Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Sofferman Perspective: One Stone, Two Birds

206

The Sofferman Perspective: One Stone, Two Birds

By

View read count
Brooke Sofferman's original music carries with it both a deep loyalty to jazz's tradition and a surging perspective of where jazz is headed. You'll find pointers at his website, which will lead you to audio samples.

The title track shifts meters between 7/4, 6/4, 13/4 and 9/4. These rhythmic changes allow the band to explore, while stutter steps keep the listener wrapped up in a groove. In Sofferman we find a composer who respects the listener's thirst for variety. By creating a bridge between known, swinging jazz and a more forward-leaning power, the drummer/composer is helping to shape our future.

Norm Zocher, Phil Grenadier and Jerry Bergonzi carry the band's front line with strength. Their sometimes moody and sometimes upbeat rock presence gives the session ample fire. Together, the ensemble teems with emotion. Abby Aaronson sits in for the medley from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite and for the popular television theme that closes out the album. Her multiple octave wordless vocals over bass add a timeless measure to the session.

'Uh-ah-ooo-ah,' on the other hand, infuses a rare quality into an otherwise straight-ahead piece. Opening and closing with spoken 'Oohs' and 'Aahs,' the composition uses several human voices as an integral part of its rhythm. With equal parts rhythm, melody and harmony, the Sofferman Perspective leaps straight ahead in its quest to help shape the future of jazz.

Track Listing

Mimi?s Mambo; Bo-beh-lo; Purple Friggin? Dinosaur; One Stone, Two Birds; Ky by Sky; Griegarious Skang (Morning, In the Hall of the Mountain King); Boppa?s Bossa; Uh-ah-ooo-ah; Sunbird; Wouberfish; Triptophan; Magnum P.I. Theme.

Personnel

Jerry Bergonzi- tenor saxophone; Phil Grenadier- trumpet; Norm Zocher- guitar; Alexei Tsiganov- piano; Thomson Kneeland- acoustic bass; Brooke Sofferman- drums; Abby Aaronson- electric bass & wordless vocals on ?Griegarious Skang? and ?Magnum P.I. Theme.?

Album information

Title: One Stone, Two Birds | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Summit Records


About Brooke Sofferman

Tags


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Brooke Sofferman Concerts


Become a Sustaining Member

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.

More

A Distant Land
Rich Halley 4
Renovation
Benny Green
Kevin Sun, I.
Kevin Sun

Popular

Desolation Row
David Maranha / Rodrigo Amado
2014 NYC
King Crimson
Beneath Lifted Skies
Linda May Han Oh & Melissa Aldana
Talamanti
Patricia Brennan and Sylvie Courvoisier

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletters highlight our top stories, top album reviews, website news, free songs, radio & podcast shows, news, 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.