Rich Willey's Boptism Big Band: Down & Dirty

What's in a name? While that maxim remains a matter for debate, don't let this particular name mislead you. In the parlance of trumpeter Rich Willey's Los Angeles-based Boptism Big Band, Down & Dirty translates into well-scrubbed & swinging. There's really no better way to describe the performance of eleven of Willey's wide-ranging compositions and one standard ("Old Folks") by an ensemble comprising many of southern California's foremost jazz musicians who not only master but amplify superlative charts by Gordon Goodwin, Wally Minko, Chris Walden and Mike Abene.

Yes, there are some grungy moments along the way but they are always overladen with astuteness and taste. In other words, the music may be down at times but it is never dirty in the sense that one might describe a late-night jam session in which patterns are improvised and ripened on the fly. Everything here is carefully planned and impeccably recited, from funk to Latin, baroque to reggae and rock, which is not to suggest that the result is any less earnest or inspiring. Although Willey's handsome themes may be a step or so removed from becoming jazz standards, they are nonetheless sharp and pleasing, and always deftly brought to life by the world-class Boptism ensemble. To his credit, Willey leads to his strength, opening with a pair of resourceful charts by Goodwin ("Boogie Beast," "Walter the Ferret"), Minko's emphatic take on "Down & Dirty" and Walden's seductive arrangement of "Eyes All for You" (based on the standard "Body and Soul"). While the rest of the album is admirable on its own terms, it never quite rises to that level again, coming closest perhaps on the heartfelt finale, Abene's glossy arrangement of the ballad "But for the Grace of God," on which the band is enlarged by a thirty-two member string section to underscore Willey's earnest trumpet solo.

Willey, who also plays flugelhorn and the too-seldom-heard bass trumpet, claims a large share of the solo space but leaves room for persuasive statements by Minko (at the keyboards and synthesizer); tenors Bob Sheppard, Jeff Driskill and Sal Lozano; altos Brian Scanlon and Brendan Higgins, baritone Jay Mason, trombonists Andy Martin and Alex Iles, guitarist Andrew Synowiec and special guest Thomas Hooten, principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who dazzles on piccolo trumpet ("Down & Dirty"). In his first try at recording as leader of a big band, it seems that Willey has left nothing to chance. The songs, the arrangements, and especially the blue-chip ensemble are superb, combining to make Down & Dirty an appetizing treat for big-band enthusiasts.

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