What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella
Hey everyone – since we’re in the middle of our spring pledge drive this week on WDCB, I figured I’d share the CDs that we’re offering for your $120 contribution. You can make yours at WDCB.org/donate or by calling 630-942-JAZZ. Thanks!
Chicago Jazz Orchestra & Bobby Broom – More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery
Tribute albums to the icons can be bold moves. After all, you’re inviting comparisons to genius. With a tribute to Wes Montgomery, the challenges become legion. On top of the melodic and harmonic fluidity that we expect from a Jazz master, Montgomery also had an enigmatic sound and a unique technique. Add an orchestra into the mix, and now you also invite comparisons to Oliver Nelson, Claus Ogerman and Don Sebesky. Luckily for all parties involved, Jeff Lindberg, the leader of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and guitarist Bobby Broom didn’t simply recreate the past, for the most part. The highlights are the fresh arrangements, because Broom’s guitar work has its own signature sound. To be sure, Bobby Broom can sound like Wes Montgomery, as he proves on the opener, “Road Song,” but he never aims for mere imitation, and his own vibe shines through on “More, More Amor,” “Boss City” or “West Coast Blues.” For these ears, the highlights are clearly “Four on Six” and “Fried Pies,” where there was no orchestral template to work with, and there’s a playfulness to the performances that makes them a joy to come back to.
The Empress – Square One (Cellar Music)
Wow. “Wow” is just about the best way to sum up what’s happening on Square One, the aptly titled debut album from The Empress. From the players involved – saxophonists Pureum Jin (soprano & alto), Erena Terakubo (alto), Chelsea Baratz (tenor) and Lauren Sevian (baritone) plus a rhythm section – to the origin story – Jin’s start in Supersax Korea under the direction of Michael Lutzeier (who supplied most of the arrangements and two of the compositions heard here) – to the hard swinging playing of everyone involved, “Wow” is what you keep coming back to. When nine of these eleven songs are well-worn Jazz classics that we’ve all heard, you know what is generally going to happen on them. So when you hear this muscular and driving version of “Caravan” or the seemingly effortless take on “Bolivia” or the beautifully layered and orchestrated version of “Milestones,” about all you can say is “Wow.” After all of that supercharged music, you might find yourself wondering if this band can play a ballad. Yes. Yes, they can. And when you hear what they do on “Everything Happens to Me,” you can guess what you’ll say. “Wow.”
Sharel Cassity – Gratitude (Sunnyside Records)
Sharel Cassity is a legitimate beast on the alto saxophone, and on Gratitude, her latest album, she’s surrounded herself with talent on the level that she deserves to be seen on. Cyrus Chestnut (piano), Christian McBride (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums) are the rhythm section on all eight tracks, and trombonist Michael Dease and trumpeter Terell Stafford join in on the fun for the absolutely riveting “Magnetism” and funky “Suspect.” Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile” is a great fake out, starting off as a duet between McBride and Cassity. Nash jumps in with some playful brushes, and with a quick break, suddenly we’re swingin’ and the whole character of the tune has changed. Assuming that “Kenny’s Quest” was written with fellow alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett in mind, it sounds exactly like you’d think it should. “Gratitude” is a lovely Jazz-Waltz, and “In the Spirit” may sound a bit like a gospel-ish song, but to my ears, it really sounds like it’s in the spirit of Joshua Redman. No matter the occasion of this moving of the spirit, it's a jam. I suppose the same could be said for this entire album.
Nick Hempton & Cory Weeds – Horns Locked (Cellar Music)
New York City tenor saxophonist Nick Hempton recorded with fellow woodwind specialist Cory Weeds the last time he was in Vancouver, and Horns Locked is the result. A tip of the hat to a few of the great tenor players, like James Moody and Dexter Gordon, and a few of the great tenor pairings, like Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis & Johnny Griffin. I knew things would be solid when the first sounds from the CD are organist Nick Peck and drummer Jesse Cahill chugging along furiously to set up “Last Train from Overbrook.” Dexter Gordon gets some love with a great version of his “Soy Califa,” and Ammons & Stitt are remembered fondly on “The One Before This.” Hempton’s originals, “Change for a Dollar” and “Loose Ends” are also fantastically swinging. Who knew that this much grit, grime and grease could produce such good, clean fun? We need more albums like Horns Locked in the world.
Ben Paterson – Cookin’ in the Couve (Cellar Music)
Chicago pianist (and organist, but pianist here) Ben Paterson just released a new album called Cookin’ in the Couve. On it, he’s joined by bassist Neal Miner and drummer Aaron Seeber for a program that is alternately wistful and deeply bluesy. On the standard “’Tis Autumn,” you can hear the nostalgia dripping off the piano keys. But on “Chitlins Con Carne,” or “This Here,” Ben’s as greasy on the piano as he is behind the mighty B-3. Paterson, Miner and Seeber are swingin’ for the fences on Ben’s “Up the Exchange,” and they sound positively lovely on the French standard “Quel Temps Fait Il a Paris.” If this CD is a taste of how Ben sounded when he was cookin’ in the Couve, then the audiences at Frankie’s Jazz Club must have had a great time, indeed!
Bill Charlap Trio – And Then Again (Blue Note)
The always tasteful, always swinging Bill Charlap Trio is back with a new live album, And Then Again. Recorded in person in September 2023 at the Village Vanguard in New York City, pianist Bill Charlap is joined, as always, by Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums. The title track is also the set opener, and Charlap and Co. have their foot on the gas from the get go. The rest of the set is comprised of Jazz standards, and they take some really cool liberties on a few of the tunes played here. “All The Things You Are” gets a pretty rubato intro before easing into a nicely swinging tempo. “‘Round Midnight” features a waltzing bridge that really changes the character of Monk’s classic ballad. George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” is infused with a few quotes from Rhapsody in Blue, and the set closer, “(I Don’t Stand) A Ghost of a Chance with You” closes out the festivities on a lovely note. And Then Again might be one of my favorite Charlap records to date.
Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre - No Words Needed (Ovation Records)
Pianist Oscar Hernandez is a multifaceted musician if you’ve ever seen one. Leader of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, pianist on a truckload of excellent Latin Jazz records, and, for the third time now, leader, composer and arranger for Alma Libre, I don’t know when this guy sleeps. His latest album, No Words Needed, tells no lies. When a band has this much instrumental firepower, words would just get in the way. Joined by Bobby Franceschini on woodwinds, John Benitez on bass, Robby Ameen on drums and Samuel Torres on percussion, this quintet knows how to work a groove, and work a groove they do. “Wayne’s Wonder,” is, of course, a tribute to Wayne Shorter. It really does capture the ethereal nature of Shorter’s character and music. “Jazz Pa’l Mambo” is a fantastic, hard grooving jam, and “Rise Above” sounds exactly like its name. I know I’ll be featuring No Words Needed during the Latin Bit, and Rene will surely be getting down to this one during The Mambo Inn on Sundays. But I think you’ll be hearing this one throughout the day and throughout the week, because it’s just that good.
