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Walt Weiskopf: Overdrive (2014)

Since making his first two records on the independent Iris label back in the early ’90s, Walt Weiskopf has staked a claim as one of the most advanced and iconic tenor saxophonists in jazz. However, even as he went on to record one great record after another for Criss Cross beginning in 1993, Weiskopf remained under the radar of most listeners and seldom even registered on most critics polls.

Over the past several years his profile has risen via regular road work with the groupSteely Dan. What is great about this particular role is that within the framework of a popular touring act, there still is plenty of space for Weiskopf to exert himself musically. Although it’s been four long years since his last Criss Cross date, See the Pyramid, Weiskopf has fortunately joined the fold at Posi-Tone and his debut for the label is yet another singular release in his distinguished catalog.

Weiskopf is a talented improviser, but his real strengths have also always come in his compositional genius. This is no less the case with this new effort. And like his greatest work, Weiskopf always sounds best when he fills his ensembles with other lead voices. That signature blend of angular melodies is there at the get-go of “The Path is Narrow,” with Weiskopf’s tenor speaking in tandem with Yotam Silberstein‘s guitar. The upbeat vibe of “Like Mike” trades the guitar unison with the vibes of Behn Gillece, reminding one of the great teaming of Weiskopf and Joe Locke on the Criss Cross set Anytown. During his solo, the tenor saxophonist steams forward with a rush of quicksilver ideas that seem to be bursting at the seams. Then the tempo switches to cut time after a restating of the theme, leading to some collective interplay between Weiskopf and Silberstein.

Providing the perfect bookend to complement the previously penned “Song for My Mother,” the lovely “Waltz for Dad” includes a nice melodic hook at the end of the leading phrase. Drummer Donald Edwards a mainstay of the Weiskopf fold for the past several albums, boots things along nicely as pianist Peter Zak makes his own piquant statement with sly backing lines provides by Weiskopf and Gillece. 

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WALT WEISKOPF/Overdrive: Delightful. A modern day cat that can deliver the daddio without the pretension. A driving, swinging straight ahead sax led session, this cat can blow and wail up a storm of late night oomph that makes you wonder where all the energy comes from. The back up crew is right in step making this a winner throughout. By all means, check it out.
8126 

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Walt Weiskopf is a “man of many colors,” to take from the title of one of his previous recordings.

The tenor saxophonist has been featured in the big bands of Buddy Rich and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

His diverse sideman credits include work with Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan and Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy.

His instruction books like “Intervallic Improvisation” have been used and recommended by saxophone greats James Moody and Michael Brecker for broadening the horizons of jazz improvisation.

Weiskopf has passed his knowledge along as instructor at the Eastman School, Temple University, and starting this Fall at New Jersey City University.

But to hear Walt Weiskopf play is simply the main event. His new recording, Overdrive, from Posi-Tone Records, provides us with an energized listen to the art of improvisation.

He’s assembled a sextet for his 13th recording as leader, with vibraphonist Behn Gillece, bassist David Wong, guitarist Yotam Silberstein, drummer Donald Edwards and pianist Peter Zak, featured on two previous Weiskopf outings, “See The Pyramid” and “Day In Night Out” (Criss Cross).

“Overdrive” is made up of all Weiskopf originals save one.

“The Path Is Narrow,” with the opening statement in tandem from the leader and guitarist Silberstein, sets a wide open head bobbin’ pace for pianist Zak to show his stuff. Weiskopf demonstrates his is a pent up house waiting to be heard.

I suspect “Like Mike” to be a tribute to Michael Brecker. This original blisters with the tenorist setting a furious pace. The group delights in keeping up, with Silberstein showing his guitar mettle at the out.

Walt shows us how pretty a tenor saxophone sounds on his “Jewel And A Flower”. It gives the listener some soft pretty moments to ponder.

“Night Vision” is a 20/20 listen to exploring what’s ahead, though unknown, making us want to be part of the journey. The leader hands off to some nice moments with Gillece’s vibraphone and Siberstein’s guitar.

Zak’s piano chops are first rate. Bassist David Wong takes us further, showing this group knew the route all along.

The angular title track, “Overdrive”, with it’s stop time intro shows the muscle of Weiskopf’s playing, inventive chops cutting a path  the rest of the musicians thoroughly enjoy taking.

The relaxed feel of “Waltz For Dad” is a group dance, highlighted by Gillece’s Bobby Hutcherson feel, leading into some further sax steps as piano, bass and drums show us some new moves too.

“Four Horsemen” has these six riders at full speed, with Zak’s piano in a gallop, the leader playing with abandon, Gillece’s vibraphone neck and neck and the listener holding on for more.

A “Manteca”-like riff opens “Midwinter Night’s Dream.” No cold feet here as Weiskopf’s hearty blowing is surrounded by the fire of the vibraphonist and pianist. Wong’s bottom and drummer Edwards make this dream come true.

“I don’t see a point for me doing a standard on a record unless there’s some kind of different sound or spin to it,” Weiskopf has said before.

“What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life” was composed by Michel Legrand with lyrics from Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Weiskopf’s arrangement gives this gem a latin feel for the group to cover some new ground. Once again the saxophonist shows his agility in making a standard his own.

“No Biz” closes the date with a straight ahead blowing statement, the kind a band plays when they want you to stay for the next set. I’m sure you will.

“Overdrive” comes out June 10th, just as Weiskopf gears up for a summer long tour with Steely Dan.

   – Gary Walker, WBGO music director

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Walt Weiskopf – Overdrive (Posi-Tone, 2014)

Tenor saxophone player Walt Weiskopf leads a sextet on this album, including Behn Gillece on vibes, Yotam Silberstein on guitar, Peter Zak on piano, David Wong on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. All of these musicians acquit themselves admirably, but is is Weiskopf’s show and his muscular tenor saxophone is the center of attention throughout. Steely modern mainstream jazz is the order of the day and the leader particularly excels on fast paced material like the opening song “The Path Is Narrow” and the composition “Like Mike” which is presumably titled in honor of the late saxophonist Michael Brecker. “Night Vision” and the closer “The Biz” swing mightily, and allow for a round-robin series of solos, highlighting each band member’s talent.

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After a string of well-received dates on the Criss Cross imprint, and a one-off for the Capri label, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf arrives at Posi-Tone with this pleasing sextet date. The music on Overdrive is all original, save for the penultimately-placed cover of Michel Legrand‘s “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?,” and it affirms Weiskopf’s commitment to (mostly) high energy, no-nonsense jazz.

With saxophone, vibraphone, guitar, piano, bass, and drums, this band can be looked at from two different angles: It’s a saxophone-fronted group with an expanded rhythm section, but it’s also an outfit with a saxophone-vibraphone-guitar front line and a standard piano trio rhythm section. It functions both ways, but the latter scenario, which generates the most heat, is the primary mode of operation for this band.

Overdrive hits most of the stylistic targets that listeners have come to expect from modern jazz recordings. Weiskopf locks in with vibraphonist Behn Gillece as the impressive-and-angular “Like Mike” unfolds; he visits in on the blues in Coltrane-esque fashion during “Night Vision”; he delivers a reflective ballad in the form of “Jewel And A Flower,”; and he works the funky-and-choppy angle on the title track. Weiskopf also shows himself to be an exciting and tireless soloist on numbers like the burning “Four Horsemen,” but he’s hardly the only soloist of note on this date. Gillece gets ample space to cut loose, guitaristYotam Silberstein contributes a delightfully devious solo on “Overdrive,” and pianistPeter Zak shines on the peppy “Midwinter Night’s Dream.”

While Weiskopf covers ground that’s often tread upon, he does so in his own way, and his music still offers plenty of surprises. The aforementioned soloists throw curveballs into the mix, “Like Mike” takes a surprising loping swing turn during its final minutes, and “What Are Your Doing The Rest Of Your Life?” is streamlined, metrically altered, and stripped of sentimentality. This is music that meets and defies expectations all at once.

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Walt Weiskopf – Overdrive

BY PETER BACON on 11 JUNE 2014 • ( 0 )

(Posi-Tone PR8126)

Despite the fact that this is his 14th album as leader, Weiskopf might be best known outside of pure jazz circles as the current tenor saxophonist of choice for Steely Dan. As a successor to such luminaries of the most elegantly curved crook as Chris Potter,  Pete Christlieb, Tom Scott and Michael Brecker, you can expect the right mix of power and meticulousness, and that is just what you get.

There is a moment in Like Mike, the second track on this sextet set, when the band goes into a set of Dannish chords, and Weiskopf is joined in the improvisational melee by guitarist Yotam Silberstein, but elsewhere his sometime employers are not discernible as an influence.

All the tunes are Weiskopf originals apart from a Latin-tinged What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?

This is straight-ahead, modern jazz with loads of fast, muscular playing, though the pace does relax forJewel And A Flower, and for Waltz For Dad. The addition of Behn Gillece’s vibraphone to the piano trio and guitar band provides some tasty timbres, and Gillece is especially flavourful on the Waltz.

I doubt Weiskopf will ever reach the popular heights of those Dan predecessors – he is more engaged in educational stuff a lot of the time – but this is still a most enjoyable cruise in overdrive with lots of space to showcase the leader’s no-bullshit approach.

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In his twenties during the 80s, sax ace Walt Weiskopf was already good enough to play for Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Frank Sinatra, but he’s better known as being a member of Steely Dan’s touring band since 2003, and was prominent on that band’s last album, Everything Must Go. That’s him with the memorable aside that kicks off the title song, a Steely Dan saxophone moment the ranks alongside ones by Wayne Shorter, Phil Woods, Pete Christlieb and Chris Potter.

Weiskopf has been more than a valuable sideman, he’s been a composer and leader in his own right at least since his debut Simplicity in ’93, and he’s since produced a string of solid albums in the post-bop vein, including his last one, a live document we savored called Walt Weiskopf Quartet: Live.

Three years after that, Weiskopf is back with his 14th long player, his first for Posi-Tone Records that he calls Overdrive (out June 10, 2014).

If you know about Weiskopf and about Posi-Tone, you know that this is a match made in heaven. The label has a reputation for issuing jazz records of the crisp, melodic and swinging straight-ahead kind, and that’s this saxophonist’s specialty. Save for a lissome, waltzing cover of Michel Legrand’s ballad “What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?”, Overdrive it’s all sturdy, engaging Weiskopf compositions, full of well-considered updates on the classic bop form.

That means plenty of rapid, twisting and sharp heads played in unison, such as the ones that launch “Like Mike,” “Four Horsemen” and “No Biz” They’re typically followed by Weiskopf tearing off into solos that prowess, fragility and nuance, often in the proud tradition of both Rollins and Coltrane but with own chunky tone.

Weiskopf has good choices in who to pair up with on those unison runs. Guitarist Yotam Silberstein and the vastly underrated vibraphonist Behn Gillece do a great job in not only taking turns riding shotgun on those wild rides up and down scales but also push the leader with accomplished solos of their own, along with pianist Peter Zak. David Wong and Donald Edwards supply rock solid rhythm section support.

The post-bop formula is tweaked enough to accommodate some pleasant change ups like the swinging minor key blues number “Night Vision,” the four movement “Waltz For Dad” that features some unusual chord changes, and especially the title song. “Overdrive” has enough rich complexity in the intro alone to leave even his erstwhile employers Walter Becker and Donald Fagen impressed. The main body of song has a rock feel to it, mostly in its gait, but also found in the rough edges of Silberstein’ guitar solo.

Did I mention that Weiskopf is also an author? He’s written a half dozen books on advanced improvisation. But for demonstration purposes, it’s best to spin up one his records and Overdrive is a fine place to start.