Walking the tightrope that is stretched between history and progress is a difficult task for a young jazz musician. During the last five years, Jeremy Pelt has explored many post-war jazz trends, but for his HighNote debut recording he has settled into the acoustic, post-bop format with his regular band that includes the tenor sax of J.D. Allen with the rhythm section of Danny Grissett, piano, Dwayne Burno, bass and Gerald Cleaver, drums. One listen and it is easy to see why he was voted Rising Star on the Trumpet five years in a row by Downbeat and the Jazz Journalists Association.
Saxophonist Lee Konitz began his career in the wake of Charlie Parker but he became arguably the only saxophonist to offer an alternative to Bird's overwhelming influence at the time. It is not surprising then that free-thinking and improvising Konitz would gravitate to the post-modern sensibilities of Ethan Iverson, best known as the pianist in the Bad Plus and a composer of extremely wide range and versatility. Together they offer a wildly creative set list where past and present combine to teeter on the edge of the future.
Mary Stallings enchants audiences around the world with her divine musicality, elegant stage presence, and a voice that is, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, "supple and timeless, encompassing the whole history of music." the New York Times says she's "perhaps the best jazz singer alive today" and her 2013 HighNote recording offers ample proof. With the supremely gifted pianist, composer, arranger Eric Reed as Music Director, Mary offers ten tunes which show the full range of her considerable talents.
Joey DeFrancesco offers a hard-driving disc with a mixture of his own Hammond and the tried and true flavors of his regular bandmates Steve Cotter and Ramon Banda. This swinging threesome references everybody from saxophonist Sonny Rollins ("Way out West") and former boss Miles Davis ("I Don't Wanna Be Kissed") to Thelonious Monk ("Monk's Dream"), putting it's own stamp on this format in straightforward fashion. The band clearly delights in exploring the material, playing off one another and, in the case of DeFrancesco and Cotter, letting their envious chops off the leash.
Honest-to-goodness, real-life jazz singing is almost as rare these days as a nickel cup of coffee. There are far too few remaining practitioners of the honorable art of singing good songs with the lift and the swing but Ernestine Anderson is one of those rare beings. Years of singing and living have shaped a vocalist who can make your heart cry one moment and dance the next. Poignant ballads, sassy swing, and down-home blues-Ernestine Anderson is master of them all. Recorded live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in NYC. Features Houston Person on the tenor saxophone.
New Orleans-born LaVerne Butler's voice exudes an established confidence and impeccable taste. Eschewing scatological pyrotechnics, she relies instead on nuances, caressing syllables and imbuing all sorts of speculative meaning into rests in a most sensuous, though never sensationalistic, way. With her accompanist-Music Director Bruce Barth, LaVerne turns her attentions to a group of standards and jazz tunes that highlight not just her sexy ribbon of a voice, but which also give her accompanying quartet plenty of space to show their wares.
On THE TIME OF THE SUN, Tom and his quintet once again reaffirm their place at the top of the post-bop mainstream. Of course, Harrell's often beautiful, always rigorous solos are to the fore but Harrell allows each member of his band to shine and nobody is relegated to second fiddle. Whether it be on ballads or driving pieces, the group's expositions, interactions and song development is exuberant and extensive, devoid of gimmicks and are delivered in an energetic, yet disciplined and sophisticated manner.
Steve Turre demonstrates once again why he is one of the first call trombonists in the world on his fifth recording for HighNote Records, Woody's Delight. This record is an aptly named homage to his mentor and former boss, Woody Shaw. Steve offers an intensely interesting program featuring five of the finest trumpeters in jazz today Jon Faddis, Wallace Roney, Claudio Roditi, Freddie Hendrix and Chocolate Armenteros.
