Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Steve Hobbs: Spring Cycle

265

Steve Hobbs: Spring Cycle

By

View read count
Steve Hobbs: Spring Cycle
Who says universities create an ivory tower mentality? Educator and vibes master Steve Hobbs has put out a delectably enjoyable CD of accessible, yet thought-provoking music. Employing a front line of Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn), Dave Valentin (flute), and Bob Malach (tenor), his lighter than air thematic statements serve as a perfect foil to the percussive underpinnings of Hobbs and pianist Bill O'Connell.

All of Hobbs' compositions are catchy, memorable, and thoroughly enjoyable. The modal "Blued Swings," with its sophisticated interplay between Valentin and Harrell, is breezy. The lithe and lively melody line of "Spring Cycle" will stay in your mind long after the CD is over. Ditto for "Para Mis Padres," with its lovely and breathy flute melody. The originals by O'Connell are just as well crafted, coherently weaving in the solos as if they were part of the composition.

The driving "Crosswinds," strutting "Marionettes," and rhythm-shifting "Loon Lake" all fit into the mainstream category, with excellently defined solos provided by Harrell and Malach. The only potential indulgence regarding this record relates to the listener, who may want to put it on over and over.

Track Listing

Blued Swings; Spring Cycle; Rough and Ready; Para Mis Padres; On the Street Where You Live; Jean; Mr. PC; Loon Lake; Crosswinds; Marionettes.

Personnel

Steve Hobbs
vibraphone

Steve Hobbs: vibraphone; Tom Harrell: trumpet, flugelhorn; Bob Malach: tenor saxophone; Dave Valentin: flute; Bill O'Connell: piano; Peter Washington: bass; John Riley: drums; Steve Berrios: percussion.

Album information

Title: Spring Cycle | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Random Chance 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.