Thursday, January 14, 2016

NEW RELEASES: CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS – I LONG TO SEE YOU; JEREMY PELT - #JIVECULTURE; BILL O’CONNELL & THE LATIN JAZZ ALL STARS – HEART BEAT

CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS – I LONG TO SEE YOU

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