Iron City: The Business (2011)

GLENN ASTARITA,

Glenn Astarita

Senior Contributor since 1997

Longtime contributor to AAJ and Downbeat, Jazz Review, EjazzNews, Radio DirectX.

Recent articles (1,632 total)

Published: July 23, 2011

Track review of "Blue String"

Guitarist Charlie Apicella and his band mates mix it up nicely with these originals and jazz standards, disavowing a rough-hewn presence and sporting a piquant mode of execution. The artists morph a somewhat traditional blue collar approach to the classic organ-combo into a contemporized product. The band may not 't reinvent the genre, but the diverse and largely up-tempo track mix rounds out a balanced approach, spanning blues, funk, Latin and swing.

One of the album highlights is tenor sax titan Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt
1924 - 1982
saxophone 's "Blue String," where the soloists ride atop drummer Alan Korzin's thrusting backbeat, as organist Dave Mattock comps the rhythm and provides a launching pad for the sequential frontline solo spots.

Supported by whispery sax parts, fluid organ voicings and subtle theme variations, Apicella conveys maturity amid a deep-rooted understanding of this format via brisk runs, linear developments, spirited accents, and groove-oriented jazz lines. Ultimately, the guitarist mans a course that should whet the appetites of a heterogeneous jazz-centric fan-base, enamored with nicely selected inferences to outlying genres.

Personnel: Charlie Apicella: guitar; Dave Mattock: organ; Alan Korzin: drums; Stephen Riley: tenor sax; Maya Casales: congas, percussion.

Record Label: Self Produced
Style: Funk/Groove