TIM
WARFIELD – SPHERICAL
A
tribute to the music of Thelonious Monk, but one that's got plenty of Tim
Warfield's own spirit as well! Orrin Evans handles the piano here, and while
he's certainly equipped to bring out the angularity of Monk's music, he's got
his own way of approaching the tunes that are nicely fresh – that blocky,
chunky style we love in Evans' playing – which seems to grab melody and rhythm
together in a single handful, and cast out these bold sounds that really
inspire the rest of the group. Warfield's right at home in the setting –
stretching out especially well on tenor, but also playing soprano sax as well
too – and the rest of the group includes excellent trumpet from Eddie Henderson,
plus bass from Ben Wolfe and drums from Clarence Penn. Titles include
"Blue Hawk", "Off Minor", "Ugly Beauty",
"Oska T", "Coming On The Hudson", "Gallop's
Gallop", and "That Old Man". ~ Dusty Groove
LA
BATTERIA – LA BATTERIA
A
contemporary combo, but one who hit the style of classic sound library funk
right on the money – with a killer approach that makes the album bristle like a
vintage set all the way through! And trust us on this – these guys aren't
"retro" or going for some sort of easy 60s modes – and instead, they
really find the best way to turn out the sort of small combo funk that you'd
hear from one of the small Italian sound library labels of the 70s – from the
sharp instrumentation, right down to the production – and especially the best
sense of economy and focus when turning out a groove. The music is heavy on
keyboards – Hammond, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and more – but also isn't just
one of these copycat keyboard affairs, like the flurry of 80s styled work on
the market. We're darn hard to please, and naturally suspicious of material
like this – to take our word that when we say it's great, it's plenty darn
great! Titles include "Espresso", "Dilemma", "Manifesto",
"Vice Versa", "Chimera", "Scenario",
"Formula", and "Vigilante". ~ Dusty Groove
RAN
BLAKE – COCKTAILS AT DUSK: A NOIR TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CONNOR
A really
unique little album from pianist Ran Blake – and that's saying a lot, given
that all of his music is pretty darn unique! The album features Blake at his
warmest – serving up a tribute to the vocalist Chris Connor, but at a level
that's mostly instrumental – as a good number of the tracks just feature Ran on
solo piano – creating dark, moody shapes from the bare bones of songs that were
a big part of Connor's famous 50s recordings for Bethlehem Records – really
blue, melancholy numbers that sound completely different in Blake's hands, but
which have the same sort of haunting feel as Chris' vocal versions. Laika
Fatien sings on 3 of the album's 13 tracks – with a very mellow, almost icy
style that we've never heard from her before – and 2 more tracks feature Ricky
Ford on tenor, playing with an approach that's surprisingly well-suited to
Ran's piano. Titles include "All About Ronnie", "Why Can't
I", "Where Are You", "Moon Ride",
"Driftwood", "Speak Low", and "Go Way From My
Window". ~ Dusty Groove
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