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

Michel Petrucciani Trio – Jazz Club Montmartre, CPH 1988

Michel Petrucciani was a monster of a piano player. Every album I can think of that has him playing on it is an absolute gem. And so it goes with Jazz Club Montmartre – CPH 1988. Captured live with an unbelievable trio of Petrucciani, Gary Peacock (bass) and Roy Haynes (drums), the music practically jumps out of the speakers. The interplay between these three masters is immediately evident, with zig-zagging grooves, tempo shifts, musical quotes and more happening all at once, it’s amazing to take in. Enjoy it when you hear it, and trust me, you’ll be hearing this often.

Holly Cole – Dark Moon (Rumpus Room Records)

Holly Cole doesn’t put out enough records. Between her taste for quirky ensembles, her penchant for oddball song selections and her top tier choice in sidemen, those albums that she does put out are always a treat. So, when Dark Moon finally crossed my desk, I excitedly popped it straight into the CD player. As any fan of Holly Cole’s knows, she likes the acoustic bass way, way, way up front in the mix, which gives her albums a very dark, lush vibe, and Dark Moon is no different. There’s also the usual mix of standards (“Moon River”), lesser-known gems from the Great American Songbook (Irving Berlin’s “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”) and pop classics (“Walk Away Renee”). If anything is different on Dark Moon, it’s Cole’s willingness to change course so often throughout the course of the album. “No Moon at All” swings quite conventionally, with a great harmonica solo from Chicago’s Howard Levy. “Where Flamingoes Fly” gets an unexpected bump in tempo that works really nicely. All in all, Dark Moon is a lovely surprise that I’m glad I get to share with you!

Jacob Wutzke – You Better Bet (Cellar Music)

To me, one of the most slept on bands in Jazz history is the Tony Williams Quintet of the late 80s and early 90s. An astoundingly talented unit with a couple of future all-stars, the Blue Note albums by that unit are uniformly good. So, it was amazing to stumble onto an album in 2025 that pays tribute to that group from Montreal drummer Jacob Wutzke. Joined by bassist Ira Coleman, who played with Williams often, Wutzke assembled a band on You Better Bet that feels influenced by Tony’s groups, but never tries to blindly copy them. Trumpeter Rachel Therrien and saxophonist Lucas Dubovik make for an exceptional front line, and the rhythm section of Bryn Roberts (piano) alongside Coleman and Wutzke cooks. You Better Bet is split evenly between Williams’ compositions and Wutzke’s own tunes, and Wutzke holds his own. “Hop on Down” even sounds like it should have been written by Williams. True story: someone just walked into my office and said, “man, sorry to bother you, but this is good.” Darn straight it is.