CHRIS
POTTER UNDERGROUND ORCHESTRA – IMAGINARY CITIES
Beautiful
sounds from reedman Chris Potter – working here with an expanded string lineup,
although one that's more of a string quartet added to the core combo – and
maybe not the full orchestra you'd guess from the cover! Still, those subtle
strings really add a lot to the record – creating this sonic balance that's
really sublime, even before Potter comes into the mix on either tenor, soprano,
or bass clarinet, depending on the track – and the quartet often shades in the
tunes with a gentle introduction, before more familiar Potter associates come
in and deepen the sound – including Craig Taborn on piano, Steve Nelson on
vibes and marimba, and Adam Rogers on guitar. Titles include
"Firefly", "Sky", "Shadow Self", "Lament",
and the extended "Imaginary Cities" suite. ~ Dusty Groove
CHARLES
LLOYD – WILD MAN DANCE
Charles
Lloyd makes a step over to Blue Note Records – and the result is one of his
richest, most organic albums in years! The whole thing's a live performance
from Poland – done as a suite of longer tracks that feature a core acoustic
quartet with Lloyd on tenor, plus added cymbalom and lyra – both used very
heavily, with these open, sonic properties that are especially great – almost a
way of bringing in some of the exoticism of Lloyd's earlier recordings, but
with less focus on the reeds. The group also features Gerald Clayton on piano –
and both he and Lloyd can be airy one minute, powerful the next – as the tunes
build up slowly, and form this wonderful painting in sound. Titles include
"Gardner", "Lark", "River", "Wild Man
Dance", "Invitation", and "Flying Over The Odra
Valley". ~ Dusty Groove
BEN WOLFE –
THE WHISPERER
Bassist
Ben Wolfe's first record for Posi-Tone is as strong as any headline sets we've
heard from him to date! Wolfe is leading an excellent quartet session here for
the most part – with the always great Orrin Evans on piano, Donald Edwards on
drums and Stacy Dillard on saxes – plus a sharp guest appearance by trumpeter
Josh Evans on one track. With the exception nice, nocturnal reading Jerome
Kern's "All The Things You Are", it's all Wolfe originals – led
strongly by Wolfe's prominent, but never overbearing bass and brilliant
rhythmic interplay with Evans and Edwards, with plenty of room for Dillard to shine.
Includes "Heroist", "Hat In Hand", "Community",
"Love Is Near", "Chronos", "All The Things Yo
Are","STFU" with Josh Evans, "The Whisperer",
"Becoming Brothers", "The Balcony", "Camelot's
Lean'", "Hat In Hand"" and "If Only". ~ Dusty Groove
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