Gypsy Schaeffer: Gypsy Schaeffer

A lot of good things come out of Boston and some good things remain there. Let the latter be; the former is of the moment and it concerns the four musicians who went to that city from their home towns. They stayed there drawn by the music scene and when fate cast its dice, they came together to make some of their own. On this recording the compositions come from Andy Voelker and Joel Yennior. The music is varied and the band triggers invention convincingly to give the tunes a strong presence.

The first stop is swing and they fire the rhythm of “What’s The Deal?” with strong dynamics that first flow from the trombone of Yennior, greased with some fat lines which sit in well with the mood he shapes, and then from the alto of Voelker, who injects sharp phrases and quick jabs. There is an interesting devolution during the “Joisey Boys’ Shuffle.” They bounce and they prance and Voelker cuts the swath with some hard blowing that rips the fabric while Yennior brings in the shuffle on his lines that also have a shade of the blues. Churning beneath are Chris Punis on drums and Edward Perez on bass who gets his bowing right into a nice melodic groove when the spotlight falls over him.

“I Want To Go To Havana” is an appealing descarga, fiery in spirit and in tempo as the surge gathers momentum. The pace slows down for “Lovesick Thoughts,” the ballad shimmering through the unison lines of Voelker and Yennior. The former gets some hard edged voicing on the bed Yennior lays down before the trombonist takes over and illustrates his métier through his explorations.

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