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Vaughn Nark & The Airmen of Note: Flying High
ByNark is flashy alright, but can he swing? On Harold Danko’s "Tidal Breeze," a medium swing tempo, he’s adept but a little too perfect. The rhythm section plays ahead of the beat, which doesn’t help matters. To hear Nark at his most tasteful, jump ahead to "Con Alma." And don’t miss the strings-and-woodwinds break toward the end, a nice touch by arranger Mike Crotty.
As for the remainder, on the plus side there’s "Red Clay," featuring vocals by Bobbie McCleary; "White Christmas" done up latin-style; a mellow bossa treatment of "It Could Happen to You"; a good if unsurprising "Cherokee," and the Mike Crotty original "Night Clouds." On the minus side there’s the other Crotty original, "Centri-Fusion," with its Earth, Wind & Fire/Tower of Power funk clichés; and a banal, R&B-flavored "My Funny Valentine" with vocals by none other than Vaughn Nark himself.
The Airmen of Note are fine players — alto, tenor, and piano soloists take a bow, although it’s hard to identify you from the personnel list on the disc sleeve. Much of the arranging is also excellent. But aesthetically speaking, there’s an aroma of Vegas, or the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, permeating the album. I wouldn’t exactly call this the shape of jazz to come. As for Nark’s trumpet, it’s a thing to behold, but be warned: it’ll either thrill and delight you or give you a headache.
Cyberhome: www.summitrecords.com
Track Listing
Lorraine; Tidal Breeze; Brigitte; Red Clay; White Christmas; Con Alma; Night Clouds; Centri-Fusion; It Could Happen To You; Cherokee; My Funny Valentine.Collective
Personnel
Vaughn Nark- trumpet, flugelhorn, vocal on "My Funny Valentine"; Ken Smukal, Jimmy Lay, Rich Haering, Bruce Gates, Larry Trautman, Rich Sigler- trumpet; Dave Steinmeyer, Rick Lillard, Joe Jackson, Gary Hall, Paul Rawlins, Dudley Hinote, Doug Elliot, Dave Morgan- trombone; Joe Eckert, Lee Lachman, Gene Gaydos, Pete BarenBregge, Don New, Andy Axelrad, Doug Gately, Tim Eyermann, Saul Miller, Tom Luer- saxophone; Mike Rubin, Sydney Lehman- piano; Tom Williams, Paul Henry, Karl Heikkinen- bass; Claude Askew, George Honfa- drums; Pat Shrieves- percussion; Johnny Woody, Dan Culpepper, Winston DeShields, Paul Fisher- French horn; Bobbie McCleary- vocals; Bill Slusser, David Swanson, James Queen, Robert Waugh, Tim Kidder, Jane Bockenek, Mark Helm, Dustin Saam, Octavian Slima, Ruth Truncale- violin; Don Harrington, Paul Swantek, Sharon Bingham, Victoria Pride, Judith Thompson- viola; Laura Riley, Chris Moehlenkamp- cello; Rick Whitehead, Wayne Wilkinsen- guitar.
Additional Personnel For "My Funny Valentine":Jeff Holmes, Kevin Sharp, Sonny Hill- trumpet; Ron Wilkins, Stephen Hoy- trombone; Charlie Wicker, Larry Panella, Dave Battaglia- saxophone; Joe Cartwright- piano; Steve Rigazzi- bass; Randy Drake- drums; Bud Berthold- percussion.
Album information
Title: Flying High | Year Released: 1999
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