The Mike Jones Trio: Roaring

Capri Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Roaring

The two most important prerequisites for jazz are 1) it’s got to swing; and 2) it should to be fun to make and hear. This album accomplishes both.

You’ve heard pianist Mike Jones before, if you follow the magic team of Penn & Teller; Jones is their show’s opening act. Bassist/vocalist Katie Thiroux was a semifinalist in the 2015 Thelonious  Monk Jazz Competition. She recently released an album that received a rave review here. Drummer Matt Witek, a Berklee College of Music grad, frequently works with Thiroux and luminaries such as Les Fuller and Ken Peplowski.

The rhythm section Jones’ trio creates is a true groove: one of the best I’ve heard in a long time.

This release features 10 compositions from the 1920s (thus the album title). Many likely won’t be familiar to today’s fans, but were big hits during that time period, and still can bring a smile to senior citizens. The tunes swing wonderfully, and the trio obviously had a ball recording them. 

Although Jones and his trio mates hadn’t ever played together, they nonetheless were able to complete this session in less than four hours. Further, only one take was required for each tune. I enjoyed all of them, but my favorite is the opener, “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby”; my feet were stomping, and my fingers snapping, during every bar.

I’m eager to hear more from this group!

Lori Bell Quartet: Brooklyn Dreaming

Self-produced
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Brooklyn Dreaming

I love the flute, in any flavor. One of the best things that ever happened to jazz, was the addition of the flute to the arsenal of instruments with which reed artists have become proficient. It adds a sound — and bright tone — that bring compositions to life.

Lori Bell is a virtuoso musician who excels with this “horn,” in both the C and alto versions. This release, her ninth, features her quartet: pianist Tamir Hendelman, bassist Katie Thiroux, and drummer Matt Witek.

Although Bell resides in San Diego, this album is a homage to New York City and the surrounding areas where she spent her early years. She’s both an instrumentalist and an expert composer; she wrote six of these nine songs. The other three are Charles Mingus’ “Nostalgia in Times Square,” Thelonious Monk’s “52nd Street Theme,” and Earl Hagen’s “Harlem Nocturne.” She arranged all of them.

You’ll immediately notice the quartet’s “lightness” and soft swinging sound. “Beauty” isn’t often used as a jazz descriptor, but that’s a decent term in this case. Bell delivers “happy” music, no matter the tempo; that’s due not only to her fine flute work, but also to  the equally accomplished efforts of her band mates. They’re all very tasty artists, and they swing nicely.

Introducing Katie Thiroux

Basskat Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Introducing Katie Thiroux

Quite a lot of time has passed since a new swinging female vocalist has impressed me; even more time since that same vocalist turned out to be a swinging bassist. Oh, yes: She’s also a composer. 

Meet Katie Thiroux, in her debut album. 

She was only 4 years old when she began to play the violin, and then she switched to the bass at 8. Four years later, a Lionel Hampton album turned her on to jazz, at which point she became a student of vocalist Tierney Sutton. Shortly after that, Thiroux began a mentorship with bassist John Clayton, was chosen as a “Shelley Manne New Talent,” and received the Phil Ramone Presidential Scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. She then taught at the latter’s International School, in Ecuador. 

Thiroux returned to Los Angeles and earned a master’s degree in jazz bass at Cal State Long Beach. She formed her own quartet in 2013, with guitarist Graham Dechter, saxophonist Roger Neumann and drummer Matt Witek. That combo is featured on this album, which was produced by Jeff Hamilton, a master musician in his own right.

Eight of these 11 tunes are Great American Songbook standards, including “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “I’m Old-Fashioned” and “Wives and Lovers.” Thiroux composed “Ray’s Kicks,” “Rosebird” and “Can’t We Just Pretend?”

Finally, Frank Foster’s “Shiny Stockings” provides an excellent opportunity to compare Thiroux to Ella Fitzgerald; both versions swing quite nicely.

Thiroux is a very talented young woman, and we’ll be hearing a lot more from her.