Isrea Butler: Congo Lament

Well, this is the kind of recording that will start a war over who hears whom and what, all that jazz police kind of thing. Worry not. Whether you think this is a bop recording, rooted in swing, with more than a little of Al Grey's plunger mute on the trombone, or something entirely different, the progeny of Ike Quebec, it really does not matter. Anyone who, say, puts him or herself to rest with the music from Robert Altman's "Kansas City" (1996) will simply fall in love at first hearing. Even if a listener's taste in trombone runs more to Curtis Fuller, Isrea Butler's fine recording, Congo Lament, is going to be a hit. Plus, Douglas Lawrence can hold his own on tenor sax with anyone, reaching well back into the rolls of distinguished predecessors. At one point, thinking Dexter Gordon never got further behind the beat, especially on "B.G.'s Groove Two," is simply an observation and not a criticism. With all the Count Basie alumni in this band, it probably is not a surprise that echoes of his great bands, any vintage, are to be found here. Butler and Lawrence trade tasty choruses Even an oldie but goody like "Pennies from Heaven" will send a fan back to a keyboard wondering why those changes do not grace more contemporary recordings.

It would be all too easy to neglect a spit-and-polish rhythm section that does nothing but swing hard, neither rushing nor dragging, just laying a solid groove. Listen to "Que's Pills" for a relevant example. Seriously locked in Dave Loeb, Steve Flora and Robert "Bob" Chmel are. Their names may not be terribly familiar, because they are Nevada guys, sometimes easy to miss simply because they define a species of professionalism that does not grab attention, even when just ending together on a tonic. In the mood for some really filthy blues? Try the closing track, Ma Rainey's "See See Rider." Yes, indeed, as Sy Oliver wrote, "Makes you wanna holler."

Dr. Butler is the Director of UNLV's School of Music. He was trained at the Eastman School of Music and Rutgers University. And then played with Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton, Mingus Big Band, Chico O'Farrill, and the Jimmy Heath. Sometimes a resume is only a list, but this one speaks for itself. And if that is not enough, Butler has played orchestral trombone as well, both with the Rochester Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic. Lots of technique to accompany all that bluesy shouting, just in case someone wonders where all the classical references come from.

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