NEW RELEASES - TONY PERKINS -TONY PERKINS (WITH BONUS TRACKS); PAUL BRUSGER – WAITING FOR NEXT TIME; BALLISTER – BOTH ENDS

TONY PERKINS – TONY PERKINS (WITH BONUS TRACKS)

A really wonderful first album from Anthony Perkins – cut years before he shocked the screen in Psycho, at a time when he was arguably more committed to his role as a singer! Perkins is surprisingly great throughout – with a mellow, masculine approach that's a bit like Matt Dennis at the time – never overdone, but with just the right sort of inflections to really personalize the music. Tony never tries to belt it out of the park, and that's what we really like about the record – in that he's a much more honest, understated singer – a nice contrast to some of the more emotive talents on the charts at the time. Marty Paich provides the backing – in a great jazzy style that's similar to his work with Mel Torme – and titles include "April Fool", "Hit The Road To Dreamland", "How Long Has This Been Going On", "But Beautiful", "I Wish I Knew", "Accidents Will Happen", and "Better Luck Next Time". CD features 7 more bonus tracks too – including "If You Were The Only Girl", "If You'll Be Mine", "Melody For Lovers", "Fool In Love", and "A Little Love Can Go A Long Long Way". ~ Dusty Groove

PAUL BRUSGER – WAITING FOR NEXT TIME

Bassist Paul Brusger heads up this quartet, but the group's got strong contributions on all its four corners – tremendous baritone work from Gary Smulyan, who's becoming one of our favorite contemporary players on the instrument – plus soulful piano from Mike Ledonne, and just the right sort of swing from the great Louis Hayes! The players come together with a freshness that's noteworthy – really standing apart from even their other recent recordings – quite possibly due to the fact that every tune on the set (save one) is an original composition by Brusger, a writer with a really old school way of balancing lyricism and soul – a compositional strength that almost takes us back to Horace Silver or Duke Pearson. Titles include "In A Minor Funk", "When Will You Ever Learn", "All But One", "Bringin Home The Silver", "Waiting For The Next Trane", and "Andrea's Delight". ~ Dusty Groove

BALLISTER – BOTH ENDS

Maybe one of the most vibrant musical performances ever from the Ballister trio – for reasons that are recorded in the notes on the album – a stunning collaboration between Dave Rempis on alto and tenor, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and electronics, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and percussion! The players have a great way of swinging between sound and space – really letting things out to create the right sort of suspense, then bounding back in with the sort of bold energy that really feeds their fire – almost with a sensitivity that's surprising, given the situation! The album features one long live performance – divided up into "Front" and "Back" passages. (Yellow vinyl pressing, too!)  ~ Dusty Groove