Tag: Tom Tallitsch

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Vivid, Catchy, Intense Compositions from Tom Tallitsch

Saxophonist Tom Tallitsch has a strong, diverse and thoroughly enjoyable album, Heads or Tales, out recently with Jared Gold on organ,Dave Allen on guitar and the semi-ubiquitous Mark Ferber on drums. Tallitsch plays with a slightly smoky tone and a light touch, heavy on the nuance which makes him sneaky fast – when he has to drive home a particular phrase, it doesn’t take a lot of effort. The result is impeccable taste: the melodies get plenty of time to breathe here. There are no stampedes to the finish line, but there’s a terrific amount of sympatico playing and strong compositions. Don’t file this one away in the postbop ghetto.

Maybe this is par for course from a guy who can be very allusive, but the album starts off on a bit of a wishy-washy if well-played note with the rhythmically tricky Coming Around, a sort of warmup with lots of steady minor blues scales from Tallitsch and Allen. Then they give you the gem, Tenderfoot, which sounds like a Marc Ribot noir classic, but done as straight-up jazz rather than dramatic, cinematic main title theme. Beginning as a staggered bolero, morphing into a slinky organ boogie lit up by suspenseful staircases by Tallitsch, they swing it through a series of Middle Eastern-tinged riffs and then out with graceful filigrees from Allen. It’s one of the most evocative jazz songs you’ll hear this year.

They follow that up with the briskly walking Double Shot, which is essentially a souped-up blues with Gold at the absolute top of his game as trickster, setting up a satisfying series of alley-oops from Allen early on, harmonizing with Tallitsch and then casually making his way through a cruelly tricky series of right-vs-left rhythms when it’s time for a solo. By contrast, Perry’s Place could be a lakehouse theme – it seems to be the kind of joint where you can start the day at noon with a hot dog and a couple of bloody marys. Contentment and good companionship shine through Allen’s slow, richly judicious solo, Gold’s sunny midsummer chords and then Tallitsch’s methodical arc to a crescendo. Gold goes back to ham it up again in the funk-infused Flat Stanley; later on, The Lummox is Tallitsch’s moment to draw a caricature – in this case, of somebody who’s basically a hopeless doofus even if they have a serious side.

There are three more tunes here. Travel Companion swings with a carefree but purposeful vibe, Tallitsch reaching for the lows on tenor, Gold switching up his pedal rhythm artfully. Dunes vividly depicts a rolling, crepuscular tableau, a suspenseful series of shifts between sax and organ that Allen eventually gets to spice up with additional bounce. The album winds up with Neil Young’s Don’t Let It Bring You Down, done as you would pretty much expect, understatedly and tastefully, after hearing everything that came before. You could call this a good driving record, and it is, but the thought and creativity that went into it obviously transcends that label: the more you hear it, the better it gets. Another winner from Posi-Tone.

steptempest.blogspot.com

For “Heads Or Tales“, his 4th CD as a leader (and first for PosiTone Records), tenor saxophonist Tom Tallitsch convened a group that features Jared Gold (Hammond B-3),Dave Allen (guitar) and Mark Ferber (drums).  Gold’s fine organ work, paired with Allen’s strong single-note lines and supported by Ferber’s insistent percussion, truly set the stage for this music.  Tallitsch has no issue with sharing the spotlight so every player gets his due. Allen shines each time he gets to solo, no more so than on “The Lummox.”   Tallitsch’s tenor style hearkens back to the sounds of early John Coltrane and Don Byas.  You can hear a blues tinge yet he never overplays or just “blows” – his solos “sing”, even on faster tracks such as the high-speed drive of “Double Shot” or the funky, James Brown-influenced “Flat Stanley.”  The ballads, especially “Perry’s Place“, show a tone as sweet as Lester Young and melodic inventions in the manner of Ben Webster.  Yet, Tallitsch is neither a traditionalist nor a throwback.  The rhythms that Gold and Ferber create for these original pieces (the sole exception, the emotionally charged ballad reading of Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down“) are up-to-date without kowtowing to “trendiness.”

No need to flip a coin, “Heads Or Tales” is a winner any way you listen to it.  I continue to be impressed with Jared Gold’s versatility and Mark Ferber’s stunning percussion while Dave Allen, who has released several CDs on Fresh Sounds New Talent, adds a sound that works well with the organ and tenor (his rhythm work is also quite good.)  Tom Tallitsch has created a strong program with a group that would “burn down the house” in a club setting.

www.allaboutjazz.com

Jazz musicians are often lauded for how different they are from one another, but all of the most notable musicians who wear the jazz label actually have one thing in common: expertise in telling a story. When theory, technique and stylistic divisiveness are all removed from the equation, musicians are left with the not-so-simple task of creating aural narratives worth following, and plenty of them can be found on Heads Or Tales.

Tenor saxophonist Tom Tallitsch put together a program of original music that’s chock full of intriguing melodies and strong solo statements, highlighting his abilities as player, composer and sax-wielding storyteller. He zigzag’s his way through fast passages like an expert race car driver, delivers soothing streams of sound, and brings intensity and suspense into the picture. His tenor saxophone voice is neither too bright nor too dark, and his well-balanced sound draws attention at every turn.

Tallitsch, appropriately enough, went with a foursome for his fourth outing as a leader, and each musician brings something different to the date. Drummer Mark Ferber is in the driver’s seat for the majority of the program, acting as an accelerant (“Coming Around”), groove-maker (“Flat Stanley”), stylistic gear shifter (“Double Shot”), and suggestive painter. Organist and label mate Jared Gold is the ultimate colorist and sound sculptor, delivering brilliant musical non sequiturs, liquid lines and engaging solo statements. He’s a tonal chameleon who’s capable of altering his sound at will, and that skill serves the music well. Guitarist Dave Allen’s personality is often overshadowed when the ensemble is moving along at full steam together, but as a soloist, he proves to be a nimble-fingered wonder. Clarity is clearly a priority for Allen, whose lines are always clean and bright.

While the first eight tracks on the album highlight Tallitsch’s writing, he takes on the role of interpreter for an album-ending trip through Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down.” Plenty of musicians might have felt the need to dress this song up in complicated clothing, but Tallitsch keeps things simple, further demonstrating a firm understanding of the art of expression and communication that exists at the very core of this music.

www.emusic.com

Saxophonist Tom Tallitsch leads a quartet that includes organ, guitar and drums, a lineup that conjures the expectation of a grooving, soul-jazz-blues amalgam along the lines of Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Ponder. But Tallitsch is a post-bopper at heart, who plays tenor with the pivoting angularity of Joe Henderson. He is also a fine composer, interested in creating interactions that are more harmonically sophisticated and melodically pliable than the groovy tropes of organ-laden “soul jazz.” Head or Tales benefits from the mating of these virtues.

The absence of a bassist puts some air beneath the ensemble, in part because organist Jared Gold, a mainstay on Posi-Tone label recordings, plays with admirable restraint while fleshing out the rhythm. He has abundant chops, as his hop-scotching solo on “Flat Stanley” demonstrates, but is less inclined than most of his peers to spray-paint songs with colorful blasts of sustained notes from his instrument. Guitarist Dave Allen is likewise attuned to texture — listen to the way he underscores Tallitsch on their unison passages during “Double Shot.”

somethingelsereviews.com

Saxophonist, composer, musical educator, and radio show host Tom Tallitsch keeps busy wearing a variety of hats all revolving around his love of music and the love of sharing his knowledge about it to others. Every couple of years since 2005, he’s been sharing music by making a record, and this week he does so again for the forth time with the issuance of his latest album, Heads Or Tales. His first with Posi-Tone Records, Tallitsch taps into the talents of Posi-Tone stalwarts Mark Ferber (drums) and Jared Gold (organ), as well as up and coming swing specialist Dave Allen (guitar). Don’t be fooled by the line-up, this isn’t a Jimmy Smith/Stanley Turrentine type greasy soul-jazz record; Tallitsch leads this quartet through his eight originals and one cover in a hard bop and advanced bop state of mind, and Gold is the right organist to bring in for such a session. Tunes like “Coming Around” (live video below) and “Double Shot” are uptempo burners that bring out the fire of the participants, while “Perry’s Place” is the best among the gentle numbers, a good spot for Tallitsch’s sensitive Henderson/Shorter sax dialect to express itself. Tallitsch also turns Neil Young’s “Don’t Let It Bring You Down” from a downbeat folk tune to a blues-inflected nocturnal ballad while keeping with the solemn mood of Young’s intent.