Ed Vezinho / Jim Ward: Live From the Jersey Pines

The Pineys. The Jersey Devil. The flyover country between Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Jersey Shore. None of these are entirely flattering descriptions or features of the great wooded expanse that extends over much of South Jersey, but, as they say, it is what it is. Of course, the residents of the big cities that surround the Jersey Pines also know there are plenty of good musicians and places to play as well. That is nothing new, but sometimes proximity to New York City tends to diminish the Philadelphia-Atlantic City corridor in the eyes of aspiring musicians. One went, as Dizzy Gillespie put it, to conquer New York. Who went to New Jersey to conquer anything other than a bad habit? A most unfortunate reputation, and, musically, a bad rap as well. The Ed Vezinho / Jim Ward Big Band may not exactly be a household name, but it is, as its founders put it, tight and smoking. Whatever you choose to call this recording, it is not afterglow.

If a big band does not have a first rate rhythm section and a pretty capable lead trumpet, all bets are off. While Mike Nigro does not get any big solos, he has technique, time and taste. He, pianist Demetrios Pappas and bassist Joe Jacobs really make this thing go, and on the closing tune, "The Blues Up and Down," Nigro and Jacobs give a clinic. Same for (presumably) lead trumpet Jim Ward, who handles a demanding book more or less flawlessly. Jacobs is just omnipresent, the way some of the best big band players, like Chuck Andrus were. Or listen to "When Sunny Gets Blue" where sax players Skip Spratt and Denis DeBlasio really get all the support any instrumentalist could want.

"Ruby Baby" feels a lot like one of Woody Herman's late 1960s bands, and gives Pappas a chance to solo. The trumpets and trombones put a listener in mind of the classic interaction that Herman's bands often got, well defined, sharp. Speaking of trumpets, there is an abundance of fine players, whether playing as a section or soloing. Joe Scannella on "Impossible" really plays pretty, and frames the swing section beautifully, such a lovely tone and a singing upper register. Tony DeSantis gets a crack at "Body and Soul" and acquits himself well. Ward and Scannella both get in on "People" and it hard not to wish that Ed Vezinho would not simply let them cut loose for a couple of choruses. The harmonized duo here is all well and good, but let these guys blow. "Deni's Lament" is DiBlasio's feature, and puts to bed a lingering image of a younger Denis from years ago playing some wild stuff like "Jack Usage" with Maynard Ferguson. He has aged nicely. "It Could Happen to You" gives the trombones some space, features a great sax soli, and another DeSantis solo.

There was a time, many years ago, when some radio personalities in Philadelphia used to wish for a big band comeback. One of those people was the indefatigable Jack Pyle, who had been lucky enough to see all the great outfits of the Swing Era live. Occasionally, an aging listener wonders what Pyle would have made of some contemporary big bands, where the musicians seem capable of playing anything as long as nothing as vulgar as excitement got in the way. Pyle would have dug this band once he wrapped his head around its more modern harmonies. It may be tight and well mannered, but boring, certainly not. The smart aleck doit ending to "Skylark" is an appropriate punctuation mark (!). All things considered, some of us might rather be in the Jersey Pines tonight if the Vezinho / Ward outfit were in the house.