What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella

Brian Ho – Bridges (Cellar Music)

If West Coast organist Brian Ho ever asks for my advice, he’ll get this: put out more albums and tour more. Mostly because, outside of his 2012 album Organic, I’d nearly forgotten about him until I heard him in person at a club in San Jose, CA in 2019. There, I was blown away by his boundless energy, his driving funk, and his interplay with some excellent local players. More people should get to hear and see that level of groove and musicianship! Fast forward to 2024, and I am holding his new album, Bridges, in my hand. I knew he was a great player. Any Jazz organ fan that sees guitarist Paul Bollenback and Byron “Wookie” Landham along for the ride knows that this is going to be a serious album (Bollenback and Landham were Joey DeFrancesco’s trio-mates for a long, long time). So, I excitedly dropped this one into the CD player, sank into my couch and cranked the volume up. I was not disappointed. Neither were the neighbors. “Essence” kicks things off with a funky bang. “Yearnin’ for Your Love” and “Saving All My Love” check the box for Charles Earland styled, blues drenched, swingin’ takes on pop tunes. Bud Powell’s “John’s Abbey” gives us a glimpse into Ho’s rock-solid BeBop playing, and Brian’s own “Ellisin’” takes us down to New Orleans for a smile inducing greasy romp. In fact, “smile inducing greasy romp” might be a pretty succinct way to describe Bridges as a whole.

Lauren Henderson – Sombras (Brontosaurus Records)

Vocalist and composer Lauren Henderson is back with a new album, Sombras. This time out, she’s composed all of the music heard on the album, and she assembled a fantastic band to play it, too. Vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Sean Mason, bassist Jonathan Michel and drummer Joe Dyson are both sympathetic and grooving, moving between swinging, straight and Latin-tinged rhythms seamlessly. To me, Henderson has always been a fascinating vocalist, singing in English and Spanish with ease, and blessed with a voice in a lower register that stands out from most other Jazz vocalists making music in the present day. “Tormento” is a tour de force with an interesting form and great solos from both Mason and Ross. “Shadows” has an interesting lyric and a dark timbre that matches her voice nicely. As mentioned previously, I’m a fan of Ms. Henderson’s work. Sombras might stand out as her best yet.

Planet D Nonet – Echoes of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington, vol. 2 (Eastlawn)

Detroit’s Planet D Nonet has returned with a second collection of Duke Ellington songs, Echoes of Harlem. This collection, like the previous one, is filled with high points, which is easy to do if you’re going to play lots of Duke Ellington songs and stay relatively close to the original arrangements. “Happy Anatomy,” “Echoes of Harlem” and “The Shepherd” all especially feel like Ellington, full of swagger and attitude, and as cool as anything. RJ Spangler and T-Bone Paxton have a good thing going here, with two volumes of Ellington music, and one dedicated to Billy Strayhorn. If they ask me, I’d recommend keeping this trend going. After all, they’re not going to run out of Ellington music any time soon, and they’re doing a nice job with it so far. Looking forward to volume three!