Jazz Articles

Paul Bollenback: Invocation

by Tom Greenland
February 8, 2008

Journeyman guitarist Paul Bollenback's Invocation is just that: a shout-out and a summoning forth of the muses, representing a high point in a consistent and substantial oeuvre. This sophomore release for Elefant Dreams is a departure from the guitarist's R&B cover-heavy material found on several of his five earlier recordings for Challenge. Like Brightness of Being (2006), its immediate predecessor, Invocation features the wordless vocalese of Chris McNulty, who doubles the melody on “Alter Ego" and harmonizes with trumpet and ...

Paul Bollenback: Invocation

by Michael P. Gladstone
January 7, 2008

Paul Bollenback continues to show his stuff on Invocation. Bollenback's early recorded appearances came with the rise of Joey DeFrancesco, with whom the guitarist spent sixteen years, appearing on the award-winning organist's early 1990s albums.

On Brightness of Being (Elefant Dreams, 2006), Bollenback demonstrated his value as a composer and player. For his second project on Elefant Dreams, the guitarist is joined by bassist Ed Howard; drummer Victor Lewis; trumpeter/flugelhornist Randy Brecker, and with vocalist Chris McNulty's vocalese ...

Paul Bollenback: Invocation

by Dan McClenaghan
December 6, 2007

Guitarist Paul Bollenback, who spent sixteen years backing organ great Joey DeFrancesco in concert and on CD, has some serious chops. Reviews of his previous CD release, Brightness of Being (Elephant Dreams, 2005), heaped praises on his technical prowess. On Invocation those chops are in fine form once again--the richly layered harmonies, the fluidly inventive intensity of his soloing, the accessible braininess of his compositions. Also apparent is Bollenback's finely honed, expansive Metheny-esque artistic vision.Bollenback brings in trumpeter ...

Chris McNulty: Whispers The Heart

by Andrew Velez
October 25, 2006

It's particularly on that '40s Cahn-Stordahl-Weston gem “I Should Care that Aussie songstress Chris McNulty evokes pleasant memories of Anita O'Day and Chris Connor's hip cool. McNulty's voice can soar lightly into upper registers like O'Day's, and she also exudes a kindred innate cheerfulness that never totally disappears, whatever the song. It's especially apparent with her upbeat, swinging take on Legrand-Bergman's “Summer Me, Winter Me. She also makes a very credible dive into “Make It Easy On ...

Chris McNulty: Whispers The Heart

by Michael P. Gladstone
October 2, 2006

Whispers The Heart, the sixth album from Chris McNulty, a native-born Australian, continues the positive vibe of last year's Dance Delicioso, with a similar cast of jazz players. McNulty has selected an average collection of tunes, some of which are familiar titles from the Great American Songbook, plus others which make this an interesting package.

The Michel Legrand/Alan and Marilyn Bergman movie song “Summer Me, Winter You," the Bacharach/David '60s hit “Make It Easy On Yourself" (with a guest appearance ...

Paul Bollenback: Brightness of Being

by John Kelman
March 3, 2006

Good music is where you find it, and breadth of stylistic interest needn't dilute a distinguishable voice. Like Bill Frisell's East/West (Nonesuch, 2005), guitarist Paul Bollenback's Brightness of Being brings these points home most effectively. While Bollenback and Vic Juris are two very different players (Bollenbeck is also younger), both remain sadly underappreciated, despite their ability to elevate every project into something special. Looking at Bollenback's substantial catalogue of recorded work, one can find the same pattern emerging--which is really ...

Paul Bollenback: Brightness of Being

by Ernest Barteldes
March 3, 2006

Jazz guitar fans will not be disappointed by Brightness of Being, an offering of rich harmonics and octave-based solos in a collection of originals, covers of Stevie Wonder and Neil Young, adaptations from Puccini and Garcia de Leon, and a couple of songs immortalized by Ray Charles. The original “Together finds Bollenback on acoustic guitar and Chris McNulty delivering wordless vocals. This soulful tune has a certain Brazilian feel, without exactly going into bossa nova territory. On ...

Paul Bollenback: Brightness of Being

by Dan McClenaghan
February 12, 2006

You have to love it when a first-rate jazz guitarist opens up a set with a barnburner, as Paul Bollenback does on his sixth release as a leader, Brightness of Being. The song is “Together," and he and tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas work some clean-toned heat together, keeping it sharp and tight in front of a flexible rhythm.Bollenback is best known for his association with organ legend Joey De Francesco, a sixteen-year, fourteen-album musical relationship. The guitarist has ...

Paul Bollenback: Brightness of Being

by Michael P. Gladstone
February 1, 2006

Guitarist and composer Paul Bollenback has been a veritable whirlwind of activity over the past fifteen years. Aa a vital part of Joey DeFrancesco's combo, he played on thirteen albums since 1990, as well as a total of 48 sessions during that same time period with artists like Joe Locke, Gary Thomas and Ron Holloway. This is his sixth date as a leader since 1995.

The dozen selections display a wide variety of styles, including straight-ahead bebop with ...

Chris McNulty: Dance Delicioso

by Michael P. Gladstone
August 19, 2005

Singer Chris McNulty has logged quite a few miles and years since she made the move to relocate to New York from her native Australia in the late 1980s. Dance Delicioso is her fifth effort. The album begins with an atypical performance of the Annie Lennox composition “Primitive," and her delivery here is in the manner of a high-priced pop singer, in the best sense of the word, whose strong voice could fill the room at a pricy supper club ...