 1989 to 2012. But the overarching atmosphere is one of Jazz. And he does it well.


Glaser kicks the album off with Delivery. The electric piano is a great start and the rhythms and bass are folded in before jumping into a cool and colorful tune of great texture. This is a good hook for the rest of the album. 


Then on to Naomi’s Binomial Nomenclature. I would like to know more about Naomi and why she is talking about binomial nomenclature, which is the formal system of naming a species by using two names—one for genus and the second for distinguishing the species within the genus. Think homo sapiens.


Armed with that knowledge, listen to the way Glaser makes and almost call and response between treble and bass clefs in the introduction, like a first name/second name designation. The developing bass lines are cool and exciting while the electric piano is lively and melodic. But what does Naomi have to say about it?


Carrying on with the scientific impressions, The Art of Science is a beautiful foray into melody and harmonies set forth by piano, acoustic guitar, electric piano, and touch guitar sounds. This one will carry you away in its imagery and flow.


Con Artist turns on the heavy R&B with the slick organ and bouncing bass. Then the Jazz takes over the middle passage. Who Wants Lentil Soup? is a Caribbean-sounding bit with marimba textures and steady rhythms. Eventually, the Hammond organ sound comes aboard, expanding the scope of the piece. Truthfully, the song has a little haunting quality to it but it works well with these instruments that are usually associated with light and liveliness.


A Little Bit of Your Love adds horn programming to the electric piano and rhythm section. If you haven’t decided by now that Glaser is a brilliant composer and programmer for the precise sounds and rhythms he wants, then maybe you should go back to your Lynyrd Skynyrd 8-tracks. Seriously.


If you want beautiful melodies, Lay Low is the track for you. The piano, bass, and drums are spot on and the melody is gorgeous. I couldn’t hear this one enough. I’m Ready is synthesizer rich with programmed arpeggios underscoring the catchy phrases.


Blues for Planet 9 is an electronic blues piece. Maybe a lament for the downgrading of Pluto? Sometimes electronica is lost on me but not so here. The rhythms and tonal colors are fascinating. It Snowed Last Night changes directions entirely with sweet acoustic guitar (maybe even hammered dulcimer) sounds and the always-welcome piano of Glaser’s. The fretless bass is so appropriate for the piece. At 2:30, it was over far too soon.


Pursuit No.1
is broken into separate passages with different instrument programming chasing each other. Moonshine pairs the Hammond sound with the synthesizer in layered melodic lines that are captivating. The Catamaran is Coming Around adds the Steel Drum to the arsenal of Glaser’s expressions and who doesn’t love the Steel drum?


A Man of Few Words puts you in mind of an electronic portrait of Humphrey Bogart. The noir harmonies and cool, scratchy guitar are mesmerizing. The album concludes with Double Helix. Clearly, Glaser is into genetics, taxonomy, astronomy, meteorology, and all science. Add the rock elements of the music and you can say geology, too. The vibraphone/synth gives a futuristic, if not science fiction, impression. The track—and album—fades away in the digital pulse.


Adam Glaser’s Excursions is just that—adventures in sound, composition, and programming. With all the fascinating effects and electronics, Glaser never once loses his melodic/harmonic direction. His excursions are not meanderings. They are dedicated explorations and we get to go along for the trip.



                          ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Bill Heller's Passage

8/5/2021

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Bill Heller is most widely known as the magnificent keyboardist for the Rippingtons, first recording with them in 1998. He is also known for his chart-topping producer credits with Craig Chaquico.

Bill’s first solo release was with 2014’s Find the Way. Now, Bill releases Passages, a 12-track album with 11 songs written and all produced by Bill.

This recording features performances by, of course, Bill Heller on keyboards, Jonathan Butler, Russ DeSalvo, Jay Prince, Allen Hinds, Ken Navarro, and Marc Antoine on guitar, Steve Jordan, Lee Finkelstein, Frank Bellucci, Brian Dunne, Joel Rosenblatt, and Dave Karasony on drums, Will Lee, Dave Anderson, Mike Hall, and Rico Belled on bass, Jeff Kashiwa on soprano and tenor saxes, Andy Snitzer and Chris Eminizer on tenor sax, John  Scarpulla on tenor and baritone saxes, Brandon Fields on alto sax, Paula Atherton on flute, Luis Mercado on cello, John Arucci and Ronnie Gutierrez on percussion, and a colossal brass section of French horns, trumpets, and trombones.

The album begins with Passage, a cool number with John Arucci’s Steel Pan getting featured early. Bill’s piano is offset with the woodwinds and a roaring trombone from Dan Levine. The Russ DeSalvo guitar gives a windswept quality that makes this number take off. The song is constructed beautifully. This is how you start an album.

March Forth
jumps out with the Steve Jordan drums and Will Lee bass laying down the great foundation for Bill’s piano that makes your eyes light up. The horns are right on and Jonathon Butler’s acoustic guitar is so fine. But one must admit, Bill’s piano gets the best hearing.

Jeff Kashiwa’s tenor sax is featured on Trying to Get Back Home and Bill’s piano pairs perfectly with him. Then the tenor sax, trombone, and trumpet take off on Again Later as Allen Hinds turns in a sweet guitar. But you have got to pay attention to Dave Anderson’s bass lines. Bill works the Hammond sound over it all as those horns and rhythms work it all so well. Marc Antione’s adds his own acoustic guitar signature to Viaggio, a gorgeous piece with excellent additions from Brandon Fields’ alto sax. This is wonderful.

The smoke returns with FT Shuffle and more of Anderson’s righteous bass. The horns are tight and Bill’s keyboards make you sweat. I mean that in a good way. Then the alto sax of Brandon Fields and the acoustic guitar of Ken Navarro team up for an excellent pairing on Journey’s End. One cool number here.

The Luis Mercado cello sets up with Dave Anderson’s fretless bass for gorgeous harmonies against Bill’s piano and Jeff Kashiwa’s soprano sax on The Flow. The cello and bass dialogue is stunning and Bill’s Fender Rhodes adds the melodic lines you love. This just might be my favorite track of the whole album. Looking Ahead features Paula Atherton’s sweet flute work with Ronnie Gutierrez’ cool percussion alongside Frank Bellucci’s drums and Mike Hall’s bass. Bill’s piano works in duet with the flute and the rhythm section drives it home.

Then comes the great surprise. On solo piano, Bill performs the Claude Debussy masterpiece, Clair de Lune. With programmed percussion and bass, the solo piano gives the gorgeous piece and Jazz tune-up that is wonderful. This one got replayed several times before I could move on.

Last Train,
however, made it rewarding to move on. Andy Snitzer’s tenor sax is featured and Anderson and Brian Dunne give their great contributions on bass and drums. Bill’s percussive piano is well worth the listen. This was a memorable set-up for Leaving Orbit, the last track on Passage. Leaving Orbit begins with transmissions from NASA’s launch control and the imagery of blasting off is set beautifully. Intermittent transmissions are spaced throughout the tune to continue the portrayal. Bill turns in some cool keyboards with Allen Hinds’ guitar. The track ends with the famous words of Neil Armstrong from Tranquility Base.

​As the title implies, Passage is Bill Heller’s method of conducting us beyond ourselves. Beginning with travels from ocean islands and concluding with departure from island Earth, Heller acts as guide and chronicler on our Passage. It is a sojourn worth taking, over and over again.
 
 
                                    ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


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Brian Hudson's Ahaya

8/4/2021

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Brian Hudson is one versatile and in-demand drummer. He has recorded in almost every genre you care to name, with the possible exception of Tibetan Throat Singing, and he has excelled in every endeavor. But he leads a Jazz Fusion band and, pardon me for saying, this is where he makes his indelible mark. This is the mark set on his 2017 debut album Next Level and is followed up in his 2021 EP Ahaya.

With Brian are keyboardist and composer Randy Hoexter, saxophone and other woodwinds master Sam Skelton, guitarist Anthony Papamichael, and bassist Adam Nitti. Each of them continue the flash and bang of the previous album and make you want to dig out Next Level all over again. 


The three tracks are gems, one and all. Skelton and Papamichael light it up over and again on guitars and the rhythm section is tight in the groove with each song. 


Luna Sea
opens the EP with what will become the signature cool drums and brilliant bass. Skelton’s sax comes aboard with the aplomb of Tom Scott and the rhythm section makes you bob your head throughout. Papamichael gives a scratchy rhythm guitar addition. Randy Hoexter’s keyboards are spot on and you feel yourself looking for more. This was a smoking intro to what is to come.


Caladesi
follows with more of the cool sax and Papamichael provides the great guitar we were hoping to hear. Hoexter supports with the vast Hammond sound. But never lose sight of what Brian and Nitti are giving in terms of propulsion and rhythm. The hooks are memorable and the melodies are mesmerizing.


Spirit Run
closes the EP with the extended melodies and rhythms that have made this such an enjoyable experience. Here is where Randy Hoexten turns in some of his best keyboard work with Skelton following up on sax. The lock-step melodic lines and rhythms are wonderful while the solo departures never disappoint.


​Ahaya
needs to be heard over and over. Each composition is fascinating and the performances are riveting. Each of the artists are also deserving of dedicated listening. If an EP is designed to make you want more, Ahaya succeeds magnificently.


~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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