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Don Elliott: Double Trumpet Doings
ByIn spite of Elliott’s positioning as leader of the session it is Hyman who crafts all arrangements for the tunes and pens the creatively titled original compositions that dominate the disc. In fact it’s these originals that often prove more intriguing harmonically and melodically than the three time-worn standards that round out the group’s songbook. The pianist makes excellent use of the two-trumpet front line and also writes a variety of interesting passages for Lowe’s guitar strings. To aid listeners in distinguishing between the two trumpeters Dedrick affixes a mute to the bell of his horn on the majority of his solos. With mute in place his already sonorous sound takes on an even more euphonious dimensions. Expectedly the rhythm team of Safranski and Lamond usually play the wallflowers in the sextet only stepping up to take a crack at solos on rare occasions such as Safranski’s brief break on “Dominick Seventh.” Hyman however doesn’t relegate himself to the backdrop and submits comely statements on several of the numbers including an attractive solo on “Easy to Remember.” In the final analysis this disc is far from essential and sometimes strays into the schmaltzy side as on the Herb Alpert-tinged “The Bull Speaks.” But it does offer an intriguing diversion and listeners looking for a session where the focus is planted firmly on trumpet will probably be pleased by what they find here.
Track Listing
Mine/ Vampire Till Ready/ Your Own Iron/ Easy to Remember/ The Bull Speaks/ Dominick Seventh/ Gargantuan Chant/ When Your Lover Has Gone/ Henry
Personnel
Don Elliott- trumpet; Rusty Dedrick- trumpet; Mundell Lowe- electric guitar; Dick Hyman- piano; Eddie Safranski- double bass; Don Lamond- drums.
Album information
Title: Double Trumpet Doings | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Jazzland Recordings