Tag: Brent Canter

www.criticaljazz.com

blogs.ottawacitizen.com

Guitarist Brent Canter’s CD Urgency of Nowis an aprtly titled update on the organ-guitar-drums lineup that really took off five decades ago thanks to Jimmy Smith and his peers. But Back To The Chicken Shack this most definitely ain’t. Canter, 25, offers eight catchy originals that pull liberally from rock, fusion, pop, funk and Indie rock.

A Los Angeles native who studied with guitarist (and Jimmy Smith sideman) Kenny Burrell, Canter now lives in New York and his disc features with some of the high-energy heavy hitters of that city’s scene, including organists Pat Bianchi and Adam Kipple, the gale-force drummer Jordan Perlson and on several tracks, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake.

The most exciting and meaty tracks tend to be those that feature Blake, including the disc’s powerful rocking opener, Dialogue, the brisk tune With Eyes Closed, which sounded like this in a version several years ago, sans Blake,

and, most of all, A Long Way From Home, a backbeat-driven tune that switches to some funky, heated blowing in 7/4 for Canter, organist Kipple and Blake.

Speaking of odd meters, Canter is strikingly fluid in his phrasing when he negotiates their contours on the 5/4 tune Marina Del Rey and the lyrical but intense 5/4 Meet Me Halfway, which also features organist Bianchi tearing it up.

Two short tracks represent Canter’s more mellow side and tempered guitar sound emerge on two shorter tracks, the smooth tune Settle Down and the more hymnal, melancholy Transitions.

For those who like their jazz-rock smart, strong, polished and chopsy, Canter’s clearly one to watch.

ejazznews.com

A testimonial from guitar legend Kenny Burrell in the album notes emphasizes that young guitarist Brent Canter’s ability to infuse strong melodies, the element of surprise, and outstanding technical faculties into his musicality becomes clearly evident on his debut album. In effect, Canter offers a many-sided view, featuring sympathetic support from venerable saxophonist Seamus Blake with organists Adam Klipple and Pat Bianchi alternating duties throughout the program.
Fans of current guitar hero Kurt Rosenwinkel may take notice, and there are some parallels, largely due to Canter’s refined use of distortion and penchant for erecting climactically oriented solos. With a touch of flash and a strong predilection for the dynamic, the artist’s lyrically rich phrasings and fluent storylines culminate on the opening piece, “Dialogue.” Here, Canter’s medium-toned licks and opening ostinato motif ride above variable rhythmic structures and Blake’s singing sax notes. With dips, spikes and an understated, yet memorable primary theme, the musicians work within a controlled-firepower venue, offset by gusty unison choruses and linear progressions.

“Urgency of Now” is a pedigree offering, with nods to the core jazz organ combo format, although this album primarily resides within a progressive jazz outlook, and not routinely embedded in the traditional shuffle-groove stylizations. Indeed, a standout presentation from a talented performer who imparts a clear-sighted trajectory into the future via a spirited alliance of like-minded musicians. – Glenn Astarita
Brent Canter: guitar; Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone; Adam Klipple: organ (1, 4-7); Pat Bianchi: organ (2, 3, 8); Jordan Perlson: drums.

jazzwrap.blogspot.com

Brent Canter: Urgency Of Now

Brent Canter (guitar)

Urgency Of Now (Posi-Tone Records; 2011)

Seamus Blake (sax)

Adam Klipple (organ)

Pat Bianchi (organ)

Jordan Perlson (drums)

I really have gained a deeper appreciation this year for the guitarist. In recent months I have continually stumbled onto guitars who are either constructing something new through the instrument. Or creating a whole new vibe through their compositions.

These artists are also not making themselves the story of their sessions. It’s the group and the tunes that’s important. Not the histrionics of how well the artist has learned form their studies or history. Now with another guitarist spending time in my CD player, I am again blown away…everyone, meet Brent Canter and his stellar new album, Urgency Of Now (Posi-Tone Records)

lucidculture.wordpress.com

Brent Canter’s Urgency of Now Drives Its Point Home

Don’t let the endorsement fool you: Kenny Burrell is a fan of jazz guitarist Brent Canter, whose latest album Urgency of Now is out onPosi-Tone.  And the elder statesman is on to something. As with virtually every jazz guitarist, it’s no secret that Canter has listened to Burrell –  but he doesn’t ape him. Burrell is right in saying that this is a good album, frequently a great one, but most impressively, it’s an original one. No bass here; instead, a B3 organ, but there’s not a single funky shuffle in sight. Instead, a midtempo, frequently pensive groove.

You wouldn’t think that the generically circling Afrobeat-tinged riff that opens the first track would be the springboard for as catchy a tune as the one that morphs out of it…and the tasty Seamus Blake tenor sax solo that follows…and the big High Romantic chord-punching that Canter segues into, either. But it happens. They go brooding and Brazilian-tinged with the ballad Meet Me Halfway, with a blippy, slightly Burrellesque solo that follows a predictable but rewarding trajectory. A slightly phantasmagorical Pat Bianchi organ solo picks up the pace.

Settle Down, an expansive yet pensive early 60s style organ-and-guitar mood piece a la Grant Green is followed by A Long Way from Home. Weather Report might have sounded like this if they’d had a Hammond instead of Jaco: Canter takes it up with a long, acerbic, fat-toned solo and then passes to Blake for the basket, organist Adam Klipple warping from 4 AM to high noon in a split second. Transitions, another ballad, very subtly mines a lazy indie rock riff, Klipple moving in majestically and then carnivalesque, for psychedelic ambience. With Eyes Closed is as funky as they get here, Klipple going more for a straightforward, incisive feel, drummer Jordan Perlson prowling playfully in the underbrush.

If Marina Del Rey is meant to evoke a casual, breezy Cali milieu, it’s accurate, with spiraling organ and a surprisingly upbeat solo from Canter. They close the album with the title track, Canter taking on bit of a sun-blistered tone, organ flailing a little, and then down and out they go with an insistent, triumphant series of guitar riffs. This album is more than solid – it’s one of the better ones to come over the transom here this year.

somethingelsereviews.com

With a tone resembling Kurt Rosenwinkel‘s but with the soft touch of Jim Hall, Brent Canter’s soulful maneuverings display the lessons he learnedfirst hand from Kenny Burrell. And by the way, who won this year’s ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award? That’s right, Brent Canter.

The L.A. native who attended UCLA on a music scholarship (where he got to study under Burrell) wasted little time in striking out to NYC and making a name for himself there. He formed a trio with organist Adam Klipple and drummer Jordan Perlson, called BC3 (not to be confused with the fusion-oriented but also good BT3 Trio). In 2008, there came the self-released debut record, Soundscape, and three years later, Brent Canter and his rhythm section returned for the encore, Urgency Of Now.

Urgency Of Now is one of those organ jazz records that soothes the soul on casual listens and tingles the mind on closer listens. Still only 25, Canter spent his younger days soaking up Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter and John Scofield, distilling their personalities with the indie rock of his own generation to come up with compositions that avoid jazz cliches in favor of easier to embrace modern chord changes, but keeps the swinging nature and challenging precepts of jazz intact. It becomes apparent right from start, with the shifty and uplifting “Dialogue” that Canter is playing organ jazz music that lives—thrives—in the present. That vibe carries over into the percolating groover, “Meet Me Halfway” and all the way to the delightfully unfolding title cut at the end.

In between, there’s other treats, some by way of personnel. To mix things up a bit, Canter brought in the esteemed Seamus Blake on saxophone on a handful of tunes, a great choice, as Blake works well with guitarists of all stripes. He brings his liquid, no-frills sax voice to songs like “Dialogues,” “With Eyes Closed” (video of live performance below) and “A Long Way From Home” and fits right in without disrupting the flow. Pat Bianchi replaces Klipple on three tracks, his expressive B-3 lifting up the ballad “Settle Down” and keeps it engaging. For his part, Klipple’s rhythmically aware approach lights up tunes like the highly syncopated “With Eyes Closed.”

When scanning the jazz landscape for new talent who has a deep respect for the accomplishments of the older generations while keeping the music fresh, exciting and compelling, I occasionally come across guys like Brent Canter, who make the search for those next jazz stars the all the more worthwhile. I get the feeling we haven’t yet seen the best from Canter, but as the title implies, Urgency Of Now isn’t about a record by an artist waiting to get good. This is compelling music that is fully developed, right now.

allaboutjazz.com

Red flags usually pop up the minute an organ is spotted on the personnel list of a record. Regardless of the quality of the music, the direction is often set in stone, with bluesy Jimmy Smith-style swing dominating the proceedings, but that doesn’t always prove to be true. In fact, guitarist Brent Canter’s Urgency Of Now might be the least derivative organ-based date to hit the streets in 2011.

Canter’s music is full of surprises, as he puts a modern slant on this well-worn instrumental format. While Canter’s studies with the great Kenny Burrell likely influenced his outlook on music, and the technical aspects of his playing, his sound bears little resemblance to that of his teacher. In fact, the timbral and tonal qualities inherent in some of Pat Metheny’s work, with hints ofKurt Rosenwinkel mixed in, are far better reference points.

The eight originals that make up this album show Canter to be a craftsman of exciting, post-modern vehicles that stay away from conventional jazz grooves. Drummer Jordan Perlson is called upon to provide straightforward rock feels, odd-metered grooves and Mitch Mitchell-meets-drum ‘n’ bass beats (“With Eyes Closed”), but swing never enters the picture. Canter uses two different organists on this date, with Pat Bianchi standing in on three tracks for Adam Klipple, and both men marry their individual sounds to the textural guidelines and rhythmic roadmaps that the guitarist lays before them.

Veteran tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake is the final piece of the puzzle, and he brings his passionate solo voice to the fore on this project. The results are spectacular when Blake and Canter cross their sonic streams with one another, but they sound even better when they lock in on a melodic phrase together and ride over the waves of sound provided by the organ and drums.

While the title of this record might appear to be somewhat redundant at first glance, it’s actually a perfect explanation of Canter’s on-the-edge-of-your-seat music. Urgency Of Now eschews all the obvious, placing the guitar-organ combo in a new light, while spotlighting a promising up-and-comer in the jazz guitar category.

thejazzword.blogspot.com

Guitarist Brent Canter performs original jazz with a rock and funk edge on Urgency of Now, his debut release for Posi-Tone Records. The California native, now based in New York, astonishes with lyrical melodies over infectious grooves. Even the odd-metered pieces “Meet Me Halfway” and “Marina Del Rey” flow freely with a propulsive vigor. As a soloist, Canter is an inventive risk-taker, swirling horn-like lines into cohesive statements. The guitarist’s tasteful use of distortion adds to the intensity of each solo, especially the explosive piece “With Eyes Closed”—drummer Jordan Perlson exhibits jaw-dropping precision here—and the tight funk of the closing title track.

The core of Canter’s sound is the classic organ combo, featuring Perlson and alternating organists Adam Klipple and Pat Bianchi. Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, who expands the ensemble on a handful of tunes, sets the bar high with stunning solo turns and a signature sound that seems to nestle into Canter’s compositional style.

Urgency of Now is a compelling release, indicating a bright future, not only for Canter, but jazz guitar in general.

www.steptempest.blogspot.com

Guitarist-composer BrentCanter, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, wisely titled his debut recording for Posi-Tone Records “Urgency of Now.” One can hear he has a story to tell and is so ready to tell it.  Joined by his working Trio ofAdam Klipple (organ) andJordan Perlson (drums) as well as special guests Pat Bianchi (organ on 3 tracks) and Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), his music has well-formed melodies, is spacious when it needs to be and “rocks out” on several occasions.  “Meet Me Halfway” features a guitar tone that may remind some of Carlos Santana as well as a strong melodic line built by both the guitarist and Bianchi.  Perlson pushes and pulsates while the soloists ride his flow.  Another fine melodic piece is “Settle Down“, a gentle ballad that is soulful and emotionally rich.

There are several tunes that really jump out of the speakers.  “WithEyes Closed“ builds up from the drummer’s exciting opening salvo but, instead of going “all-out”, Blake and Canter read the melody as Klipple (who leads the quartet Drive-by Leslie) burbles beneath them.  His solo starts in the lower registers of the organ and grows in intensity with the help of Perlson’s slashing drum work.  Canter also starts in a subdued fashion but is soon pushing against the insistent drum work and big organ chords. Blake just “gets down” and rides the percussive waves to an exciting finish.  “A Long Way From Home” is another tune that blends a soulful approach, forceful, funky, drumming, and spirited solos from all.

“Urgency of Now” has excellent sound; one can really pick out the individual instruments, even when the musicians are moving through intense sections.  It should come as no surprise once you hear the fine music on this CD that Brent Canter won the 2011 ASCAP Young Composers Award.  There are moments that his tone and attack remind this listener of John Abercrombie (especially in the way the elder guitarist builds his solos.)  This impressive CD is yet another fine example how contemporary music continues to grow well into its 2nd century.  For more information, go to www.brentcanter.com.