New Releases Spotlight: Week of June 5, 2017

This week in the Music Lounge, our music director Paul Abella reviews three new discs being played on WDCB!

And as a special treat I’m tackling three drummer-led discs that have recently been released!

Of all of the tribute albums that could come out in 2017, few make more sense than drummer Louis Hayes’ latest, Serenade for Horace.  Louis was Horace Silver’s drummer for years, playing on the original versions of some of Silver’s most famous tunes, including "Ecaroh," "Señor Blues" and "Song for My Father."  Hayes reinterprets those classics with an outstanding band which includes Josh Evans on the trumpet, Abraham Burton playing saxophone, Steve Nelson on the vibes, David Bryant in the hot seat, and as a very special guest on "Song for My Father," Gregory Porter. It’s a nice remembrance of Horace Silver, and a victory lap for Louis Hayes. 

Another drummer, Peter Erskine, has a new acoustic disc out with his “New Trio” (Vardan Ovsepian on keys and bassist Damian Erskine), called In Praise of Shadows.  A distinct change of pace from his latest “Dr. Um” releases that found him squarely in contemporary waters, In Praise of Shadows sounds like Erskine’s ECM albums, with a large dollop of his time in Weather Report thrown into the mix.  A few of the compositions are contemplative while still being knotty, others are sparse and intriguing.  I think you’ll enjoy this one a lot!

Here’s an interesting idea: take four master musicians (drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Larry Grenadier, keyboardist John Medeski and guitarist John Scofield) who are now living in the Hudson River Valley – the album’s called Hudson - and turn them loose in the studio with a few originals and some classic rock tunes mostly derived from the area near Woodstock. "Lay Lady Lay" with a reggae groove?  Awesome. Scofield playing some of the most laid back, in the pocket stuff I’ve ever heard him play?  Amazing.  I can’t get enough.  You won’t be able to, either. 

Next week in the Music Lounge, we’ll check out three more new ones!   ‘Til then, keep your ears open!