Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Stockton Helbing: Lodestar

241

Stockton Helbing: Lodestar

By

View read count
Stockton Helbing: Lodestar
Drummer Stockton Helbing is a South Carolina native who has spent over two years as the percussionist for Maynard Ferguson and has also worked with Joe Lovano, Arturo Sandoval, and Diane Schuur.

The quintet that Helbing has assembled for this debut recording consists of musicians who all attended the jazz school at the University of North Texas. The two-horn front line of Ken Edwards on trumpet and flugelhorn and Tom Luer on tenor saxophone is supported by a guitarist, Noel Johnston, in lieu of pianist. Electric bassist Brian Mulholland rounds out the combo.

In presenting these ten original compositions, Helbing notes that they represent a blending of jazz with the accessibility of pop, insofar as they offer memorable melodies while providing vehicles for improvisation—yet in a way that's more intellectual than smooth jazz. If that is the case, it is apparent that there is not much to offer to smooth jazz enthusiasts here.

The first half of the album presents the quintet in competently played, but average jazz compositions. "What Could Be, What Has Been" provides a showcase for Johnston's guitar. The latter part of the album is significant more notable. "Harrell's Herald," undoubtedly for Tom Harrell, offers a fine opportunity for Edwards, while "Sell Out" is a standard hard bop tune that could easily pass for the real thing by marquee name artists. The closing "Until Then" offers a nice turn by Luer's tenor saxophone.

Track Listing

Sign Of The Times; Hey Kid;I'm A Computer!; What Could Be, What Has Been; In Orion; Stocktorb; Departure; In the Next; Harrell's Herald; Sell Out; Until Then.

Personnel

Stockton Helbing: drums, cymbals; Ken Edwards: trumpet, flugelhorn; Tom Luer: tenor saxophone; Noel Johnston: guitar; Brian Mulholland: four-string electric bass.

Album information

Title: Lodestar | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante
All In Motion
Dave Redmond
Cat & The Hounds
Colin Hancock's Jazz Hounds Featuring Catherine...

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.