Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Morgan Childs Quintet: Time

221

Morgan Childs Quintet: Time

By

View read count
Morgan Childs Quintet: Time
It is no exaggeration to suggest that the energy of this quintet, led by drummer Morgan Childs, brings back memories of an era when Art Blakey led Messengers bands that included saxophonists such as Wayne Shorter and trumpeters like Terrance Blanchard or Wynton Marsalis. This quintet sounds as crafted and tight on Time as some of the best Messengers bands once sounded, though Childs is not a Blakey-like drummer. He is much more lyrical, and even though he is playing a traditional trap set he often sounds as if he were playing a melodic instrument. Childs is not just a fine instrumentalist then, but is also a beating heart in the wholesome body of his quintet.

This record is also reminiscent of a program that bebop artists held down. It pulsates with that kind of rhythm and fervor. Trumpeter Chris Davis is raw and simmering hot. Saxophonist Evan Arntzen is gloriously full-bodied and forthright. Bassist Sean Cronin conjures up Ray Brown as he caresses and stabs at his bass, plucking it to life as Amanda Tosoff is positively breathtaking at the piano. Together, this quintet attacks a repertoire that ranges from a classic standard from Finnegan's Rainbow, "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?," to classic bop songs such as Donald Byrd's "Omicron."

Uniquely, Childs rarely solos on the record, taking a few choruses now and then. And when he does, as on Ritchie Powell's "Powell's Prances," he does so with such vigor that he infuses the melody with a robust rhythm all over again. The spotlight rotates mostly from the piano of Tosoff to Arntzen's tenor saxophone and bounces off the brass bell of Davis' horn. The same can be said of Cronin, who is subdued throughout the racy, bebop set. Davis is superb when he solos with the Harmon mute on "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?," trading eights with Arntzen.

This is not, obviously, a regular group, but one brought together for a live concert and a recording with Childs as leader, though the interplay between each of the musicians suggests otherwise. And this is what makes the recording thoroughly enjoyable. It is also a wonder that the music—most of it in a hard-rocking bop idiom—sounds ravishing when it is so easy to sound jaded playing such fare. This also speaks to the enduring nature of the music itself.

Track Listing

Omicron; Re-entry; Behind The Bar; Powell's Prances; How Are Things In Glocca Morra?; Simmer Low; Time; Petit Dejeuner; The Closer.

Personnel

Chris Davis: trumpet; Evan Arntzen: tenor saxophone; Amanda Tosoff: piano; Sean Cronin: bass; Morgan Childs: drums.

Album information

Title: Time | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Cellar Live

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.