Adrian Galante: Introducing Adrian Galante

The late Phil Woods used to argue that of all the members of the woodwind family, the clarinet is by far the most difficult to manage, saying it was "designed by six guys who had never met one another." If Australian-born, New York-based clarinetist Adrian Galante has any problems with the instrument, they are in no way apparent on his debut album, Introducing Adrian Galante, wherein listeners are introduced to a talented and versatile young artist whose growth to date has been remarkable and whose future seems exceedingly bright.

Even though he is as technically proficient as the clarinet will allow (listen, for example, to Lerner and Loewe's normally placid "You're All the World to Me"), to Galante, that is not the point. Before playing any song he learns the lyrics, then "sings" them—for the most part quite persuasively—through his horn, using intervals, shading and vibrato as his "voice." While employed effectively throughout, that stance is especially germane on ballads such as Cy Coleman's "With Every Breath I Take," Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein's "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" and the lesser-known standard "Thanks a Million," whose strutting tempo charts a pleasing course for Galante's superb quintet.

And speaking of that quintet...although Galante earns star billing, his supporting cast is excellent, and deserves a full measure of approval and applause for putting the finishing touches on the leader's handsome self-portrait. Pianist Tamir Hendelman is consistently impressive, as are guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist Alex Frank and drummer Joe La Barbera. Hendelman is also listed as playing celeste on three numbers and as arranger on Ray Noble's "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" and Cole Porter's "It's Alright with Me."

In addition to clarinet, Galante, according to the notes, plays piano, celeste, Fender Rhodes and synthesizer on various numbers, although his assistance there is negligible. Clarinet is his weapon of choice, one he wields effectively regardless of mood or tempo. If there is a downside to his coming out party, it is that five of the last half- dozen among the album's eight numbers are uncommonly slow-paced and quiet, rather like an exercise in the art of balladry, which was presumably Galante's purpose. Aside from that, there is nothing to censure, and Galante is definitely a rising star on the obdurate yet charming clarinet.