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NYO Jazz: We're Still Here
ByThe NYO's artistic director is trumpeter, composer and educator Sean Jones who is featured on Ayn Inserto's "Mr. Jones and Co." and Miguel Zenon's "Run with Jones." Others making guest appearances are tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana ("Run with Jones," Zenon's "Oyelo") and trombonist Wycliffe Gordon (his own boisterous "We're Still Here/He's Alright"). Jones wrote the scorching finale, "Transitions." The rest of the program is broad and ambitious, encompassing themes by Duke Pearson ("Bedouin"), John Beasley ("Fete dans la tete"), Duke Ellington ("Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool"), Igmar Thomas ("RPMs"), Ralph Peterson Jr. ("The Art of War") and Neal Hefti's Count Basie classic, "Cute."
The orchestra is given a vigorous workout on the thorny "RPMs," wherein there are no solos, only arduous tests for brass, reeds and rhythm, which NYO passes with flying colors. Here, as elsewhere, listeners would be hard-pressed to deduce that these remarkable musicians were teenagers. But they were, at least when We're Still Here was recorded in 2021. The artistry continues on the fast-moving "Run with Jones," sections of which resemble Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's mercurial "Flight of the Bumblebee." Even so, it is one of the slower-paced numbers, "Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool," which emerges as a definitive highlight, thanks in part to exemplary solos by (and exchanges between) trumpeter Kellin Hanas and violinist Gianna Pedregon.
That is but one highlight among many, as the NYO is laudable from start to finish, as are its well-schooled soloists. Drummer Colman Burks, on brushes, and trumpeter Cameron Davidson are especially engaging on "Cute," which precedes the propulsive "Art of War" and chops-wrenching "Transitions." It is a pity that not all of the improvisers can be named; suffice to say that none of them is less than impressive, nor is NYO as an ensemble, in what it is hoped will be the first of many superlative youth-centered recordings upholding and enriching the time-honored tradition of American big-band jazz.
Track Listing
Oyelo; Mr. Jones and Co.; Bedouin; We’re Still Here/He’s Alright; Fete dans la tete; Mr. Gentle & Mr. Cool; RPMs; Run with Jones; Cute; The Art of War; Transitions.
Personnel
Sean Jones
trumpetMelissa Aldana
saxophoneWycliffe Gordon
tromboneCameron Davidson
trumpetKellin Hanas
trumpetJonah Hieb
trumpetNathan King
saxophoneLevi Rozek
trumpetAce Williams
trumpetEbban Dorsey
saxophone, altoConnor MacLeod
saxophone, altoEmre Tekmen
saxophone, altoEphraim Dorsey
saxophone, tenorMatthew Garcia
saxophone, tenorNoa Zebley
saxophone, baritoneGianna Pedregon
violinBraxton Hart
tromboneDenali Kauffman
tromboneOliver Tuttle
tromboneKenji Wagner
trumpetAdditional Instrumentation
Darien Baldwin: bass trombone; Tyler Bullock II, Hannah Mayer: piano; Kai Burns: guitar; Aidan McCarthy, Ryoma Takenaga: bass; Colman Burks, Koleby Royston: drums.
Album information
Title: We're Still Here | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced
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