NEW RELEASES - JOE FARNSWORTH QUARTET - MY HEROES; BRADFORD/GJERSTAD QUARTET – SILVER CORNET; HORACE TAPSCOTT QUINTET – THE GIANT IS AWAKENED

JOE FARNSWORTH QUARTET - MY HEROES

Drummer Joe Farnsworth pays tribute to the greats of the 50s and 60s – Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Max Roach, and others – in a smoking set that features his longtime musical companions Eric Alexander on tenor, Harold Mabern on piano, and Nat Reeves on bass! There's a vibe here that's different than other recent dates from this well-matched team – as the players are definitely trying to skew their sounds differently with each number dedicated to a different drummer – especially Alexander and Mabern, who really match Farnsworth's energy as he changes things up. Titles include "Syeeda's Song Flute", "Two Bass Hit", "Reflection", "George's Dilemma", and "Cute".  ~ Dusty Groove

BRADFORD / GJERSTAD QUARTET – SILVER CORNET

The great Bobby Bradford recorded famously for the Nessa label backin the 70s – but here he's heard in the company of some younger players on a contemporary recording – one that shows that his fire hasn't dimmed at all! The group's a quartet – with Frode Gjerstad on alto and clarinet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Frank Rosaly on drums – and the three tracks are all relatively long and quite free – but have this organic sense of building that really matches some of Bradford's energy from the early days – a style that's not as rhythmic or modal as before, but partly because Rosaly and Flaten are such amazingly complex musicians! Titles include "The Silver Cornet tells", "A Story About You", and "And Me Me & You".  ~ Dusty Groove

HORACE TAPSCOTT QUINTET – THE GIANT IS AWAKENED

An incredible album – one of the few rare early sides cut by pianist Horace Tapscott, a seminal figure in the LA underground of the 60s and 70s! The record is as pure Tapscott as you could ever get – experimental, but not too free; spiritual, but never too sappy; progressively political, but never overwrought – and Tapscott is playing with a strong quintet that includes Black Arthur Blythe on alto, David Bryant and Walter Savage on bass, and Everett Brown on drums. The lineup is great – and Blythe is a real revelation, with a tone and style that's different than some of his later work, but equally soulful – and the use of two basses makes for some wonderful rhythmic elements that really drive the modal energy of the music. The set includes an important early version of "The Dark Tree" – a modal groover that's one of Tapscott's lasting legacies – plus the tunes "Niger's Theme", "For Fats", and "The Giant Is Awakened".  ~ Dusty Groove