Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jon De Lucia: And the Stars Were Shining
Jon De Lucia: And the Stars Were Shining
ByOriginally 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 jazzwith some luckit bodes well indeed for the music and its listeners. Enjoy.
Track Listing
Venice; E Lucevan Le Stelle; Darien Mode; Tangerine; Siciliano; Core'ngrato; Prelude to Part First; How Am I To Know; Three Rings ARound The Moon; Foolin' Myself; Serenade.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Jon De Lucia: clarinet.
Album information
Title: And the Stars Were Shining | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Musaeum Clausum Recordings
Comments
About Jon De Lucia
Instrument: Saxophone, alto
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar Tohttps://soundcloud.com/jondelucia?
utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Tags
Jon De Lucia
Album Review
Richard J Salvucci
And the Stars Were Shining
Musaeum Clausum Recordings
Brooklyn
Lee Konitz
George Garzone
Greg Osby
Bill Pierce,
joe lovano
Steve Wilson
Tatsuya Sakurai
Aidan O'Donnell
Richie Cole
Jimmy Giuffre