Brent Laidler: Hidden Gems

Guitarist Brent Laidler has released mainstream jazz albums infused with a cheerful attitude throughout his career. They tend to feature all original tunes, but unlike most jazz releases featuring (cursed with?) the All-Original Syndrome, his tunes are catchy, accessible, and sometimes even mood-enhancing. Given that hundreds—if not thousands—of small group jazz albums are released each year, it can be challenging to find a distinctive feature to hang onto when confronted with a new one. Laidler is canny enough to realize that some kind of theme or hook helps let one project stand out from another.

For Hidden Gems, the guitarist/composer has chosen to use, as he explains, "some well-crafted changes that I thought were beautifully compelling, but to the best of my knowledge never made it into a modern Real Book." So, what we have is a collection of what the fancy-pants types among us call "contrafacts"—songs based on the changes of other songs. Think George Russell's "Ezz-thetic"—based on Cole Porter's "Love for Sale." No, seriously, think about it. Too few people think about George Russell, to my way of thinking.

The results are another set of breezily successful tunes, though the melodies from his previous efforts might be a little more memorable. It is a special challenge to write tunes to pre-existing changes and of necessity the results will be mixed. As Laidler's notes explain, although this is a 2025 release, the project has its roots in a pandemic review of thousands of songs from his collection. We are all familiar with how isolation and uncertainty led to trying out new hobbies and ways of spending the hours. Musicians were particularly affected. As Laidler explains, his involuntary "me-time" resulted in something productive—uncovering "hidden gems."

The same cast of Midwestern heavies show up in the personnel section as in his previous album, Wouldn't Be Here Without You (Sel Produced) from 2022, and the soloing and ensemble work is as solid as ever. That said, the organ textures seem particularly prevalent this time out, and it is a matter of personal preference how much organ you like to include in your daily listening diet. (For reference, the playing is more "Walk Between the Raindrops" from Donald Fagen's Nightfly (Warner Brothers, 1982) than Jimmy Smith in full roar.) As long as organ excursions do not bother you, you may find Hidden Gems another enjoyable entry in Laidler's discography.

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