Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Orbert Davis: Priority

171

Orbert Davis: Priority

By

View read count
Orbert Davis: Priority
Priority, the sophomore effort of Chicago's trumpeter Orbert Davis, comes six years after his debut, Unfinished Memories. Though the six-year gap may explain why he isn't as well known as some contemporaries, his activities during that time demonstrate why he will soon be joining their ranks. Over the last six years, Davis has proved what many have said about him when he debuted: he's an incredibly talented, versatile player in the hard bop tradition. His technical skills, whether playing Armstrong tunes or working alongside a string section, rank among the best in Chicago.

Priority shows Davis' return to form technically, most notably on his cover of Miles Ahead. Along with fellow musicians Ryan Cohan (piano) and Coltrane-inspired tenor man Ari Brown, both of whom deliver a strong performance throughout, Orbert once again shows us his remarkable playing ability. Priority also features several of the artist's original compositions, in my opinion the compositions are lacking the intensity you come to love from Orbert's playing. One song that stands out is The Double Blues, featuring Chicago vocalist Kurt Elling. In my opinion this track is slow compared to the rest of the CD. I felt like it wanted to go somewhere but it never made it anywhere.

Overall, it's a very balanced recording.

With luck, we won't have to wait another six years for Orbert to return to the studio.

Track Listing

1. Priority2. Ask Me Nicely3. Relentless4. Block Party5. Miles Ahead6. E.T. (Edwin's Trombone) 7. The Double Blues (featuring Kurt Elling)8. Midnight In Bahia (featuring Kurt Elling & Bobbi Wilsyn)9. Ain't No Sunshine10. Vice-Versa11. Scourin'12. Weatherbird

Personnel

Orbert Davis
trumpet

Ernie Adams - Percussion, Drums, Ari Brown - Sax (Tenor), James Cammack - Bass, Orbert Davis - Trumpet/Flugelhorn, Steve Eisen - Sax (Tenor), Kurt Elling - Vocals, Pat Ferreri - Guitar, Bobbi Wilsyn - Vocals, Ryan Cohan - Piano

Album information

Title: Priority | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: 3Sixteen Records

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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

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.