Category: Reviews

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Another review for Sean Nowell “The Seeker”….

www.honesttune.com

Sean Nowell : The Seeker PDF Print E-mail
Written by Fred Adams
08/03/2009
The Seeker finds tenor saxophonist Sean Nowell traveling across a vast harmonic spectrum to a place filled with intriguing melodies and rhythmic world beats. With roots based in the deep South, Nowell’s background is quite diverse compared to that of most members of the New York jazz circuit. On The Seeker, he offers hints of Southern blues, gospel, and funk roots, combined with a truly complex and unique sense of harmony to create an album filled with joy and wonder.

Nowell takes listeners on a bold musical journey with a “New York Vibe,” stretching the band’s abilities to the limit with horn sounds that are instantly recognizable, yet seemingly brand new. With each note Nowell impresses more, even when tackling the Lennon/McCartney composition “I Will.”  Altogether, The Seeker must be considered a candidate as one of the finest jazz releases of the year.

The Seeker is out now on Posi-Tone Records.

 

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Vibin’: Ken Fowser/Behn Gillece

www.allaboutjazz.com

The vibraphones often create the über-cool “lounge” sound at cocktail parties but don’t pigeonhole the instrument as a gimmicky mood inducer. Legends like Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader and Bobby Hutcherson inhabit the pantheon of the instrument’s alltime heroes. Not surprisingly, myriad players inspired by those greats are doing their best to join that impressive list. Five new releases featuring three vets, a legend and a newcomer prove that the list might begin to grow soon.

Jay Hoggard continues his prolific streak as a leader with Soular Power. With support from James Weidman(piano/organ), Belden Bullock (bass) and Yoron Israel (drums), the session features 11 of his own compositions and one standard (“On a Clear Day”). That classic Lane-Lerner tune stands out as one of the most enjoyable numbers, the interplay between the leader and Weidman recalling the collaboration of Bobby Hutcherson and Larry Young on the Grant Green album Street of Dreams.

Benny Golson protégé Joe Baione delivers his second album as a leader with Oh Yeah!, a happy, up-tempo set perfect for the summer jazz season. Baione leads an inspired combo featuring Toru Dodo (piano), Jorge Castro(tenor sax), Andrae Murchison (trombone) Corcoran Holt (bass) and drummer Jerome Jennings. They run through three standards: a funky arrangement of “All Blues,” a very low-key “Prelude to a Kiss” and a tribute to one of the instrument’s pioneers, Milt Jackson’s “Bag’s Groove”. The leader’s penchant for Latin and Caribbean rhythms surfaces on the songs “‘J’ Bossa” (which he arranged with his clarinetist father) and “Coconut Island”. The latter sees Baione switch to the marimba, resulting in a tropical experience highly reminiscent of “St. Thomas”.

The most challenging of the five new releases is vibraphonist Behn Gillece‘s Full View, co-led with tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser. Accompanied by David Hazeltine (piano), Adam Cote (bass) and Paul Francis (drums), these newcomers exude a chemistry reminiscent of Dexter Gordon and Hutcherson on Gettin’ Around. Gordon is no doubt an influence on Fowser’s round, warm tone that mirrors that of the “long tall” legend. Gillece also pays homage with his brisk, slightly modal “The Hutch”. The complex, polyrhythmic number includes focused soloing from the whole team.

At one point, Mark Sherman aspired to be a drummer. Known as a disciple of Elvin Jones, he was drawn to the vibes and the instrument soon gained a new virtuoso worthy of Hampton, Hutcherson and Jackson. Recorded in Basel, Switzerland, Sherman’s double live album Live @ The Bird’s Eye supplies nearly two hours of great straight-ahead jazz, mixing Sherman originals with a few standards. The group isn’t afraid to improvise; many of the tunes go beyond ten minutes, but you’re guaranteed not to mind. The leader gets top-grade support fromAllen Farnham (piano), Dean Johnson (bass) and Tim Horner (drums).

After he’d established himself in the late ’60s as one of the top vibraphonists in exploratory soul jazz and right before he recorded one of the all-time greatest “blaxploitation” soundtracks with Coffy in 1973, Roy Ayers made a major impression in 1971 with Ubiquity. Here Ayers commands a larger ensemble than what had become his typical quartet and lays down a combination of funky instrumentals and more commercially-bent vocal numbers. Along with an airy interpretation of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” highlights include a handful of tracks where Ayers employs a fuzz box; normally used as a guitar accessory, it really comes in handy on the appropriately titled scorcher “The Fuzz”. As all five of these albums clearly illustrate, it’s a good time to be a fan of the vibes.

 

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Ken Franckling review for “Dedicated”….

kenfrancklingjazznotes.blogspot.com

Ralph Bowen, Dedicated (Posi-Tone)
Tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen recorded this forceful CD of original material as a musical thank you to six mentors who played key roles in his musical and career development. The Canadian first emerged on the New York scene in the 1980s as co-leader of Blue Note Records’ sextet Out of the Blue. This new CD teams him with guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist John Patitucci, drummer Antonio Sanchez and trumpeter Sean Jones, who guests on one track.

Everything here is a gem, showcasing Bowen’s muscular tenor and strong credentials as a composer and improviser. Favorites: Rogers’ soloing and comping on the opener “Canary Drums,” the spirited Bowen-Jones interplay and unison on “Mr. Bebop” and the beautiful ensemble work on “Prof.” (The six tracks are dedicated to the late Keith Blackley, Pat LaBarbera, Jim Blackley, David Baker, William Fielder and Eugene Rousseau.)

 

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jazzreview.com write up for Sean Nowell “The Seeker”….

http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-20697.html

Featured Artist: Sean Nowell

CD Cover - Link to Artist's Site

CD Title: The Seeker

Year: 2009

Record Label: Posi-Tone Records

Style: Progressive

Musicians: Sean Nowell(tenor sax, clarinet, flute), Art Hirahara (piano), Thomas Kneeland (bass), Joe Abbantantuono (drums), Dave Eggar (cello) Nir Felder (guitar)

Review:Tenor sax ace Sean Nowell’s second date as a leader provides some insight into his broad musical vernacular, since the Birmingham, AL., native has composed film scores and has performed master classes in Europe on American jazz. He also incorporates snippets of European folk music and other world music aspects into his repertoire, largely based on the progressive jazz idiom.

Nowell’s hearty tone and fluid delivery is built upon lots of gusto and soaring lines. However, it’s not all about fire and brimstone, evidenced on “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” featuring Thomas Kneeland’s pensive, bowed-bass solo and cellist Dave Eggar’s sonorous articulations. Moreover, the saxophonist intersperses a catchy North African motif into this piece. Otherwise, Eggar adds a novel dimension to three tracks, as he often takes the edge off and calms the waters along with Nowell’s rapidly flowing choruses and shifting tides.

The sextet goes on a tear within intermittent passages, where Nowell pushes the band into intense dialogues, often abetted by pianist Art Hirahara’s deft phrasings and sizzling right hand leads. On Johnny Mercer’s “I Remember You,” Nowell goes full throttle by spinning an up-tempo bop groove, spiced with a Latin rhythmic vibe during the choruses. Here, the band explores an amalgamation of mini-themes while drummer Joe Abbatantuono roughs it up via his polyrhythmic bombardment towards the finale.

Nowell strikes a chord with these high-impact pieces, topped off by his memorable comps and cleverly engineered arrangements. He differentiates himself from the norm, throughout the often-captivating sequence of musical events, brimming with fresh sounds and the frontline’s zealous soloing breakouts.

– Glenn Astarita

Record Label Website: https://www.posi-tone.com

Artist’s Website: http://www.seannowell.com

 

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ejazznews.com review of Jim Rotondi “Blues for Brother Ray”….

www.ejazznews.com

Trumpeter Jim Rotondi releases his second as album as leader on the Posi-Tone label adding to his credit of performing as a sideman on 70 recordings to date. This project takes on a special meaning for Rotondi as he pays humble tribute to his old boss and mentor, Ray Charles. Known in the jazz world as one of the better post-bop trumpeters around, Rotondi does not disappoint here producing one very fine session of jazz borrowing many standards and using a mighty quintet to pay due homage to “Mr. C.”
For a tribute album to Charles, Rotondi only uses one of the singer’s charts and that is the familiar “What’d I Say” which opens the music. Other standards making the mark here are Frank Loesser’s timeless “Baby, It’s Cold Out There,” Lou Donaldson’s Makin’ Whoopee, “One Mint Julep” and the classic “Cry Me A River.” Organist Mike Ledonne is prominent contributing one tune with the splashy “Brother Ray,” complete with heavy cymbal crashes from drummer Joe Farnsworth making this one memorable. Other members of the quintet not to be forgotten i s the incredible Eric Alexander providing the tenor work and Peter Bernstein completing the stellar rhythms on guitar.

Not a flashy or high-pitched trumpeter, Rotondi stays firmly grounded to the music venturing outside the normal range sparingly preferring to honor each piece with tasteful full-toned play.
An unselfish leader, the trumpeter provides ample space for his players to solo with gusto and so they do. Listen carefully and you can hear every player capturing their fair share of the lime light. Kudos to Jim Rotondi for he has fashioned one excellent tribute album with “Blues For Brother Ray,” engaging and quite sophisticated, this is one of the superior jazz projects out there.

Year:2009
Label: Posi-Tone Records
Artist Web: www.jimrotondi.com

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ejazznews review for “Dedicated”….

www.ejazznews.com

An educator by profession who holds a position at Rutgers University, Canadian-born saxophonist Ralph Bowen is the latest Posi-Tone Records project producing a hard-driving dose of modern/mainstream jazz with his newest vibrant CD “Dedicated.” Bowen claims influences from many saxophone greats like Bob Mintzer, Pat LaBarbera and the legendary Stan Getz with which Bowen earns comparisons on to such tunes as “Canary Drums” and “Mr. Bebop.” Though only a handful of tunes grace this recording coming in at under 45 minutes, the all original selection delivers a “harmonic message with stunning lyricism” dedicated to several of his mentors(Pat LaBarbera, David Baker, Keith Blackley and Jim Blackley, William Fielder and Eugene Rousseau).

Bowen enlists the help of several top flight musicians who, with their play, provide the sparks that Bowen counts on to move the music forward. He builds a powerful rhythm section led by guitarist Adam Rogers, it also includes the renowned bassist John Patitucci and drummer Antonio Sanchez pounding the cowhide. Of special note is the inclusion of trumpeter Sean Jones who ha s just released a masterful recording of his own (“The Search Within”).

There’s plenty of musical energy on “Dedicated” supplied not only by Ralph Bowen’s own muscular tenor phrasings, but glowing from sparkling solos from the various members of the band—that all together combine in providing one shining performance marking this album a serious contender not a pretender.

Year: 2009
Label: Posi-Tone Records
Artist Web: www.ralphbowen.com

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Saxophonist Mike DiRubbo’s ‘Repercussion’

http://www.newsobserver.com/2009/07/26/53165/saxophonist-mike-dirubbos-repercussion.html

BY OWEN CORDLE – CORRESPONDENT
Tags: Life | AL

New York City alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo studied with Jackie McLean at the University of Hartford. For fans familiar with the late McLean’s big, diamond-hard alto sound and angular lines, this should provide a reference point for hearing DiRubbo. But that’s not the entire story, for DiRubbo plays with more joy and lyricism in his sound and also incorporates some of John Coltrane’s inchworm-like multi-noted runs in his solos.

These attributes appear throughout DiRubbo’s “Repercussion” (Posi-Tone), a quartet session that veers pleasingly from the mainstream favored by his age group. (DiRubbo was born in 1970.) The use of vibes, played by Steve Nelson, helps to set this album apart. Vibes accompaniment isn’t as heavy or dense as piano or guitar accompaniment can be, and this frees not only DiRubbo but also bassist Dwayne Bruno and the late drummer Tony Reedus. Nelson, who plays chorded as well as single-line solos, contributes much to the success of these performances.

The title tune, a minor-key DiRubbo original that opens the album, and Dave Brubeck’s “The Duke,” which follows, establish hot and cool poles for things to come. Except for Burton Lane’s “Too Late Now,” the remainder of the tunes are DiRubbo originals. Alto, vibes, bass and drums — a different ensemble sound that hasn’t been done to death. Yeah.

 

 

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2009/07/26/53165/saxophonist-mike-dirubbos-repercussion.html#ixzz1HBUEL1KF

 

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NY Times writer Ben Ratliff did a nice write up about “Hometown” Sam Yahel’s new piano trio CD….


http://query.nytimes.com
SAM YAHEL
”Hometown”
(Posi-Tone)

Sam Yahel has been playing jazz in New York since the early 1990s, almost always as a Hammond organist. (He was a fixture in the early days of Smalls, on West 10th Street, along with the pianist Brad Mehldau and the guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel; these days he leads his own trio.) But he hasn’t hid behind the bullying power of the Hammond, its ability to give you shivers with shifting drawbars or a loud crescendo: he has put himself in places where pianists go, playing volatile music with curiosity and hunger in his improvising.

”Hometown” is, surprisingly, his first album as a pianist. It was recorded in 2007; I guess there’s still no rush to get the word out that he’s very good. A piano-trio record made in the studio with the bassist Matt Penman and drummer Jochen Rückert, it’s casual enough to have been a gig, well-produced enough to represent a musician for a long time and strong enough in arrangement, soloing and interaction that it doesn’t lose your interest. That shouldn’t be rare, but it is.

There’s a tensile power in all of Mr. Yahel’s solos here, a drifting and warping of tempo through long lines held together with baroque logic, blues feeling and a lack of cliché. (He knows how to use swing and dynamics too but doesn’t show off; part of this record’s charm is its good sense.) Go straight to his aggressive version of Thelonious Monk’s ”Think of One” for the prime example, but that power is here even in the slower songs, including an industrious version of ”Moonlight in Vermont.”

The sound of this piano trio has a few things in common with Mr. Mehldau’s: the experimental stubbornness of the phrasing; the dry, clean and clever arrangements; and the abiding interest in making use of pop music. John Lennon’s ”Jealous Guy” and Duke Ellington’s ”Blue Pepper” are both here, authoritative with backbeats; so is Bebel Gilberto’s electronic bossa-nova ”River Song,” skimming and skittering on drums and bass. But Mr. Yahel is also substantially different from Mr. Mehldau. Mr. Yahel’s aims are smaller and more streamlined, and this is a smart, satisfying, low-to-the ground record. BEN RATLIFF

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Here’s what All About Jazz had to say about Ralph Bowen’s new CD “Dedicated” featuring guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Antonio Sanchez…

www.allaboutjazz.com

Back in the 1980s, tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen was a member of a young and thoroughly hip progressive jazz ensemble known as OTB—Out Of The Blue. Since then, he’s been an in-demand session artist. With Dedicated, he garners superb support from a top-flight ensemble, but it’s Bowen’s dynamic presence and big sound that fully reveal his colossal talents.
Bowen packs a mighty wallop, steeped within his full-bodied tone and muscular phraseology, all spiced with lyrically resplendent theme-building persuasions. Here, the artist merges mainstream jazz with a modern slant via force and relentless energy. These attributes radiate on “Qaiyam,” where his yearning lines are punctuated by the rhythm section’s staggered pulse, colorific accents and guitarist Adam Rogers’ dark-toned solo.

The band effortlessly whirls through brisk bop motifs amid resonating dialogues, evidenced by trumpeter Sean Jones’ spry choruses and feisty exchanges with the leader during “Mr. Bebop.” The band exhibits creativity and enthusiasm to complement the soloists’ crafty improvisational passages.

Bowen combines nuance with penetrating harmonic frameworks throughout this thrilling, rapidly-paced outing. And while the album clocks in at a little over LP length, Bowen opts for quality vs. quantity, using smart compositions and the ensemble’s synergistic interaction to achieve that goal.

Track listing: Canary Drums; Pat; Qaiyam; Mr. Bebop; Prof; E.R.

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: tenor saxophone; Sean Jones: trumpet; Adam Rogers: guitar; John Patitucci: bass; Antonio Sanchez: drums.

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Check out this review of “Blues for Brother Ray” the latest release from trumpet player Jim Rotondi….

jazz.about.com
Veteran trumpeter Jim Rotondi has been a fixture in the New York jazz scene for more than two decades. His clear, bold sound and polished soloing have been on display in such diverse groups as Lionel Hampton’s and Bob Mintzer’s big bands, as well as the powerhouse sextet, One For All, of which he is a co-founder. His most recent release, Blues for Brother Ray (Posi-Tone) celebrates the work of his early musical mentor and former boss, Ray Charles.

For jazz fans familiar with Rotondi’s playing, this album may surprise with its relaxed feel. The name of the game here is simplicity. Tracks such as “One Mont Julep” and “Lonely Avenue” deliver simple blues heads in unison, backed by sparse and repetitive accompaniment. Looking at the track listing, full of songs from Charles’ repertoire, this should not be surprising. Rather than viewing this album strictly as a jazz recording, it may best be seen as a jazz instrumental interpretation of soul and blues.

As such, this album is a success. Heads are delivered tastefully, and do not stray far from the feel of the originals with the exception of Rotondi’s fiery arrangement of “Georgia On My Mind,” taken at a tempo more akin to that of the fast-paced jazz standard “Sweet Georgia Brown.” The rhythm section offers disciplined accompaniment; Peter Bernstein’s guitar and Mike LeDonne’s organ never step on each other’s toes, and Joe Farnsworth’s drumming has an optimistic bounce.