By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Coming Home
I’ve been a jazz fan all of
my life, and I’m turned on by most of its sub-genres and the potpourri of
instruments involved. That said, I’ve always been partial to the slide
trombone. That love began when I first heard the Woody Herman Herd, with
Bill Harris starring in the trombone section; his brilliant, driving style was
a key part of those bands, and he led the way for artists such as J.J. Johnson,
Kai Winding, Bob Brookmeyer, John Fedchock, Curtis Fuller, Wycliffe Gordon and
a host of others.
The newest to join that
august group, Michael Dease, is the star of this album. This relatively young
(early 30s) musician is a master of the instrument. His tone is superb,
his solo passages are tremendously innovative, and he swings like
crazy. Combine that with his prowess as a composer and arranger, and we
have the next big jazz artist.
The Georgia native began his
musical career playing sax, but he switched to trombone before graduating from
high school. He received both bachelor and master of music degrees from
Juilliard and, while there, earned numerous awards. His first breakthrough
was with Illinois Jacquet’s big band in 2002, and Dease currently performs with
numerous other groups headed by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas
Payton, Jimmy Heath and Charles Tolliver. Dease also is a member of Dizzy
Gillespie’s All Stars, and he plays with many smaller groups, including those
under his own name. This release features one of his quintets.
The membership includes
bassist Christian McBride, pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.,
alto saxophonist Steve Wilson and, of course, Dease on trombone. In
addition, Eric Alexander (tenor), Tony Lustig (tenor and baritone) and Andrew
Swift (percussion) guest on several
of this album’s 11 tracks. Five are Dease originals; one is written
by Rosnes, and another by McBride. The rest are jazz standards from Oscar
Peterson, Freddie Hubbard and Duke Ellington, along with and Jules Stein’s
great “Just in Time.” There’s
something from — and for — everyone.
That said, my favorites
include takes on “Just in Time” and Peterson’s “Blues Etude.” The latter is a tricky melodic line involving
trombone, piano and bass in unison, and trading solo lines that groove wonderfully;
the former is done at a blistering tempo that demonstrates Dease’s facility
with the slide at an almost unbelievable speed, along with McBride’s
second-to-none bass pyrotechnics.
You absolutely
shouldn’t miss this album.
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