A Blue Note
debut from legendary reedman Charles Lloyd – who definitely wants to bring
something new to his work on the label! The set features his Marvels combo – a
quintet that features very prominent work from guitarist Bill Frisell, whose
edgey tones here make for a very different sound than the use of guitar on some
of Lloyd's recent records – especially as the group also features steel guitar
from Greg Leisz, who shades things in with some washes of sound that really
echo Frisell's tones too! The rest of the lineup features Reuben Rodgers on
bass and Eric Harland on drums – and Lloyd plays both tenor and alto flute,
with a warmth that really offsets some of the starker sounds of Frisell. The
record features guest vocal work from Norah Jones and Willie Nelson – who sing
on a song apiece – but the core appeal here is the interplay between Lloyd and
guitar, but in a way that's very different than his 60s work with Gabor Szabo.
Titles include "Of Course Of Course", "La Llorna",
"Abide With Me", "Barche Lamsel", "All My
Trials", and "Sombrero Sam".
~ Dusty Groove
JEREMY PELT
- #JIVECULTURE
Don't let
the hashtag in the title put you off – because the set's not some snappy
throwaway tweet – and instead stands quite strongly along with all the other
excellent albums we love from trumpeter Jeremy Pelt! In fact, this set's almost
got more of a back to basics feel than some of Jeremy's other recent records –
a rock-solid sound that comes from a core quartet that also includes Ron Carter
on bass, Billy Drummond on drums, and Danny Grissett on piano – all players
with depths that go way beyond the social media generation, and who work with
Pelt in this wonderful flurry of soulful colors and tones. The trumpet lines
are wonderful – sometimes mellow but full of feeling – sometimes with a bite
that really grabs us – and Jeremy wrote many original tunes for the set,
including "Akua", "Desire", "The Haunting",
"Rhapsody", and "Baswald's Place". ~ Dusty Groove
BILL O’CONNELL
& THE LATIN JAZZ ALL STARS – HEART BEAT
You can hear
the heart beat from the very first note of this set from pianist Bill O'Connell
– a warm pulse that stakes out the action, and calls the rhythms into play –
which in this case include the strong array of percussionists you'd expect from
the Latin All-Stars tag! Bill arranged the set, and composed most numbers – and
there's a mixture of Latin roots and jazz-based complexities that takes us back
to some of Eddie Palmieri's best experiments of the 70s, and the wealth of west
coast Latin jazz work to follow in that mode during more recent years! The group
features some well-crafted work from Conrad Herwig on trombone – no stranger to
projects like this – as well as alto, soprano, and flute from Steve Slagle, who
sounds more soulful here than we remember. There's a bit of vocals on the
record – sung by Melvis Santa on three tracks, and Roman Diaz on one more – but
the whole thing's much more instrumentally focused overall, with some excellent
solo work over the rhythms! Titles include the originals "Wake Up",
"Peace On Earth", "Heart Beat", "Tabasco", and
"Vertigo" – plus nice takes on Jobim's "Waters Of March"
and Wayne Shorter's "ESP". ~
Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment