What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella
Miki Yamanaka – Breathe (Cellar Music)
Pianist Miki Yamanaka has expanded her long running trio featuring bassist Tyrone Allen II and drummer Jimmy MacBride into a quartet with the addition of saxophonist Nicole Glover. The results can be heard on Ms Yamanaka’s latest album, Breathe. Yamanaka has long been a talented and interesting pianist, but now with another voice to bounce ideas off of, the group takes on a whole new character. And when that second voice is as talented as Nicole Glover is, the results get quite interesting and quick. The dialogue on “Wolfe” might be worth the price of admission alone. “James Williams” is written for the brilliant and underappreciated pianist, and Akiko Tsuruga’s “Dancing Cats” is a funky and fun boogaloo. More rambunctious cuts like “Tucson” and “Pre School” make this album a lot of fun to listen to, and make this music director and morning show host hope that this quartet is touring soon. Because however good this studio record is, and it is very good, live, you know this band is going to be even more fiery, and interact at an even higher level. Until that happens, though, Breathe should keep listeners pretty well satisfied.
Josh Lawrence – Philly Twisted (Posi-Tone Records)
Posi-Tone Records excels at putting together youngish and swinging ensembles with talented players that can romp through any number of originals and Jazz classics with ease. Josh Lawrence’s latest, Philly Twisted, fits that formula to a “T.” With a few notable exceptions, Philly Twisted feels like a mid-60’s Blue Note record in many ways. The high energy swingers like “Philly Twisted,” or “One Battle After Another,” the mid-tempo boogaloo that is bassist Boris Kozlov’s “Rittenhouse Romp,” or the actual Blue Note chestnuts like Hank Mobley’s “East of the Village” or Horace Silver’s “Where You At?” all show a deep love and affection for the classic Blue Note aesthetic from all six members of this group. Lawrence and Kozlov are joined by Willie Morris on tenor sax, Altin Sencalar on trombone, Art Hirahara on piano and Rudy Royston on drums. On those rare moments where Philly Twisted reaches for something a little different, the results are interesting as on “Ola’s Bolero,” charming and funky on the short but effective “Black Lillies” and downright fiery on a great rendition of Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant Corners.” All in all, Philly Twisted is an excellent effort from Josh Lawrence and company.
Kelly Green – Eat Your Greens (self-produced)
Vocalist and pianist Kelly Green is back with her sixth album, Eat Your Greens. She’s long used the same rhythm section mates, bassist Luca Soul Rosenfeld and drummer Evan Hyde. On Eat Your Greens, she’s expanded the trio to include a horn section on seven of the nine tracks, including Wallace Roney Jr on trumpet, Steve Wilson and/or Scott Robinson on saxophones, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and Elijah J. Thomas on flute. My ears truly perked up on the second track, a lovely arrangement of “The Very Thought of You.” Green’s pianistic and compositional chops are on full display on the disc’s three instrumentals, “By the Way,” “Eat Your Greens” and, ironically enough, “Tongue Twister.” The lovely rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Solitude” most certainly earns a nod here, too. I don’t know if Kelly Green makes a case for eating your greens, but she certainly has nine very good reasons for listening to them.
