Joe La Barbera Quintet: World Travelers

February is surely a bit early in the year to be talking about the best live recording released in 2023. Still, when you have your socks blown off, time of year is of little concern. Drumming icon Joe La Barbera is back, and in a big way. The pendulum has swung and La Barbera's Quintet was swinging like some hep cats in a small club back in the '50s. It has been some time since La Barbera's last recording. This vibrant performance was played at the intimate and acoustic friendly Sam First Jazz Club in Los Angeles. It was captured by Sam First Records and released as World Travelers.

Bassist Jonathan Richards may very well be nicknamed Elmer. He assuredly was the glue that kept a tight pocket with La Barbera, as well as sticking with the rhythmic foundations which continuously created opportunities for his bandmates to gel and improvise. The all-star quintet also featured pianist Bill Cunliffe, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, and trumpeter Clay Jenkins.

This nine song romp held an upbeat tempo throughout, with glorious changes; most were subtle and flowed seamlessly. Others were sizable bursts or drop downs, as they were intended to be. The quintet beautifully honored each song. They played in service to the music, with no showboating or competitive nonsense. They all have extensive jazz vocabularies, which led to rich conversation and improvisation. Somehow Sheppard continues to fly under the radar, but no doubt he is one of the world's finest jazz saxophonists. Playing both tenor and soprano on this night, he once again shone in solos and made everyone else sound better. Not everyone can do that, but Sheppard always does. Jenkins is cut from the same cloth. Their exchanges were exquisite, complementing each other as opposed to pushing each other. Cunliffe manages to have quiet but strong impressionism. He plays in a trio quite often so, naturally, and most wonderfully, he brings that mindset. This brings two important elements to the ensemble. When the horn section steps out and they play in trio, Cunliffe is, obviously, way into his element. When in quintet, and it is Cunliffe's moment to shine, he pounces on it like a hungry bear. The best of both worlds.

When you think of Joe La Barbera it is hard not to think of Bill Evans. Mind you, that is not a bad thing! Now seventy-four years old, La Barbera sounds as sharp and energetic as ever. While his solos were crisp and intelligent, this outing was much more about playing as a group. The best drummers, well the best musicians, are more interested in what they can contribute to the overall song and/or the conversation. La Barbera is masterful at bringing his own unique sound and mannerisms to the fore while primarily supporting and being creative with his bandmates.

As stated at the outset, World Travelers is an impressive live recording. Its well thought out set list has tunes from, among others, John Coltrane, Duke Pearson, Alan Pasqua, Joe Lovano, Tadd Dameron, as well as from La Barbera and Cunliffe. They are all respectfully reimagined by a quintet which was very much in the zone that night.