Thursday, May 14, 2015

NEW RELEASES: BEHN GILLECE - MINDSET; JD ALLEN - GRAFFITI; JOSHUA BREAKSTONE - 2ND AVENUE

BEHN GILLECE - MINDSET

The first solo album as a leader from vibist Behn Gillece – a player who's been making great sounds on other sessions for the Posi-Tone label in recent years! Behn's voice is very firmly upfront here – on a set of all original compositions that really showcase his unique approach to the vibes – a style that can be hard and biting one minute, but filled with flowing currents of color the next – a mode that sometimes owes a bit to Bobby Hutcherson, but which really stands out as Gillece's own unique approach – and which is one of the freshest voices on vibes we've heard in years! The group's a quintet – with frequent musical partner Ken Fowser on tenor, plus Rick Germanson on piano and Fender Rhodes, Paul Gill on bass, and Charles Ruggiero on drums. Behn wrote all the tunes – and titles include "Crashing Down", "One Mile With You", "The Great Quarterly", "Mindset", "Things Are Happening", and "The Mean Sea". ~ Dusty Groove

JD  ALLEN - GRAFFITI

JD Allen's career ascendence suggests that he's making plenty of the right choices. The native of Detroit has been on the New York scene since 1993, when his youthful precociousness earned him a spot in “Jazz Ahead”, the singer Betty Carter's acclaimed touring program for up-and-comers. TimeOut New York says he will “remind you of giants like Coltrane and Rollins but placing a special kind of premium on concision, directness and accessibility.” The Chicago Reader adds, “Allen has gravitated toward a more brooding, elliptical approach with a strong jolt of John Coltrane at his most probing.” Finally, JD is, in the words of Connecticut's WNPR, “A man for all seasons,” who “plays ballads with warmth, beauty and truth, grooves hard in a post-bop mode or wails in a free jazz setting with passion saturated with the soulful spirituality, grace and inspired abandon recalling the power and the glory of John Coltrane.” One of the telltale symbols of his upward trajectory is the fact that his trio, bassist Gregg August (lead bass chair in the Brooklyn Philharmonic) and drummer Rudy Royston (a much sought-after rhythm power since relocating to New York from Denver), has remained solid throughout his rise. ~ Amazon

JOSHUA BREAKSTONE - 2ND AVENUE

After his critically acclaimed release, With the Wind and Rain, Joshua Breakstone returns with 2nd Avenue, an appropriate title for this second excursion with his cello quartet. Mike Richmond, a great guitarist in his own right, returns on cello. Bassist Lisle Atkinson and drummer Andy Watson round out the group. Breakstone and Atkinson each contribute one original composition and the remaining 7 tunes come from the likes of Lee Konitz, Sonny Clark, Dexter Gordon and Cannonball Adderley as well as Johnny Mercer, Harry Warren, Peter DeRose and Bert Shefter. ~ Amazon




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