New Releases Spotlight: Week of July 11, 2016

This week in the Music Lounge, our music director Paul Abella reviews three new releases!

Hey everybody!  Let’s take a look at three fantastic new releases that have started getting spun on WDCB in the last couple of weeks…

West Coast trumpeter and big band leader Wayne Bergeron’s got a new disc that you’ve been hearing on WDCB as of late.  It’s called Full Circle, and it’s tasty.  Featuring some monster A-listers like Alan Pasqua, Peter Erskine and Bob Sheppard, this band came to play on a bunch of Bergeron’s challenging charts.  Standouts include "Seasoned Traveler," the Latin-flavored title track, and Sammy Nestico’s "A Pair of Aces."

 

It’s been a while since Brad Mehldau’s last release, so his latest, Blues and Ballads, is a welcome new addition to the ‘DCB Jazz library.  As usual, Brad is joined by bassist Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard on drums.  The emphasis on this disc is clearly ballads, with lush interpretations of "I Concentrate on You," "These Foolish Things" and (since it’s a Brad Mehldau album) something from the Beatles’ "And I Love Her."  The tempo does come up a click or two on Charlie Parker’s "Cheryl" as Mehldau and company do a nice job on it. 
 

The New York supergroup One For All is back at it with their new disc on Smoke Sessions Records, The Third Decade.  Former Chicagoans John Webber and Eric Alexander are joined by trumpeter Jim Rotondi, trombonist Steve Davis, pianist David Hazeltine and drummer Joe Farnsworth for a swingin’ disc filled to the brim with original material.  They do a nice job on the lone standard here, "It’s Easy To Remember," playing it beautifully.  The rest of the program is smartly played hard bop in the mold of countless early to mid-’60s Blue Note sessions, and it all grooves nicely.  I’m looking forward to getting to share this one with you!

Next time, we’ll be back to take a look at the latest from Brian Charette and Chicagoan Dan Cray!  ‘Til then…keep your ears open!