Roxy Coss' self-titled debut CD is worth checking out.
By S. Victor Aaron
Well, I didn't expect I'd being doing this so early.
Here we are just weeks into the new year and it's already time to work off some mounting stacks of CD's that have arrived since around Christmas or so. We can't let these fall be the wayside because they're just too hard to ignore, however. It's all jazz, and all released this month, or perhaps a little earlier. And all from artists being introduced on this space for the first time. Indeed, there are a couple of debut records in here.
So here goes the first catch-up post of the year, and on January 27, it's not a moment too soon. At least this time I didn't wait until November to get started on it...
Luther Hughes And The Cannonball-Coltrane Band Things Are Getting Better: Bassist Luther Hughes leads a tenor sax/alto sax quintet in its forth recording paying tribute to the spirit of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane. Specifically, The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago album recorded with Miles Davis' band sans Miles himself just six months before they all reconvened to tape this little landmark record called Kind Of Blue. There are no tracks from that only album to feature both saxophone giants without the trumpet giant (although “Primrose Star" is based on the chord changes of “Stars Fell On Alabama"). Instead, it seeks to capture the spirit of the two playing together through songs the two each played early in their post-Miles careers, or originals that were clearly inspired by their style of the time. That's why brother Nat's song “Jive Samba" is on here, as well as Cannonball's own “Things Are Getting Better" and a finger snapping rundown of “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise," covered by 'Trane on his Live At The Village Vanguard disc from 1961. The originals written by various band members are faithful to the early 60s styles of the two icons: “Sunset At Hermosa" is one of those breezy, Latin-flavored tunes of the style that Cannonball love to play, while “McCoy" echoed the chordal voicings of Coltrane's pianist, McCoy Tyner. Though Adderley and Coltrane went in entirely separate directions musically, they found their common ground within the Davis band that lingered in each man's style for years after they left the band: a commonality based on blues, soul and sharp performances. The Cannonball-Coltrane Band does a good job of illuminating that connection.
Plunge Tin Fish Tango: NOLA-based Plunge is back again to follow up on their stripped down trombone-based brand of funky jazz found on Dancing On Thin Ice, Tin Fish Tango. Once again, 'bone player Mark McGrain leads a small ensemble with bassist James Singleton of Astral Project, a saxophonist (either Tim Green or Tom Fitzpatrick) and occasionally, sousaphone player Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Once again, there's no drum, and likewise, no problem. Though not explicitly rehashing old-timey jazz, Plunge brings jazz back to its root core, when brass ruled and full drum sets didn't yet materialize. With all but three or four instruments stripped away, it's easier to follow the melody and accompanying harmonies with it, and even the four group improvisations sound clean and orderly, yet full of original statements. The tempo changes plenty enough to keep you moving along from one track to another, from swing and funk to blues and reflective ballads. The spare but filling sound puts you right in some intimate setting like a dive bar in the French Quarter where you might hear something like this being played, only here it's with better musicians. Tin Fish Tango has got the fix for that kind of mood.
Roxy Coss Roxy Coss: Women continue to move into areas of jazz long dominated by men, and in a big way. Even since I made a big to-do about this trend a couple of summers ago the parade of girls muscling their way into the boys' club continues on stronger than ever. The latest to tear down that barrier is a tenor/soprano saxophonist and flautist Roxy Coss. Ms. Coss has just released her first CD and although there's pretty face on the cover of it, she's anything but just that. She's got a very sweet but full tone and knows not to pile on too many notes, just play the right ones and makes it sound easy in the process. Moreover, she wrote all eight tracks for her self-made CD, which range from waltzing balladry ("Wandering One") to slowly sizzling soul ("Lately") to fusion ("The Slow Ascent"), to full-on straight ahead jazz ("The Cherry On Top"). This and her changing instruments of choice keeps the record varied and interesting. Even though many of the tracks are electric jazz with a contemporary vibe, none of it ever sounds like something that would find its way on a smooth jazz station; Coss' music might be very listenable but it's not overly light. Backed by a quintet that includes Kate Miller as a very capable foil on trumpet, Roxy Coss is an easy record to get into without any guilty feelings. Visit her website here.
Shawn CostantinoWaltz For Anne: Listening to Shawn Constantino's Waltz For Anne, I can draw a lot of parallels between this and Roxy Coss' record. Both specialize in various woodwind instruments as well as the flute, and both records are contemporary jazz, sometimes electric and sometimes acoustic, but none too fluffy. In all, both unsigned artists made very agreeable debut albums that showcases their multi-instrument skills and composing acumen. But Constantino's tenor has a harder edge to it, more akin to Stanley Turrentine or Gene Ammons. Also, he takes on a few standards, but only one of them ("The Touch of your Lips") is a jazz one. The other two are taken from The Beatles ("Can't Buy Me Love") and James Taylor ("Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"). However, the best cut comes from his own pen: the dreamy, soulful “Whatever You Do" not only features some inspired sax playing from Constantino, but Andrew Synowiec's distinctly rockin' Larry Carlton dialect on guitar. The record is perhaps a tad uneven with a little bit of filler, but nonetheless a very good first step overall. Constantino seems to have a lot to say musically, and hopefully we'll be hearing more from him.
Purchase: Shawn Constantino—Waltz For Anne
Peter Scherr Son Of August: Peter Scherr is an American jazz bassist who resides in Hong Kong and spends his time trying to foster creative music within China. A few years ago, he got the urge to fulfill a longtime goal of making music with saxophonist Michael Blake, and he wanted to make sure it was going to be done right. So, he headed over halfway around the globe to NYC where the studio Brooklyn Recording is located and pulled together some of his favorite musicians for the session. That meant his brother Tony on guitar (and a second bass for one track), Mike Sarin on drums and Brad Shepik on a second guitar. Scherr likes Blake for his soulful, gruff but warm tenor sound, and made the music fit perfectly around it; listen to the slow blues rock of “August" for a good place to find just how well the music meshes with the man. Though Scherr set out to do an album that walks the line between jazz and rock, the two-guitar lineup and the forceful playing of Sarin put this more over on the rock side. That's okay, as it still rocks with some swing, mainly due to the boppish, rhythmically precise playing of Scherr himself. Shepik sounds as loose and relaxed as I've ever heard him; his solo on the funky “Son Of August" is righteously bluesy with a bit of an edge. “Lucky 13" is an exception in that it is pretty much straight-up jazz and the group plays with a laid back but steady stride. Son Of August, out on Scherr's own 1 Hour Music label, is heady—-and head-nodding—-fusion that was well worth the thirty-six hour flight Peter Scherr endured in order to make this record a reality.
Robert Hurst Unrehurst Volume 2: Robert Hurst is a guy I remember being Wynton Marsalis' bassist in the late 80s, before performing in the same capacity for Branford's Tonight Show band. From there, I don't recall much. But that's on me because in reality, Hurst has kept very busy: he's served as a sideman for everyone from Lou Rawls to Keb' Mo' to a steady association with Diana Krall. He's also scored movies and served as an Associate Professor of Music at University of Michigan. All of this work has been done at the expense of making many records under his own name but he did a lot of catching up earlier this week with the release of not one but two albums, his first in about ten years. Bob Your Head, a wild mixture of jazz, hip-hop, African and other music forms is one of those, but the focus here is on the other: an acoustic, live straight jazz trio performance called Unrehurst Volume 2. Volume 1 came out in 2001 and featured the young, budding pianist from Houston Robert Glasper, as well as Damion Reid on drums. The second volume again has Glasper on piano, but Chris Dave on drums. Recorded back in '07, Glasper had since launched his solo career and created a sensation in the jazz world. His full-bodied approach the piano is perfect for this muscular setting, but he is also a nuanced enough player to make his single note lines hold depth (as in his nice solo on Cole Porter's extensively reworked “I Love You"). He also contributes a solidly swinging in 3/4, “Truth Revealed," where the rapport between him and Dave is fantastic. Hurst is very responsive bassist, providing a fat, pulsing bottom that never gets in the way, but rounds out the sound just right. Hurst's two songs don't quite measure up to Glasper's, but are nonetheless effective vehicles for the players to stretch out and create. After all, the title has “Unrehurst" in it and it does because the players didn't get a chance to prepare for the gig. They had to play even more on their feet and through five extended tracks some strong telepathy pulled them through the session with flying colors. Unrehurst Volume 2 has fantastic playing, some pretty good songs overall and a consistently high energy level. There's not much more you can ask for from a live, straight-ahead jazz record.
Purchase: Robert Hurst—Unrehurst Volume 2
By S. Victor Aaron
Well, I didn't expect I'd being doing this so early.
Here we are just weeks into the new year and it's already time to work off some mounting stacks of CD's that have arrived since around Christmas or so. We can't let these fall be the wayside because they're just too hard to ignore, however. It's all jazz, and all released this month, or perhaps a little earlier. And all from artists being introduced on this space for the first time. Indeed, there are a couple of debut records in here.
So here goes the first catch-up post of the year, and on January 27, it's not a moment too soon. At least this time I didn't wait until November to get started on it...
Luther Hughes And The Cannonball-Coltrane Band Things Are Getting Better: Bassist Luther Hughes leads a tenor sax/alto sax quintet in its forth recording paying tribute to the spirit of Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane. Specifically, The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago album recorded with Miles Davis' band sans Miles himself just six months before they all reconvened to tape this little landmark record called Kind Of Blue. There are no tracks from that only album to feature both saxophone giants without the trumpet giant (although “Primrose Star" is based on the chord changes of “Stars Fell On Alabama"). Instead, it seeks to capture the spirit of the two playing together through songs the two each played early in their post-Miles careers, or originals that were clearly inspired by their style of the time. That's why brother Nat's song “Jive Samba" is on here, as well as Cannonball's own “Things Are Getting Better" and a finger snapping rundown of “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise," covered by 'Trane on his Live At The Village Vanguard disc from 1961. The originals written by various band members are faithful to the early 60s styles of the two icons: “Sunset At Hermosa" is one of those breezy, Latin-flavored tunes of the style that Cannonball love to play, while “McCoy" echoed the chordal voicings of Coltrane's pianist, McCoy Tyner. Though Adderley and Coltrane went in entirely separate directions musically, they found their common ground within the Davis band that lingered in each man's style for years after they left the band: a commonality based on blues, soul and sharp performances. The Cannonball-Coltrane Band does a good job of illuminating that connection.
Plunge Tin Fish Tango: NOLA-based Plunge is back again to follow up on their stripped down trombone-based brand of funky jazz found on Dancing On Thin Ice, Tin Fish Tango. Once again, 'bone player Mark McGrain leads a small ensemble with bassist James Singleton of Astral Project, a saxophonist (either Tim Green or Tom Fitzpatrick) and occasionally, sousaphone player Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Once again, there's no drum, and likewise, no problem. Though not explicitly rehashing old-timey jazz, Plunge brings jazz back to its root core, when brass ruled and full drum sets didn't yet materialize. With all but three or four instruments stripped away, it's easier to follow the melody and accompanying harmonies with it, and even the four group improvisations sound clean and orderly, yet full of original statements. The tempo changes plenty enough to keep you moving along from one track to another, from swing and funk to blues and reflective ballads. The spare but filling sound puts you right in some intimate setting like a dive bar in the French Quarter where you might hear something like this being played, only here it's with better musicians. Tin Fish Tango has got the fix for that kind of mood.
Roxy Coss Roxy Coss: Women continue to move into areas of jazz long dominated by men, and in a big way. Even since I made a big to-do about this trend a couple of summers ago the parade of girls muscling their way into the boys' club continues on stronger than ever. The latest to tear down that barrier is a tenor/soprano saxophonist and flautist Roxy Coss. Ms. Coss has just released her first CD and although there's pretty face on the cover of it, she's anything but just that. She's got a very sweet but full tone and knows not to pile on too many notes, just play the right ones and makes it sound easy in the process. Moreover, she wrote all eight tracks for her self-made CD, which range from waltzing balladry ("Wandering One") to slowly sizzling soul ("Lately") to fusion ("The Slow Ascent"), to full-on straight ahead jazz ("The Cherry On Top"). This and her changing instruments of choice keeps the record varied and interesting. Even though many of the tracks are electric jazz with a contemporary vibe, none of it ever sounds like something that would find its way on a smooth jazz station; Coss' music might be very listenable but it's not overly light. Backed by a quintet that includes Kate Miller as a very capable foil on trumpet, Roxy Coss is an easy record to get into without any guilty feelings. Visit her website here.
Shawn CostantinoWaltz For Anne: Listening to Shawn Constantino's Waltz For Anne, I can draw a lot of parallels between this and Roxy Coss' record. Both specialize in various woodwind instruments as well as the flute, and both records are contemporary jazz, sometimes electric and sometimes acoustic, but none too fluffy. In all, both unsigned artists made very agreeable debut albums that showcases their multi-instrument skills and composing acumen. But Constantino's tenor has a harder edge to it, more akin to Stanley Turrentine or Gene Ammons. Also, he takes on a few standards, but only one of them ("The Touch of your Lips") is a jazz one. The other two are taken from The Beatles ("Can't Buy Me Love") and James Taylor ("Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"). However, the best cut comes from his own pen: the dreamy, soulful “Whatever You Do" not only features some inspired sax playing from Constantino, but Andrew Synowiec's distinctly rockin' Larry Carlton dialect on guitar. The record is perhaps a tad uneven with a little bit of filler, but nonetheless a very good first step overall. Constantino seems to have a lot to say musically, and hopefully we'll be hearing more from him.
Purchase: Shawn Constantino—Waltz For Anne
Peter Scherr Son Of August: Peter Scherr is an American jazz bassist who resides in Hong Kong and spends his time trying to foster creative music within China. A few years ago, he got the urge to fulfill a longtime goal of making music with saxophonist Michael Blake, and he wanted to make sure it was going to be done right. So, he headed over halfway around the globe to NYC where the studio Brooklyn Recording is located and pulled together some of his favorite musicians for the session. That meant his brother Tony on guitar (and a second bass for one track), Mike Sarin on drums and Brad Shepik on a second guitar. Scherr likes Blake for his soulful, gruff but warm tenor sound, and made the music fit perfectly around it; listen to the slow blues rock of “August" for a good place to find just how well the music meshes with the man. Though Scherr set out to do an album that walks the line between jazz and rock, the two-guitar lineup and the forceful playing of Sarin put this more over on the rock side. That's okay, as it still rocks with some swing, mainly due to the boppish, rhythmically precise playing of Scherr himself. Shepik sounds as loose and relaxed as I've ever heard him; his solo on the funky “Son Of August" is righteously bluesy with a bit of an edge. “Lucky 13" is an exception in that it is pretty much straight-up jazz and the group plays with a laid back but steady stride. Son Of August, out on Scherr's own 1 Hour Music label, is heady—-and head-nodding—-fusion that was well worth the thirty-six hour flight Peter Scherr endured in order to make this record a reality.
Robert Hurst Unrehurst Volume 2: Robert Hurst is a guy I remember being Wynton Marsalis' bassist in the late 80s, before performing in the same capacity for Branford's Tonight Show band. From there, I don't recall much. But that's on me because in reality, Hurst has kept very busy: he's served as a sideman for everyone from Lou Rawls to Keb' Mo' to a steady association with Diana Krall. He's also scored movies and served as an Associate Professor of Music at University of Michigan. All of this work has been done at the expense of making many records under his own name but he did a lot of catching up earlier this week with the release of not one but two albums, his first in about ten years. Bob Your Head, a wild mixture of jazz, hip-hop, African and other music forms is one of those, but the focus here is on the other: an acoustic, live straight jazz trio performance called Unrehurst Volume 2. Volume 1 came out in 2001 and featured the young, budding pianist from Houston Robert Glasper, as well as Damion Reid on drums. The second volume again has Glasper on piano, but Chris Dave on drums. Recorded back in '07, Glasper had since launched his solo career and created a sensation in the jazz world. His full-bodied approach the piano is perfect for this muscular setting, but he is also a nuanced enough player to make his single note lines hold depth (as in his nice solo on Cole Porter's extensively reworked “I Love You"). He also contributes a solidly swinging in 3/4, “Truth Revealed," where the rapport between him and Dave is fantastic. Hurst is very responsive bassist, providing a fat, pulsing bottom that never gets in the way, but rounds out the sound just right. Hurst's two songs don't quite measure up to Glasper's, but are nonetheless effective vehicles for the players to stretch out and create. After all, the title has “Unrehurst" in it and it does because the players didn't get a chance to prepare for the gig. They had to play even more on their feet and through five extended tracks some strong telepathy pulled them through the session with flying colors. Unrehurst Volume 2 has fantastic playing, some pretty good songs overall and a consistently high energy level. There's not much more you can ask for from a live, straight-ahead jazz record.
Purchase: Robert Hurst—Unrehurst Volume 2
