Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Eric Goletz: A New Light
Eric Goletz: A New Light
ByGoletz' musical persona is clearly upbeat, and after a brief "Prelude," he and the ensemble get right down to business, galloping briskly through the emphatic title tune. While much of the session proceeds in that vein, there are exceptions: Goletz' more even-tempered "Enchanted," Jonathan Butler's ardent "Song for Elizabeth" and Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick's dreamy "Sunrise, Sunset" from the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof (even here, Goletz can't resist accelerating the tempo midstream to lend the anthem more muscle). Goletz wrote everything else save Miles Davis' "Dig" (a thinly disguised "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," or so it sounds). As noted, most everything cooks, from "Edge of Night" and "Greene Street Groove" to "Don't Gimme That!" and "The Mirror." The ensemble closes the session with a dynamic brass-heavy "Postlude" (sans rhythm section) reminiscent of Leonard Bernstein's memorable orchestral works.
As a player, Goletz favors the higher register (think Bill Watrous), and like the peerless Frank Rosolino, uses every trick in the trombone player's handbook to make hs point. Unlike Rosolino, however, Goletz doesn't clip or sunder notes or phrases as only Rosolino could but blends them together in a more customary manner. While Goletz and Brecker take the lion's share of solos, there are cogent statements by Heinitsch (whose style is an acquired taste), Ridl and Farnham. Goletz is a splendid writer too, and every number on the album has its moments of charm and pleasure. It's good that Goletz has chosen to help ensure that his music becomes more widely known by adopting a more conspicuous persona; it suits him well.
Track Listing
Prelude, Before the Light; A New Light; Edge of Night; Dig; Enchanted; Greene Street Groove; Sunrise, Sunset; Song for Elizabeth; Don’t Gimme That!; The Mirror; Postlude: After the Light.
Personnel
Eric Goletz
tromboneRandy Brecker
trumpetJim Ridl
pianoAllen Farnham
pianoHenry Heinitsch
guitarMarco Panascia
bass, acousticSteve Johns
drumsJoe Mowatt
percussionTony Gorruso
trumpetFreddie Maxwell
trumpetKent Smith
trumpetWill DeVos
french hornBob Magnuson
saxophone, altoErick Storckman
tromboneJonathan Greenberg
trumpetMatt Ingman
trombone, bassRobin Zeh
violinPaul Woodiel
violinMichael Rotti
violaAdditional Instrumentation
David Gold: viola; Sarah Hewitt-Roth: cello.
Album information
Title: A New Light | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Consolidated Artists Productions
< Previous
There Will Be Christmas - More Holida...