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And Then It Rained - The Michael O'Neill Quartet

10/8/2020

And Then It Rained is the fifth album from sax and clarinet master Michael O'Neill. The difference on this album is all the difference. It does not feature vocalists and it is not a track list of Jazz standards peppered with pop tunes. And Then It Rained is a completely instrumental endeavor with a brilliant quartet of artists mostly from the San Francisco Bay area.

Those artists are Michael O'Neill on tenor, alto, soprano saxes and clarinet, Michael Bluestein (of Foreigner fame) on piano, Dan Feiszli on bass, and Jason Lewis on drums. Don’t be surprised by Michael Bluestein’s piano. While he may be a rock star, he can play Jazz beautifully and inspiringly. All of the songs were composed and produced by Michael O’Neill.

The album opens beautifully with Port of Spain. Based upon Michael’s desire to visit Trinidad and Tobago—a trip that was never realized—O’Neill takes on the parts intended for steel pans with his soprano sax. Bluestein carries the Latin chords solidly with the Feiszli and Lewis bass and drums. They set a high bar from the opening track and never come down.

While not diminishing what O’Neill has recorded before, his original compositions prove to be worth the wait and leave you wanting to hear more from his pen.

Emerging Impressions gives a good spotlight to Feiszli’s bass and Bluestein’s piano before being joined by O’Neill’s tenor sax. As the title suggests, a bit of classical Impressionism is easily discernible in this remarkable piece by O’Neill. The rhythm section is sterling and Lewis on drums is worthy of special attention. Bluestein’s piano solo is gorgeous and O’Neill’s tenor sax paints sonic eddies with wondrously subdued tones and tempos.

Early Spring puts you in a Bill Evans frame of mind, echoing his Very Early. O’Neill is back on soprano sax and he and Bluestein prove their musical camaraderie in all the right ways. The play between them is delightful and makes you crave even more. Again, Feiszli and Lewis prove why they are on this album.

One for Kenny was written for O’Neill’s pal Kenny Washington (Feiszli contributed to Washington’s 2020 album What’s the Hurry). Bluestein turns in some fantastic piano riffs and runs and O’Neill definitely brings Washington’s voice to mind through his alto sax. The whole quartet lights this one up as O’Neill and Bluestein echo each other’s parts nicely and Feiszli and Lewis push the groove. Kenny must be proud.

Cloud Scape is a bit of a Jazz tone poem with an Impressionistic look at clouds seen from an airplane. You have to Feiszli’s bass solo here as Bluestein chords delicately beneath. O’Neill has written a wonderful melody and he, with the quartet, expounds on it beautifully.

However, the title track And Then It Rained is truly something amazing. Feiszli opens the piece with a beautifully bowed bass before O’Neill comes in with the soprano sax. It sounds like what he would have seen had he successfully made the trip to Port-of-Spain. A nice, tropical rain shower with nobody getting wet on this track. This is a true beauty.

Staying with the watery themes, Maverick’s Samba is O’Neill’s vision of the surf break at Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. The alto sax carries the waves and Bluestein nails the breaks while bass and drums pound the surf. This may be the most fun song on the album.

Song for Mama Bear is an homage to Jazz patron Pegi Brandley. It is at once sweet and determined. Feiszli gets his coolest bass solo of the album and O’Neill’s soaring soprano sax is spot on.

O’Neill pays tribute to his honored quartet inspirations with Four Cornered Circle. The tenor sax evokes the sounds and ‘scapes of Coltrane while the Quartet turn in their best impressions of Tyner, Garrison, Elvin Jones and more. While O’Neill is surely referencing more than Coltrane, the Trane spirit is clearly present. Can’t get enough of this one.

Sweet Iris sees O’Neill at his reminiscent best in a song that recalls a rental house that was provided to him below market by a landlord who was helping O’Neill’s musical career with below-market rent. Lewis gets a monster drum solo that he takes full advantage of while O’Neill’s clarinet is bouncy, lively, and grateful.

The album closes with The Dreams We Left Behind. It is warm and reflective as O’Neill works a sometimes melancholy, now musing, tenor sax and Bluestein’s piano carries the melodic memories beautifully. O’Neill says, “The Dreams We Left Behind was written in the aftermath of a failed relationship.” He calls it “an amalgam of all the choices and changes of direction we make in life.” Not precisely melancholy or wistful, the song is most assuredly reflective.

And Then It Rained is one gorgeous album. The Quartet is remarkable and the compositions are varied and inspired. Michael O’Neill has given a great contribution to those suffering through the dumpster-fire year of 2020. O’Neill breathes life and hope in the midst of reflection and we are grateful.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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John Daversa Quintet's Cuarantena: With Family at Home

10/1/2020

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The pandemic of 2020 has cut off people from each other. Travel, dining, concerts and so much more have been disrupted in ways that the 21st Century never imagined. For John Daversa, it became an occasion for self-investigation and for the meaning of interaction with those we love and admire.

In Daversa’s eighth album, Cuarantena: With the Family at Home, takes the opportunity for imagining and reimagining love of friends and family and the things that draw us together—especially music. Good music like the bolero.

In meditations on that idea, Daversa drew together some of Miami’s most sought-after artists, such as pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Carlo De Rosa on bass, drummer Dafnis Prieto, and Sammy Figueroa on percussion. Daversa, of course, is the man behind the trumpet.

The whole idea of the album was developed in conversations between Daversa and Rubalcaba centering on the bolero and its centrality in familial music. The bolero style—not to be confused with the composition by Maurica Ravel—is a Cuban style that features moderate to slow times with a repeating rhythm over which those beautiful melodies are laid. It became fused with other forms like the Son, Mambo, Chachacha, and Danzón. Leonardo Acosta called bolero the first great Cuban vocal/musical synthesis to achieve worldwide attention. This is the music that united their families.

The album opens with #45, a tune written on a melody composed by Daversa’s father, the great trumpet player, Jay Daversa. Daversa confesses that his father never wrote titles for any of his compositions, just numbers. It is a beautiful melody that evokes visions of a family in tender fellowship with one another. Rubalcaba’s piano is equally tender before the trumpet spells out the affection. The trading between Daversa’s muted trumpet and Rubalcaba’s piano is brilliant—lively, understanding, insightful—just like a conversation around the dinner table.

Another of the senior Daversa’s melodies follows with #22. It is a touching piece filled with emotion and reminiscence of loved ones. Beautiful trumpet and piano passages with an excellent rhythm section behind it all. DeRosa’s bass work is warm and fitting.

A spoken-word interlude from Daversa follows, as he speaks of Growing Up in a Musical Family. A wonderful reflection.

La Bailarina (para Tatiana) is for his wife who added dance into the family mode of expression. He mentions her in the previous spoken-word track. The music conjures images of a dancer gliding through life, thoughtfulness and grace in her wake. A lovely, lovely piece of music.

Oma (a la Madre Divina) is best translated as To the Divine Mother. That exquisite Latin chordal arrangement that calls on the universal, divine aspect of the feminine. The Cosmic Mother who comforts, nourishes, and protects her children and who has her place in every family and home. Steady percussion from Sammy Figueroa and steady, reliable piano from Rubalcaba are such fine foundations for Daversa’s trumpet.

Sammy Figueroa adds his own spoken-word interjection next and honors his father, famous bolero singer Charlie Figueroa. Sammy, who hails from Puerto Rico, accepted Daversa’s suggestion to play one of Charlie’s tunes and Sammy would give the percussion introduction to it. And so follows…

El Último Suspiro (The Last Sigh) is Charlie Figueroa’s piece that is indeed introduced by Sammy’s fine and respectful percussion introduction. Prieto’s drums and De Rosa’s bass are worth special attention as Daversa’s melodic trumpet carries all the memory and honor one would hope. Then go back and find Charlie’s version of the song.

Soldado Distinguido (para Sgt. Alvin York) honors Daversa’s grandmother, a relative of Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier of World War I. York never wanted to fight but chose to in order to save the lives of his comrades. The melody is peaceful and devoted. It is an honor to York and his grandmother.

Puppitas (para Lea y Maya) is an homage to the family pets, a song encouraged by his daughter. It is playful and teasing. Listen carefully to hear Lea’s panting on the track. Delightful.

Fabrica de Conservas de San Francisco (La Historia de Molly y Johnny) is a gorgeous piano and trumpet duet which tells the tales of his paternal grandparents, Molly and Johnny. Johnny wrote a hand-written book of memoirs which tells their story and which Daversa reads to his own daughter. Here, Daversa keeps the family’s tales fresh and vibrant and to be cherished by his and our own families—to remember the love of our parents for each other and for us.

Gonzala Rubalcaba gets his turn to talk about music and family next and sets up Daversa’s father’s tune, #19. It is a swinging, exciting piece that features some of the tightest work on the whole album while also giving way to beautiful melodies.

Drummer Dafnis Prieto gets his chance to speak, telling of his musical home and introducing Un Bolero para Lola, the song by Debi Nova, written for her own grandmother, Lola. It is beautiful and loving. Daversa’s trumpet covers Debi’s vocals beautifully and the whole Quintet turns in a lovely remembrance.

Bassist Carlo De Rosa speaks last and it is sweet and sad. De Rosa tells of his inability to visit his family because of the age of his parents. He speaks to them often but, for safety’s sake, cannot see them.

Opus 1 (escrita por El Abuelo Austin) is a song written by Daversa’s maternal grandfather who was a professional clarinet/saxophone player. The composition is beautiful and the Quintet interprets it remarkably. Trumpet and piano are so evocative and the bass and drums add steady contributions.

The final track on this astonishing album is Cancion de Cuna para Hara, a lullaby (cradle song) for Daversa’s daughter Hara. Thanks to Hara, we were given the Puppitas song and this breathtaking finale. The lullaby is sweet and affectionate. In an album about family, how fitting that Daversa keeps our eyes on the future and who will follow after.

In a time of sad separation, the John Daversa Quintet offers beautiful reflection and warm fellowship with Cuarantena: With Family at Home. Like Bocaccio’s Decameron, even the darkest times can call forth the brightest and loveliest of tales, when tragedy is accompanied by comedy and, through it all, the common is made heroic.

~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

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And Then It Rained - The Michael O'Neill Quartet

John Daversa Quintet's Cuarantena: With Family at Home

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