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

Emmet Cohen – Vibe Provider (Mack Avenue)

Pianist Emmet Cohen put the Covid pandemic of 2020-21 to great use, putting together a web series called Live at Emmet’s Place that put Emmet together with all sorts of Jazz luminaries, gave Jazz listeners a whole lot of live music to check out, and put the world on notice that if they didn’t know already, Cohen is a fantastic pianist with enough depth, skill and passion to dig into our music from myriad angles. Vibe Provider features Cohen with his preferred trio format for the majority of the album, with Philip Norris on the bass, either Kyle Poole or Joe Farnsworth on the drums. On three songs, Tivon Pennicott (tenor saxophone) and Bruce Harris (trumpet) are along for the ride, and on two of those, they’re also joined by the legendary Frank Lacy on trombone. “Vibe Provider” finds Cohen stretching into some new and more modern territory, and “Unblock the Love” sounds about as close to an R&B-tinged Jazz groove as I’ve heard him get yet. “Lion Song” sounds like the excellent neo-traditional pianist that I’ve grown to love in the past decade and change, and the three selections from the Great American Songbook on the album, “Surrey with the Fringe On Top,” “”If This Isn’t Love,” and “Time on My Hands,” may not shock, but they also don’t at all disappoint.

Bria Skonberg – What It Means (Cellar Music)

Trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg recently released a new album, What It Means, on the Canadian Cellar Music label. This is her most disciplined album in ages, which is interesting, with the focus largely on her New Orleans heritage (“Cornet Chop Suey,” “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”), and a renewed spotlight on her trumpet playing, which is fantastic on the excellent take on “Comes Love,” for just one example. The rest of the band on What it Means is cooking, too. Tenor saxophonist Rex Gregory definitely earns a shout out for some excellent solos, and trombonist Ethan Santos throws down a mean, if short, solo on Skonberg’s “Elbow Bump.” Pianist Chris Pattishall, bassist Grayson Brockamp and the awesome drummer Herlin Riley keep the thump front and center throughout the album, and the highlights on What it Means make this a gem of a disc.

Elias Haslanger & Mike Sailors – Elias Haslanger Meets Mike Sailors (Bandstand Presents Records)

Texas Tenor Saxophonist Elias Haslanger has joined forces with trumpeter Mike Sailors for a barnburner of a new album called, what else, Elias Haslanger Meets Mike Sailors. The liner notes indicate that they must have met a handful of times before, and the chemistry between the two of them (and the rest of the band, for that matter) proves that to be the case. Bassist Ryan Hagler and drummer Daniel Dufour do a great job throughout, and there are three pianists playing on the album, with Andy Langham, Ross Margitza and Eddy Hobizal each taking turns on the piano bench. Keen WDCB listeners will recognize Haslanger’s name; his Church on Monday band is a favorite for quite a few of us at the station. But, I gotta tell you, this quintet is just as hot, if maybe not as greasy as the other group in question. The band is right in the pocket, the solos are aggressive, and I’ve been bobbing my head all morning while listening to this disc. Heck, we even had a listener from Austin write in reminding us that the disc had just been released, and just how good it is (he wasn’t wrong…thanks Tim!).