MIKE LEDONNE
It’s All Your Fault
The Groover Quartet
+ Big Band
Savant Records SCD 2183

Track Listing: It's All Your Fault • Matador • Rock With You • Still • Party Time • Bags and Brown • Biggest Part of Me • Blues for Jed

Mike LeDonne belongs to an elite group of musicians – those who have mastered the piano AND the organ while creating original voices for each. However, here on IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, LeDonne sits down at the organ, puts his foot on the pedals and lays down some of the hippest organ licks you're likely to hear.  Two groups are featured on this recording.  Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet has had the rare opportunity to play and record together for twenty years and counting. They had no difficulty integrating their sound into this all-star big band put together by Mike and his preferred arranger and conductor, Dennis Mackrel. Recorded in the famed Van Gelder Studio and actually using the original Hammond C-3 organ that Jimmy Smith et al. used for their recordings, the music within this recording is adventurous.  It's a continuation of the groove that was established years ago by organists interacting with big bands and it reveals to us the Blues, the Rhythm & Blues and the Jazz that Mike heard coming up through the jazz ranks.

It's all Your Fault

Roick With You

"Rock With You" from Mike LeDonne's IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT -- Savant Records

George Cables
Too Close for Comfort
HighNote Records HCD 7335
Essiet Essiet, bass • Victor Lewis, drums
HighNote Records HCD 7335

Track listing:  Too Close for Comfort • Circle of Love • This Is My Song • Klimo • For All We Know • Crazy Love • Roses Poses • I’ve Never Been in Love Before • Teddy • A Valentine for You

George Cables should be declared a National Treasure.  As a pianist he is surely second-to-none on today's jazz scene.  Listen only to “A Valentine for You” on Cables' current offering to hear what a jaw-dropping beauty of tone he can produce from the pile of wood and metal we call a piano, and how much critical mass is behind every sonorous voicing of his chords.  As a musician he possesses endless imagination and creativity, shown by his strikingly new takes on tunes we thought we knew, particularly the title track, “Too Close for Comfort,” which retains little trace of its pop song origin.  As a composer he has quietly amassed a catalog of works of extremely wide range and extraordinary quality, such as his compositions on this new release, “Circle of Love,” “This is My Song,” “Klimo” and the aforementioned “A Valentine for You.”  And finally, the album’s cover photo perfectly captures George Cables the man – full of boundless energy, a love of his instrument and the music he makes on it and an impish sense of humor, evidenced by his titling the record TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT during a pandemic where social distancing has become the order of the day.  The artist Edward Hopper said, “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life of the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.”  That would explain why the world according to George Cables is such a wonderful place to be.

Too Close for Comfort

too Close for Comfort

"Too Close For Comfort" from George Cables' TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT -- HighNote Records

JD Allen
Queen City
Savant Records SCD 2194
JD Allen – solo tenor saxophone

Track List: Three Little Words • Wildwood Flower • Maude • O.T.R. • Retrograde •    Gem and Eye • Mother • Queen City • Vernetta • Kristian with a K • Nyla's Sky • Just A Gigolo •   These Foolish Things

In JD Allen's liner notes for Queen City, it becomes clear that he spent a great deal of time thinking about how the pandemic has impacted his relationship with music and specifically his saxophone.  In the notes Allen writes, “Performing music for and with people is what I do and I've come to the realization that an audience of listeners of any size is a part of the music; it's also a shared experience. Covid-19 changed that and forced me to try to remember why I started playing in the first place, the years before I started performing and recording.”  The tenor saxophonist's response to his period of introspection is this current recording, a solo saxophone program.  It is a recording full of stark, uncompromising power, affording some rare insight into the psyche of the performer.  This is not a Coleman Hawkins' “Picasso”-toned, I-love-my-horn-and-my-horn-loves-me type of symbiosis.  There is a real sense of confrontation between Allen and his horn and, by extension, the audience which makes for a unique listening experience.  This is not to imply that Queen City is some severe piece of avant garde abrasiveness.  Rather, it encompasses an extraordinarily wide-range of musical languages which communicates an equally broad spectrum of emotions.  Melodies   of ravishing beauty alternate with angular, aggressive phrases to express frustration, anger, resolve, hope, love and acceptance in what may become one of the most personal and revealing recordings to come out of the trying time of Covid-19.

Queen City

Queen City from "Queen City" - JD Allen

Richard Baratta
Music in Film:  The Sequel
Savant Records - SCD 2201

Richard Baratta – drums, leader, percussion
Bill O'Connell - piano, arranger
Vincent Herring - alto saxophone
Paul Bollenback – guitar
Michael Goetz - bass  
Paul Rossman - congas, percussion
TRACK LIST:
Itsy Bitsy Spider from “Heartburn” • Soul Bossa Nova from “Austin Powers” • Theme from “The Pink Panther” • Last Tango in Paris from “Last Tango in Paris” • Out of This World from “Out of This World” • Pure Imagination from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” • You've Got a Friend in Me from “Toy Story” • Cantina Band from “Star Wars: A New Hope” • Man of Constant Sorrow from “O Brother Where Art Thou?” • Smile from “Modern Times” & “Joker” • Volley for Jabali

The one thing all but one of the works on this recording have in common is that they were used in a motion picture, though only six of the eleven songs were written for a specific movie.  They cover a fairly long period of cinematic history with Charlie Chaplin's timeless classic, “Smile” being heard in the earliest and latest films on the list: Modern Times (1936) and Joker (2019).  It is interesting to note that the album's leader and drummer, Richard Baratta, was an executive producer on Joker.  With this Hollywood connection, Baratta's life has been somewhat cinema-centric, but he actually started out as a jazz drummer, working with Butch Morris, Billy Bang, Hal Galper and others.  Today Baratta has returned to his jazz roots and his colorful, propulsive drumming is a real highlight of this recording, a follow up to his 2020 release, Music in Film: The Reel Deal.  You won’t find any lengthy, indulgent solos here but you will smile approvingly at his keenly executed flourishes and mini-breaks.  Back in the studio with Baratta is Grammy-nominated arranger and pianist, Bill O'Connell, his years of Latin jazz experience influencing a number of tracks.  Alto saxophonist Vincent Herring also returns providing an athletic lead on many selections and some coruscant solo work.  With guitarist Paul Bollenback and bassist Michael Goetz rounding out the rhythm section and Paul Rossman providing some additional percussion colors, Richard Baratta takes you on another imaginative, jazz-filled trip to the movies.  But you'll have to supply your own popcorn.

Music in Film: The Sequel

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Itsy Bitsy Spider (arr: O'Connell) - Richard Baratta - Music in Film: The Sequel

JD Allen -- Americana, Vol. 2
Savant Records - SCD 2202

JD Allen – tenor saxophone
Charlie Hunter – guitar (except tracks 6-8)
Gregg August – bass
Rudy Royston – drums

TRACK LIST:
Up South • This World Is a Mean World • The Werk Song • Hammer and Hoe • You Don’t Know Me • Jackie and Johnny • Mickey and Mallory • A Mouthful of Forevers • The Battle of Blair Mountain • Irene (Mother) • Down South

Together with Americana: Musings on Jazz and Blues, and Barracoon, two of JD Allen’s previous Savant releases, Americana, Vol. 2 forms a trilogy of sorts, exploring and encapsulating a universal spirit based in roots and reflection. But despite the profound political, racial, financial and historic issues examined by Allen and company, at the central musical core of all three recordings is the underestimated but crucial role the blues has played in the history of jazz and how it continues to evolve and influence the art form today.  On Americana, Vol. 2 Allen continues this investigation with his long-time colleagues Gregg August and Rudy Royston, but is now joined by guitarist Charlie Hunter, who shares not only Allen's interest in the blues and its legacy, but they also share many similar life experiences.  As Allen himself says, “(Charlie's) music brings light to me as a listener. When we met, we found out that we grew up in different areas of the country, but our experiences happen to be very similar. That's Americana right there. I wanted that on this record.”  Here the blues not only provides a welcome outlet for tension and gentle melodicism but it also gives us an unflinching look into deep-seated and long-lived injustices, particularly via the almost expressionistic utterances of three trio-only tracks. Once again JD Allen shows himself to be a player and composer as remarkable for his directness of communication as he is for the sometimes unforgiving sternness of his message.

Americana, Vol 2

Hammer and Hoe

Hammer And Hoe - JD Allen - Americana, Vol. 2  Savant Records SCD 2202


BARBARA MORRISON
I Love You, Yes I Do
Savant Records SCD 2136
Barbara Morrison, vocals
With Houston Person, tenor saxophone
Stuart Elster, piano • Richard Simon, bass • Lee Spath, drums

Track Listing: Save Your Love For Me • Canadian Sunset • I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night • Trust in Me • I Didn't Know What Time It Was • Who Can I Turn To? • If It's the Last Thing I Do • Black Eyed Blues • I Love You, Yes I Do • And I Love Him • For the Love of You • Blow Top Blues

Barbara Morrison has been featured on over 20 recordings choosing her repertoire from a wide array of genres from traditional jazz and blues to gospel and pop. Her powerful voice, with its two-and-a-half-octave range, allows Ms. Morrison to belt out down-home, soul-stirring blues in a manner which places her firmly in the tradition of Etta Jones, Helen Humes, Irene Reid, and Dinah Washington. Her impassioned renditions of favorite torch songs reveal a consummate musicianship and a firm grasp of a song’s deepest meaning. Over the years, Ms. Morrison has performed with legends such as Gerald Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, James Moody, Ron Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, Jimmy Smith, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Cedar Walton, Tony Bennett, and Keb’ Mo. On “I Love You, Yes I Do,” Ms. Morrison is once again partnered by the soulful tenor saxophone of Houston Person who brings his own unique brand of bluesy exuberance to the proceedings.

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Blow Top Blues

Cyrus Chestnut - piano
Stacy Dillard – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 6 & 7) /     
  soprano saxophone (tracks 3, 4, 5 & 9)
Gerald Cannon – bass (except track 8) 
Chris Beck – drums (except track 8)

Jazz pianist par excellence, Cyrus Chestnut, returns to the HighNote catalog with a superb new piano quartet recording. This highly anticipated album showcases Chestnut's rhythmic precision, emotive touch, and improvisational flair complemented by an ensemble that provides both subtlety and drive. The combination of Chestnut's expressive piano playing with the string bass of Gerald Cannon and the propulsive beats of Chris Beck creates a sound that provides a luxurious background of vibrant color for the saxophone of Stacy Dillard.  Chestnut's previous recordings on HighNote Records, including Kaleidoscope, and My Father's Hands, were met with widespread critical acclaim. JazzTimes lauded his "virtuosic piano playing," while Down Beat declared him “one of the finest jazz pianists of his generation.” This new recording is sure to add to that legacy, as Chestnut and his colleagues offer an imaginative set list comprised mostly of the leader's original works, spotlighting his distinctive compositional voice. It is required listening for anyone who appreciates the extraordinarily communicative depth of piano-led jazz ensembles.  – Ray Osnato for HighNote Records

08 Moonlight in Vermont

06 Song for the Andes

CHARLIE SEPÚLVEDA & THE TURNAROUND - THIS IS LATIN JAZZ
HighNote Recordds HCD 7331
Charlie Sepúlveda - trumpet
Norberto Ortiz – tenor saxophone; Eduardo Zayas – piano
Gabriel Rodriguez – bass; Francisco Alcalá – drums
Nicholas Cosaboom – congas
With Special Guests: Randy Brecker – trumpet 
Natalia Mercado – vocal; Nestor Torres – flute 
Steve Turre – trombone; Miguel Zenon – alto saxophone

Although many people may not realize it, Puerto Rico is the home of a vibrant and thriving jazz scene.  It is here that Latin Jazz trumpeter Charlie Sepúlveda lives and does the bulk of his playing but he is certainly no stranger to New York City.  Born in the Bronx, Sepúlveda appeared regularly in the Big Apple throughout the 70s and 80s with his cousin – a Latin Jazz pianist of some notoriety named Eddie Palmieri – and the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Dave Valentin, Tito Puente and countless others.  He is currently a Professor at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of music and leads one of the island's most popular jazz ensembles, The Turnaround.  The band is a collection of celebrity jazz chefs who mix together a tasty dish of Latin Jazz, hard bop and Afro-American rhythms.  “Today, what is called 'Latin Jazz' is different in so many ways. Earlier it was oriented towards Afro-Cuban styles,” Charlie said in an interview, “I play the traditional form of Latin jazz mixed with hard bop and always with Puerto Rican styles like Bomba, Plena, and Danza.”  So it was only natural that Sepúlveda name this live recording from NYC’s jazz Mecca Dizzy's, This is Latin Jazz, since it features the type of music the trumpeter grew up playing and on which he cut his musical teeth.  An all-star group of his colleagues showed up to play with the band including Randy Brecker, Miguel Zenon, Steve Turre and Nestor Torres.  Sepúlveda's cherished wife Natalia Mercado also provides a vocal on the touching ballad, “Alfonsina y el Mar.”  An important recording from one of the most beloved and respected instrumentalists, leaders and composers in Latin Jazz, Charlie Sepúlveda.

This is Latin Jazz

Frenesi

Charlie Sepúlveda - Tales from the Wall from THIS IS LATIN JAZZ (Live)

JIM SNIDERO - Live t the Deer Head Inn
Savant Records SCD 2193
Jim Snidero, alto saxophone
Orrin Evans, piano
Peter Washington, bass
Joe Farnsworth, drums

As with many professions, it was a difficult thing to be a jazz musician during the pandemic year of 2020, but alto saxophonist Jim Snidero found himself in a unique situation: he was able to assemble a quartet for a feasible, safe, limited-audience gig at Pennsylvania's famed Deer Head Inn.  Snidero and his colleagues relished the chance to commune with listeners, and one another, on the bandstand again at long last. Live at the Deer Head Inn is the result, and as Snidero remarks in the liner notes, “It just felt like the perfect opportunity to cut through the fog of this damn pandemic and mark this moment in time.” The energy and excitement are palpable on this, as Snidero rallies his players and the audience in an exuberant set of what he calls “comfort music,” beginning with a trenchant take on Charlie Parker's “Now's the Time” (with Bird's daughter, Kim Parker, in attendance to hear it). The depth of swing and interplay is evident in every measure, and Snidero's sound and phrasing reveal a disposition of his own, guided by a unique melodic and harmonic concept — qualities that have earned him recognition in the Downbeat and JazzTimes Critics Polls.

08 Moonlight in Vermont

HighNote-Savant Records