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

Ulysses Owens, Jr. – Kind of Grunge (Cellar Music)

A couple of years back, you might have noticed me playing a down-to-earth and hard swinging version of Nirvana’s "Heart Shaped Box" here and there. For me, and plenty of other fans of both Jazz and 90’s Alternative Rock, it was a cool experiment by a very talented young band led by an exceptional drummer and educator, Ulysses Owens, Jr. But, for Ulysses Owens, Jr., it must’ve been a lightbulb above the head moment, because earlier this year, he announced that his band, Generation Y, would be doing an entire album of Grunge (a very specific strain of 90’s hard rock) anthems. Kind of Grunge is that album, and now that it’s in my hands, I’m going to tell you about it. Frankly, not all of this works. But the songs that hit, hit hard, so let’s focus on the good stuff. The good stuff starts with this great young band. Outside of trumpeter Benny Benack III, you might not recognize many of these names, but you’ll want to hunt these cats out after you hear them blow. Langston Hughes II is the alto saxophonist, Tyler Bullock is playing piano, Thomas Milovac is the bassist, and Dan Wilson shows up occasionally on guitar and/or percussion. The good stuff continues with the fact that the source material is better than you might have expected: Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins wrote great melodies, and the guys in Soundgarden regularly wrote tricky songs in odd meters. And while Leadbelly makes an appearance by association, he was no slouch, either. So, set a young and curious band loose in a songbook full of tunes that no one has tackled yet where the possibilities are endless, and you end up with an album chock full of interesting arrangements that no one was asking for or expecting. Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” gets turned into a fleet footed boogaloo. Soundgarden’s “Spoonman” heads down to New Orleans before morphing into a swinging jam. Pearl Jam’s “Even Flow” and Alice in Chains’ “Would?” both benefit from flourishes of Latin percussion. Stone Temple Pilots’ “Interstate Love Song” gets the most overt Jazz makeover, as it gets grafted onto Miles Davis’ “All Blues.” I’m assuming that Ulysses Owens, Jr and company had fun with that version of “Heart Shaped Box” a couple of years back, because there’s clearly a lot going into these arrangements on Kind of Grunge. Which, you know, is kind of cool.

Rob Dixon – Naptown Soul (Strikezone Records)

For saxophonist Rob Dixon, the key word is funky. On his latest album, Naptown Soul, he’s assembled a band that knows how to get good and funky. Dave Stryker’s guitar, Sam Fribush’s organ and the drums of Richard “Sleepy” Floyd complement Dixon’s vision and the results speak for themselves. Dixon wrote half of the songs on Naptown Soul, and two of the other songs come from Indianapolis native Wes Montgomery. “Bumpin’ on Sunset” and “Naptown Blues” are both full of spark, zest and reverence for their author, and not only does Dixon sound great on them, but it’s clear that Dave Stryker is having fun getting to go to town on these classics as well. On “Four One,” Dixon sets up a nice late night groove. The opening “Sly Vibe” is one of those severely funky jams that makes your head start bobbing whether you want it to or not, and “Fields and Valleys” sounds like it could be a JB’s cut if only it had a trombone player joining in on the fun. Bottom line: Naptown Soul is a groove no matter what town you’re in.

Kevin Fort & Andy Brown – Chiaroscuro (JeruJazz Records)

Pianist Kevin Fort and guitarist Andy Brown went into the studio this year and recorded Chiaroscuro. Eight songs. Four written by Kevin Fort, and four standards. All of them sound as great as you’d expect. The interplay between Fort and Brown is lovely to hear, whether on the uptempo numbers where they can dig in, like Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” or Charlie Parker’s “Yardbird Suite,” or on the more mellow moments, such as Kevin’s “Chiaroscuro” or the old standard “For Heaven’s Sake.” No matter where you find yourself on this album, you’re bound to be pleased with what you’re hearing. And if you’d like a taste of this great album, be sure to tune into WDCB on Thursday, September 3rd at noon as we present a live broadcast from PianoForte Studios in Chicago for the album release of Chiaroscuro!