Tag: Cymbal Melodies

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Detroit-native and University of Michigan graduate Jordan Young, drummer by trade, has issued his 2nd CD as a leader.  “Cymbal Melodies” is his debut for Posi-Tone Records and features organist Brian Charette, guitarist Avi Rothbard and, on several tracks, saxophonist Joe Sucato(a member of Young’s “working” band.)  The program consists of 6 “standards”, a pair of jazz tunes, a cover of The Police’s “Roxanne” and 2 original works by the drummer. The CD starts inauspiciously (to my ears) with a “poppy” version Jimmy Webb’s “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” (yes, it’s already considered a “pop” tune but this version sounds like the band is just getting warmed up.) The Trio stokes the fire much better on “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” with both Charette and Rothbard responding with plenty of vigor to Young’s percussive prodding.  Sucato adds his smooth tenor sax to a swinging take of Lee Morgan’s “Free Wheelin‘” but it’s the excellent organ solo that catches the ear.  Charette also takes the lead on Young’s boppish “Bird Bath” (don’t think it refers to Charlie Parker) – Rothbard, a native of Israel, digs into a strong solo as well.

Perhaps the most successful cover is the fine re-arrangement of “Roxanne” – the band (Sucato is the lead voice) ignores the Caribbean/reggae rhythm of the original, building the piece on the swirling organ chords and Young’s propulsive drums (he particularly shines beneath Rothbard’s angular solo.)  There’s also a subdued but swinging saxophone-drums take of Irving Berlin’s “Best Thing For Me Is You.”

“Subdued but swinging” is perhaps the best description for “Cymbal Melodies“.  The playing is quite good, the melodies are fine but it all seems to much of a “low-key” affair. However, if you dig the work of Brian Charette, he shines throughout.  For more information, go to www.posi-tone.com.

www.allaboutjazz.com

Drummer Jordan Young took the organ quartet outside of its stylistic comfort zone on his debut, Jordan Young Group (Self Produced, 2010), and continues to carve his own path within this format on this enjoyable follow-up. Young reconvenes the quartet from his first leader date, with Avi Rothbard taking the place of guitaristYotam Silberstein, and puts together an appealing, covers-heavy program that speaks to his musical likes and varied interests.

The standard, greasy blues numbers that are de rigueur for organ groups don’t seem to appeal to Young, so he calls on his own musical muses to give him sustenance. He mades it clear that he is a ’60s Blue Note fan, as he turned to the works of saxophonists Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter on his first leader date, and furthers that disposition here by taking a stab at guitarist Grant Green (“Grantstand”) and trumpeter Lee Morgan (“Free Wheelin'”). Jazz musician standbys like “Easy Living,” taken at a fast clip, and “Ghost Of A Chance,” which belongs to Rothbard’s melodious guitar, fill a few more spots on the playlist, but Young doesn’t stop there. Curveballs, like a funked-up take on Burt Bacharach’s “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” and an odd pass at The Police’s “Roxanne,” which eventually falls into organ chaos due to Brian Charette’s madcap machinations, keep everybody on their toes. The inclusion of a saxophone and drum duo take on a tune byIrving Berlin furthers the notion that Jordan Young keeps his iPod and mind on random shuffle.

While eight of the ten tracks presented herein belong to others, Young does manage to throw two of his originals into the mix and both prove to be winners. The comfortable pace and melodious nature of “Bird Bath” contribute to its charm, while “Mood For McCann” has a hip, boogaloo vibe that owes a debt to Morgan’s “Sidewinder,” the slickly appealing work of saxophonist Eddie Harris and the music he made with the presumed namesake of the piece, key tickler Les McCann.

The title of this record, which appears to be a shameful pun on “simple melodies,” rings true in the end. Young delivers another behind-the-kit date that’s all about the music rather than the leader’s muscles; a clear sign of musical maturity and selflessness, if ever there was one.

Track Listing: By The Time I Get To Phoenix; Free Wheelin’; Ghost Of A Chance; Roxanne; Grantstand; Best Thing For You Is Me; Bird Bath; Mood For McCann; Easy Living.

thejazzword.blogspot.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2012

Jordan Young – Cymbal Melodies

2012 Posi-Tone

New York-based drummer Jordan Young delves into the classic sounds of organ jazz for his Posi-Tone debut Cymbal Melodies. With the inimitable Brian Charette manning the B3, Avi Rothbard on guitar and Joe Sucato on saxophone for four tunes, Young creates interesting twists on tunes that might be considered unlikely candidates for the record’s soulful vibe. “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” and The Police classic “Roxanne” are dressed up with a tasteful sense of funk and swing. Other tracks like Grant Green’s “Grantstand” and Young’s original “Mood for McCann” fit the bill for this feel-good collection.

Rothbard and Charette know the language well and deliver sizzling solos throughout, most notably on the up-tempo version of “Easy Living.” Young demonstrates schooled diversity, digging in convincingly on a range of styles and staying focused on the groove.
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One of the best organ trio albums I’ve heard in a while is by drummer Jordan Young’s Cymbal Melodies (Posi-Tone). Too many albums of this sort are overly moody or too candy pop. This one is just right—upbeat, groovy and melodic. And there are superb tracks here: By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, Lee Morgan’sFree Wheelin’ and Grant Green’sGrantstand as well as originals and other standards. Backing Young are Brian Charette on organ, Avi Rothbard on guitar and Joe Sucato on saxophone. Shades of the Mighty Burner, organist Charles Earland.

thejazzbreakfast.com

And the organ trios with a bit of added saxophone just keep coming… This one is led by drummer Young with Brian Charette on organ. Avi Rothbard adds some guitar and Joe Sucato is the saxophonist.

The book is pretty straight-ahead readings of classic guitar and organ material from the likes of Lee Morgan and Grant Greene with some covers including Jimmy Webb’s By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Bacharach’s Raindrops Keep Falling… and Sting’s Roxanne.

Pleasant enough small combo grooving that could have been made at any time in the last half century.

lucidculture.wordpress.com

It’s been too long without a B3 record here. Luckily, drummer Jordan Young’s new one Cymbal Melodies is just out on Posi-tone. The title is ironic since Young plays this one very low-key and in the pocket: there are cymbals here but they’re typically providing judiciously whispery atmospherics rather than ostentatiously whirling sonic snowstorms. Recorded in a single day last winter in Brooklyn, this is mid 60s-style gutbucket jazz-lounge stuff, a sometimes tersely robust, sometimes contemplative soundtrack for gin-fueled conviviality. As with Young’s previous release, the ubiquitously original Brian Charette plays organ alongside guitarist Avi Rothbard and saxophonist Joe Sucato.

They open with a jauntily swinging roller-rink version of Wichita Lineman, veering in and out of a jazz waltz with tastily bluesy guitar over a vamp as it fades out. Lee Morgan’s Free Wheelin’ revisits a jazz waltz rhythm with carefree sax, terse guitar and one of Charette’s trademark spinning, distantly carnivalesque solos. They tackle a couple of ballads, giving Ghost of a Chance a purist bluesiness, strutting their way through a sax-and-drums version of Best Thing for You Is Me

They reinvent the Police’s Roxanne as a clave tune – it’s better than the original. Grant Green’s Grandstand sticks to the oldschool afterwork party vibe, right down to Young’s martial volleys. There are also a couple of solid Young originals here: Bird Bath, a catchy blend of Booker T. groove and lush Charette melodicism, and the pulsing, bluesy Mood for McCann. The album closes with a briskly walking take on Easy Living, with a tip of the hat to Art Farmer. The only miss here is an attempt to redeem a cloying early 70s easy-listening radio hit as a swing tune: epic fail. With all the great songs out there, the choice of that one is the only mystery here: otherwise, the tunes, if not the cymbals, hit you upside the head in a good way.

somethingelsereviews.com

A few years ago Pat Metheny made a solo guitar “covers” record What’s It All About, a record I adore as much for the melodies he picked as how he nursed them. In discussing the idea behind the album. Metheny said,

I was born in 1954 and all of these songs were songs from the Top 40 during my childhood and early teen years. It was a period when harmony and melody were still important and viable elements in popular music. Every one of these songs has something going on that is just hip on musical level, no matter how you cut it. These are all pieces that have stuck with me over the years.

This was truly a golden era of the pop songwriter, and one of the most successful songwriter teams, because they were one of the best, was melody maker Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David. Metheny did in fact cover one of their famous songs, “Alfie,” but any of another of their hits could have fit on that collection: “The Look of Love,” “Walk On By,” “Close To You,” “Always Something There To Remind Me,” “Do You Know The Way To San Jose,” and so on.

From the time of Tin Pan Alley, good melodies have made great fodder for jazz musicians, and one particular jazz drummer from Detroit recently tapped the Bacharach/David mother lode for his upcoming second release Cymbal Melodies. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” the 1969, Oscar-winning chart topper as sung by B.J. Thomas, is handled in a creative way by Young and his band.

Young makes the song a tale of three rhythms, starting with boogaloo, moving on to a James Brown funk cadence and then shifting to the double-time swing hinted at earlier. Ace organist Brian Charette, a veteran of Lou Donaldson’s bands, is well suited for this task, stating that classic melody for a couple of go around before holding down chords while Young briefly erupts on his trap kit. Later, the organist settles in on the harmony as guitarist Avi Rothbard steps to the fore with scorching notes and egged on by the increasing intensity of Charette and Young that brings the song to a rousing ending.

Hal David, as we all know now, passed away Saturday at the ripe old age of 91. But his songs, his conversational lyrics, will always remain fresh and youthful to folks like Pat Metheny, Jordan Young…and me.

jazzwrap.blogspot.com

jazzandblues.blogspot.com

Jordan Young is a drummer leading a group on this recording that features Brian Charette on organ, Avi Rothbard on guitar and Joe Sucato on tenor saxophone. Young is a subtle drummer, using shades of texture and nuance instead of dramatic loud playing. The album is a very solid mainstream jazz session melding pop music, the earworm melody of “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” which flirts with cheese but never quite succumbs and “Roxanne” which is played a seductive and slithering funk, weaving in and out of the song, developing a nice feature for Sucato. The groups jazz roots are firmly planted, with a fine interpretation of Grant Green’s “Grantstand” taken as a fast trio performance with nice guitar soloing. Also interesting is “The Best Thing for Me Is You” where organ and guitar sit out, leaving Young on brushes and Sucato building deep and dark tones from his tenor saxophone, taking a unique and quite successful duo approach. The group ends the album with three trio pieces, all uptempo, anchored by the Young original “Mood for McCann” which deftly adds elements for soul to an already simmering stew.