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The Stacie McGregor Quintet: Straight Up
ByThe new track, "Horacin' Around," does not require an intuitive mind to know in whose direction the acknowledgment flows. This one has a nice swing to it, the unison lines of the horns a delectable intro before Kevin Turcotte breaks out on the trumpet. His ideas swell from a deep well of inspiration, and so do those of Michael Stuart, whose saxophone is big and brawny, yet never overwhelms or shadows the strength of the composition. And then comes McGregor, adding the icing with her compact sense of articulation. This time around "Red's Blues" is given a deeper hue, a more palpable feeling rising from the intense emotive drive of Chris Mitchell on saxophone. Does "Very Late" tell a tale? It goes out of the dimension of the other compositions, fracturing time before it is bound on the gossamer lines of the horns that slowly but certainly give it shape. Stuart brings it into orbit as he frames convincing bop lines, Turcotte using the mute and soaring high, and McGregor adding a bright, traipsing line.
Straight Up is not all new, but it is improved, and that is good measure.
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Track Listing
Uncle B; Top Cat; Straight Up; Red's Blues; i DK; Horacin' Around; Art's Place; Goodie's Dilemma; Very Late
Personnel
Stacie McGregor
pianoStacie McGregor--piano; Kevin Turcotte--trumpet; Archie Alleyne--drums; Steve Wallace--bass; Michael Stuart--saxophone; Chris Mitchell--saxophone; Brandi Disterheft--bass
Album information
Title: Straight Up | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: G-Three