Jon De Lucia: And the Stars Were Shining

All instruments can be difficult and some even look intimidating. Some are notoriously tough to play in tune. Some emit unpleasant sounds without much prompting, especially squeaks. Welcome to the world of the clarinet. Non-players often wonder how anyone coaxes pretty sounds from the beast. Some wonder how to coax out any sound at all. The sneaking suspicion is that jazz eventually marginalized the prominent role of the clarinet in Dixieland and Swing because Bop was a bridge too far. There were and are a select few who can or could have managed. They deserve much respect. Jon De Lucia is one such player. De Lucia is a Brooklyn-based saxophonist, clarinetist and composer.

Originally from Quincy, MA, he moved to New York City in 2005. His teachers include Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Greg Osby, Bill Pierce,Joe Lovano, and Andrew Sterman. He has performed in the US and internationally at the Burlington Discover Jazz Fest, the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and the Tamana-shi Jazz Festival in Japan. Locally he has performed at the Blue Note, Smalls, Birdland, and outside NYC at the Regattabar, Body and Soul, Jazz INN Lovely, Alexanderplatz, Gregory's and more.

Here, he plays on the clarinet in A and Bb as well as the alto saxophone. It is hard to imagine a prettier recording, both in its conception and its execution. Accompanied unobtrusively by bass and drums, De Lucia manages to put together classical motifs from Bach ("Venice") romantic arias from Puccini ("E Lucevan Le Stelle") and strong echoes of Paul Desmond on alto sax ("Darien Mode"), and an up-tempo "Tangerine" which features Tatsuya Sakurai on electric guitar and Aidan O'Donnell on string bass. No one really misses a drummer, although, here, perhaps, a solo drum break might have been welcome. There are listeners who might associate "Tangerine" with altoist Richie Cole. There is absolutely no echo of Cole here, which is a compliment to both him and De Lucia. But an affinity for boppish rhythms nevertheless peeks through, something that all good modern players have in common. Whether one prefers de Lucia on clarinet or sax is a matter of taste, but he executes equally well on both without making a fetish of technique.

It is a measure of De Lucia's talent that he manages to appeal to diverse tastes: singers, drummers, boppers, the occasional aficionado of trad jazz, and of course, lovers of clarinet enjoy his work. Those accustomed to the piercing wail of the Bb variety may have to adjust a bit to the considerably more subtle instrument pitched in A, which is seductive rather than ear-splitting. De Lucia offers that he owes his affinity for this horn to Jimmy Giuffre, another indication of his good ears and equally good taste.

If this is any indicator of post-pandemic jazz—with some luck—it bodes well indeed for the music and its listeners. Enjoy.