Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update: Brotherhood

299

Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update: Brotherhood

Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update: Brotherhood


A master teacher at the Washington Performing Arts Society and the Capitol Jazz Project, saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk has led jazz camps and performed at several festivals. His quartet Jazz Update, featuring Tom Baldwin on bass, Wade Beach on piano and rhodes, and Tony Martucci on drums and assorted percussion, has released its second album, entitled Brotherhood.

"Screwball," the opening track, is a toast to Antoniuk's son, Aidan, who somehow earned that as a nickname. The music has the mood of a child at play with Antoniuk's tenor sound rich and smooth. The group's syncopation is solid and Baldwin and Martucci are in lockstep rhythm. It's easy to imagine a little boy's room, where four friends are playing together but at the same time, each doing his own thing.

"Meet Me at the Ponderosa" is a bouncy tune that's dedicated to Antoniuk's father. After the driving opening sequence, the song shifts to a New Orleans-style stroll. From there, things get quirky, as Beach plays both the piano and the Rhodes. At times, the blend sounds like a whistle being blown in the face of a fan.

Antoniuk shifts to the soprano for "Global Village." In 12/8 time, it's a celebration of the popularity of West African music being incorporated into jazz. The leads are excellent, between Antoniuk and Beach, but Martucci's versatility on drums and percussion highlights this piece. Shortly after the three-minute mark, Martucci goes it alone with overdubs on the kit, hand drums and other instruments.

Brotherhood features five Antoniuk originals, two songs penned by Baldwin and fresh interpretations of three jazz standards. The music is diverse in its energy and mood. The quartet is cohesive, playing well as a unit with solid individual performances.

Track Listing

Screwball; Brotherhood; Meet Me at the Ponderosa; Isfahan; Global Village; Walts With the Wind; Mister No Bones; All of You; Hot House / Evidence; Slickery.

Personnel

Jeff Antoniuk
saxophone, tenor

Jeff Antoniuk: tenor and soprano saxophones; Tom Baldwin: bass; Wade Beach: piano, rhodes; Tony Martucci: drums, cymbals, bata, congas, percussion.

Album information

Title: Brotherhood | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: JAJU Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.