Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marcus Printup: Nocturnal Traces

211

Marcus Printup: Nocturnal Traces

By

View read count
Marcus Printup: Nocturnal Traces
Second, Additional Thoughts. AAJ collegue Jim Santella opined on Marcus Printup's most recent release Nocturnal Traces in the December 1998 issue of the magazine stating that "Printup's Tone is thin and pure; his technique down-to-earth..." That is exactly how I found this recording and I wanted to further discuss its fineness against the larger backdrop of larger ensemble jazz.

Stripping Down. One of my central loves in classical music is Georg Fredric Handel's Messiah. This oratorio has been interpreted in dozens of ways, but a recent trend has been to reduce both the orchestra and chorus. This has typically made classical strict constructionists bristle. I, however, find this bare-minimum performance approach illuminating and educational. So with Nocturnal Traces. After having listened to Roy Hargrove's Habana, Wynton Marsalis' Standards Volume 5, and Nicholas Payton's most recent recordings (all which are very fine), it is rejuvenating to here a simple trumpet quartet performing a collection half of standards and half of originals, in a straight-forward yet novel manner.

When to Explore.... One of the most appealing things about Nocturnal Traces is how familiar it sounds. Certainly there is no new musical ground broken here, but that is not the point. This is a recording of a young trumpeter with his regular band. They have a beautiful empathy and understanding of one another that is reflected in their playing, most particularly the ballads. Viewing this group as a soloist supported by a piano trio, the fit is perfect. The rhythm section is evenly integrated in performance and engineering. Printup's trumpet is fresh and pleasant to hear. His musical ideas are well constructed and are synergistically augmented by pianist Kevin Bales. All of this is capably supported on the rock that is Ricky Ravelo and Woody Williams.

Standards/Originals. The highlights of this disc full of highlights are the original opener "Woody's Beat" a Post Bop extravaganza employing the full range of Printup's Quartet's talents and the age old standard "Ain't Misbehavin'", given a wonderful blues treatment. This disc is as refreshing and tart as a gin and tonic in the summertime.

Track Listing

Woody's Beat. Have You Met Miss Jones?, Shertzing Along, Body and Soul, Black Coffee, Pier Pressure, Nocturnal Traces, Ain't Misbehavin', How Do You Keep the Music Playing, Freddie's Inferno

Personnel

Marcus Printup: Trumpet; Kevin Bales: Piano, Ricky Ravelo: Bass; Woody Williams: Drums.

Album information

Title: Nocturnal Traces | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Marcus Printup Concerts


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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.