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

November 27th, 2023

Mike DiRubbo – Inner Light (TRR Collective)

I love being pleasantly surprised when I pop a disc into the CD player. I knew Mike DiRubbo’s name, I knew I’d heard him, and I remembered him being a solid saxophonist. But I wasn’t expecting Inner Light to be a funky, greasy and grooving affair that immediately brings to mind the classic Jack McDuff Quartet recordings of the early 60s. Flanked by Andrew Renfroe on guitar, Brian Charette sitting at the mighty B3 and Jongkuk Kim behind the drums, DiRubbo assembled an excellent and empathetic band here, and the results speak for themselves. “The Muse” is a beautiful jazz waltz, “Love The Same” is some classic 70’s R&B inflected jazz and “JK in NYC” gets the festivities started off just right. I love records like Inner Light, and it’s nice to get one more of these into rotation before the year’s end.


Jerry Bergonzi – Extra Extra (Savant)

Veteran saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi has a new album out on Savant Records with an excellent cast of characters called Extra Extra. Joined by Sheryl Bailey on guitar, Phil Grenadier on trumpet (on three tracks, anyway), Harvie S on bass and Luter Gray on the drums, Extra Extra is an album that’s heavy on the swinging and easy on the ears. “Loudzee,” “Czech Mate” and “They Knew” all make excellent use of trumpeter Phil Grenadier. “Extra Extra” is a cool tune with some fun unison playing and “Obama” is a memorable Be-Boppish tune.


Art Hirahara – Echo Canyon (Posi-Tone)

Pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston have been something of a house rhythm section for Posi-Tone Records for as long as I can remember. And usually, when Hirahara puts out a disc on his own, there’s a guest artist to be seen and heard in the mix, too (one of my favorite saxophonists, Donny McCaslin, has been that artist on numerous occasions), so it’s nice to see the three of them making music on their own on Hirahara’s latest album, Echo Canyon. It’s a lovely album filled with impressionistic playing that sounds like the soundtrack to a picturesque drive on a crisp Fall day. The songs here all come from the pens of either Hirahara or Kozlov, and Hirahara’s tunes evoke the feel of Keith Jarrett’s earliest trio sessions with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian, especially “Echo Canyon” and “To the Sky.” Things heat up a bit with Kozlov’s “Shura,” and overall, Echo Canyon is a genuinely lovely listen.

The Real Deal
McAninch Arts Center