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

Elias Haslanger – Legacy (Cherrywood Records)

Texas based tenor saxophonist Elias Haslanger has long been a proponent of swinging, greasy, in the pocket ensembles, like his Church on Monday group. On Legacy, he’s put together a potent bunch of players and they swing just as hard as ever. He’s joined by Mike Sailors on the trumpet, Andy Langham on piano, Ryan Hagler on bass and Daniel Dufour on drums. Like any good musical thief, you can tell that Haslanger is stealing plenty from lots of sources, but by the time you’ve figured out one source of inspiration, he’s onto the next one. So, “Trouble Down South” or “Going Home” feel like Blue Note mid-60’s jams that just got discovered recently. Elswwhere. the presence of The Roy Hargrove Quintet on “Conferring with the Flowers” is unmistakable. Or at least it is to these ears. Legacy is a strong record with 10 winning songs, and I think you’ll agree.

Carlos Henriquez – Monk Con Clave (self-produced)

Bassist and bandleader Carlos Henriquez had previously tackled the music of Dizzy Gillespie, and on his latest album, Monk con Clave, he plays the music of, you guessed it, Thelonious Monk. Unlike the Dizzy album, there is some original music on this outing in between Monk’s compositions. But where the Monk songs show up, WHOA! Henriquez and his band are playing this music at an astoundingly high level. The versions here of “Round Midnight,” “I Mean You” and a medley of Evidence and Four in One called “Evidence of Four in One” are so, so good. Monk’s songs are played with flair, precision, and above all else, good taste. I wonder if Henriquez will go down the same path as Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side of… band with more …con Clave records. That would be fantastic. The world could use some more big band Latin Jazz.

Gabriel Wade – Live at the Jazz Showcase, Vol. 1 (Blue Resonance Unlimited)

Trumpeter and College of DuPage professor Gabriel Wade has recently released his new album, Live at the Jazz Showcase, Vol. 1. As we all know, Jazz is a live artform, and sure enough, when heard live, this band is positively electric. For this evening at the Jazz Showcase, Wade was joined by Jared Schultz on the alto saxophone, Isaiah Jones, Jr. on the piano, Nat Lin on the bass, and Sid Smith IV behind the drums. They played a combination of originals from Wade and Jones, Jazz classics by Cedar Walton (“Firm Roots”) and Pharoah Sanders (“You’ve Got to Have Freedom”), and the standard “Star Eyes.” Throw in a seldom heard John Hicks composition (“Yemenja”) and hip-hop groove (“Stakes is High”) and you’re witnessing a history of music unfolding before your ears in real time. That Wade will only be 25 when he celebrates his birthday on the night of this CD’s release celebration on August 6th, once again at The Jazz Showcase, blows me away. His playing here is mature beyond his years.