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

Tito Carrillo – Urbanessence (Origin)

Fun fact: the weekend that trumpeter Tito Carrillo recorded Urbanessence, I played the late-night shows opposite his group at Andy’s. I got to see this group up close and personal, crushing every twist and turn on these compositions, swinging and grooving effortlessly, and bringing intensity and excitement to every song in their sets. So, as you can imagine, I’ve been looking forward to the finished product for the last year or so. And that band is top-notch: Troy Roberts (sax), Ben Lewis (keys), Clark Sommers (bass), Jay Sawyer (drums) and Victor Gonzalez (congas). There is the undeniable influence of Roy Hargrove and early Wynton Marsalis upon the playing and compositions here, with “Fire & Ice” and “Justice & Mercy” being among my favorites.

David Bloom and Cliff Colnot – Shadow of a Soul (Fire and Form Records)

Mention the name David Bloom to Jazz musicians in Chicago and around the world, and they’ll immediately think of the Bloom School of Jazz, which has been teaching Jazz musicians how to improvise and how to work in a group setting for decades. But beyond being a dedicated teacher and mentor, Bloom is also a gifted player and composer. It’s those composing skills that are front and center on the new album, Shadow of a Soul. Co-credited with arranger Cliff Colnot, the credits list here reads like who’s who on the Chicago Jazz scene from the past couple of years. The music on Shadow of a Soul is beautiful and comfortable, and feels like Bloom was trying to write some music to ease him through a worldwide pandemic in 2020 and 2021, which is a theory that the liner notes bare out.

Eric Jacobson – Discover (Origin)

Milwaukeean Eric Jacobson has assembled a fantastic band with pianist Bruce Barth and Chicagoans Geof Bradfield (sax), Dennis Carroll (bass) and George Fludas (drums) for an outstanding new release called Discover. Discover is a mix of original material, Jazz classics (Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma”) and standards (“I Hear a Rhapsody,” “Old Folks”). All eight selections on the album are fantastic with “The Unknown” and “New Combinations” being personal favorites.