Bob Mintzer: All L.A. Band

Fuzzy Music
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: All L.A. Band

Some musicians are like fine wine: The longer they exist, the better the quality when the bottle is opened anew. Saxophonist Bob Mintzer and drummer Peter Erskine are two examples. And, as often is the case, primo artists attract other primo artists; the result is a magnificent case of jazz.

The L.A. Jazz Band features some of the finest musicians who make their home on the West Coast: a trumpet section of five masters; a trombone section of four equally adept artists; a three-man reed section; Larry Koonse on guitar; Russ Ferrante on piano; and a bassist and another percussionist to support Erskine, who also produced this album. 

Mintzer composed and arranged all the tracks, and the result is a monster library that covers all jazz bases. The shelves include three Afro-Cuban selections, one of which is the opener, “El Caborojeno,” which grabs you by the throat and swings madly. The Basie-style charts — “Havin’ Some Fun,” “Home Basie” and “Tribute” — are typical of that wonderful style; every part of your body will start moving, as you join into the beat.

“Original People” is in a reggae mood, and a couple of tunes will take you back to the Yellowjackets days. (Mintzer was a member of that group for 20 years.) He also wrote “Slo Funk” for the Buddy Rich band, when he was a sideman with them. Nor can we overlook hard bop, exemplified by “Runferyerlife.”

This is a wonderful trip through all of the avenues of Jazz City. The ensemble melodic lines groove smoothly, and the many solo choruses are first-class. As always is the case, when I hear big band albums such as this one — produced via only one recording session, or special occasion — I’m reminded of the past, when this kind of music was readily available almost everywhere, almost any time.

This is a very welcome blast from the past.

Patrick Williams: Home Suite Home

BFM Jazz
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Home Suite Home

Who gets the credit for a great jazz album? It’s usually the performing artist(s), and that almost always means an instrumentalist or vocalist. Well, that isn’t the case here; all the credit belongs to Patrick Williams. He composed and arranged the music; he selected the instrumentalists and vocalists; and he was the driving force behind it all.

Williams may not be a household name among jazz fans, but recording artists and producers certainly know and appreciate him. He has written the music for more than 65 feature films, 100 television films and 25 television series. He has won four Emmys and two Grammys — out of 19 nominations — and he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, for his orchestral work An American Concerto.

Needless to say, he had his pick of the 18 instrumentalists and three vocalists who participated on this album. Every serious jazz fan will recognize all of them, starting with vocalists Patti Austin, Tierney Sutton and Frank Sinatra Jr. The instrumentalists include pianist Dave Grusin, drummer Peter Erskine, trumpeter Arturo Sandavol, trombonist Bob McChesny, and saxists Bob Sheppard and Tom Scott.

The true “stars,” however, are the eight tracks composed and arranged by Williams. Four are tributes to members of his family: children Elizabeth, Greer and Patrick B., and his wife of 53 years, Katherine. The rest relate to musicians Williams reveres: “A Hefti Dose of Basie,” for composer/arranger Neal Hefti and Count Basie; “That’s Rich” (drummer Buddy Rich); “I’ve Been Around” (Frank Sinatra), sung by Frank Sinatra Jr. and Tierney Sutton; and “52nd & Broadway,” sung by Patti Austin.

The arrangement voicings are second to none; the interplay between the brass, reed and rhythm sections is to die for. And the result swings like crazy; I’ve never heard better!

The descriptor genius gets overused, but no other adjective applies to Williams, for what he has created here.  You’ll never tire of listening to what he hath wrought.

Joanne Tatham: Out of My Dreams

Cafe Pacific Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Out of My Dreams

Months have passed since I’ve been able to review a truly excellent female vocalist, and even longer since I found somebody backed up by equally excellent musicians. Well, today’s the day.

Joanne Tatham is the main attraction, and she’s supported by primo artists such as pianists Tamir Hendelmen and Jamieson Trotter; bassists John Clayton and Lyman Medeiros; guitarist Marcel Carmargo; saxman Bob Sheppard; and drummers Peter Erskine and Mike Shapiro. The combo sizes, depending on the track, range from simply the guitarist to trios and quartets.

Tatham is new to me, but not to New York or Los Angeles; this is her third album. She began her career as a Broadway musical comedy performer, then moved to L.A. Her voice is simultaneously lush and swinging; every note is precisely on key, and her transitions from one note to the next are soft and swinging. 

As one example, in the opening chorus of “You Taught My Heart to Swing,” she joins the instrumental line so perfectly that it takes several seconds to realize her voice is part of the phrasing. And wow, what a voice!

I’m also impressed by Tatham’s set list. These aren’t tunes commonly associated with the Great American Songbook, but much of them still sounds familiar ... not surprising, considering her Broadway background.

Example include Harry Nilsson’s “Without Him (Her)”; Bob Dorough’s “Devil May Care”; Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story,” also heard on TV’s “Fat Albert”; the jazz standard “Detour Ahead”; “Cool,” from “West Side Story”; and the title tune, from the musical “Oklahoma!” They’re all marvelous.

This is a stunning album. I’m eager for more, and I hope that Tatham will be blessed once again with a similarly talented cadre of musicians.

David Arnay: 8

N Studio Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: 8

Pianist/composer David Arnay is another of the many artists likely unknown beyond the borders of New York, where he spent his early years; or the Los Angeles area, where he now resides and works. Like many of today’s musicians, he teaches and embraces other jobs in order to compose and perform. 8, his third album as a leader, demonstrates that he is both talented and promising.

This disc’s format is unique: The tracks develop and “grow” as they proceed. The opening tune — one of only two that aren’t original compositions — is a swinging solo piano rendition of the Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol classic “Caravan.” Then, as each subsequent track follows, another instrumentalist is added until an octet is created. 

Thus, the addition of bassist Edwin Livingston results in a scintillating duo performance of “11/12/11,” and then drummer Peter Erskine turns the duo into a trio for “Billville,” Arnay’s tribute to Bill Evans. Tenor sax artist Doug Webb creates a quartet that burns its way through “Step Four,” a post-bop swinger. A quintet is formed with the arrival of percussionist Munyungo Jackson, and Webb switches from tenor to bass clarinet for “Old Man Says.” The sextet introduces Paco Loco on guitar, for John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” which — as a striking change — is done as a ballad. (Webb switches to soprano sax for this track.)

Trumpeter Dan Fornero and trombonist Vikram Devasthali replace the guitar to create the septet that performs “Six of One” and, finally, Loco returns on guitar — and Webb picks up his baritone sax — for an octet handling of “Dream Groove.”

No matter the combo  size, the performances are smooth, swinging and unique. If there’s any justice in the music world, Arnay and his associates will receive many more opportunities to entertain us, while — I’ve no doubt — having a lot more fun in the process.

Hiroe Sekine: After the Rainfall

Sekaimusic
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: After the Rainfall

Once in awhile, we encounter an artist who just has too much talent; Hiroe Sekine falls into that category. This Japanese-born young woman is a pianist, composer, arranger and vocalist — she sings in four languages — and she excels at each skill. 

Her first album a-me (which means “rain”), released in 2009, utilized a sextet featuring piano, sax, trumpet, trombone, bass and drums; half the tunes were her compositions, while the rest were jazz standards ... and everything swung marvelously.   

For this release, she retained Bob Shepard on sax and flute, and Peter Erskine on drums, added guitarist Larry Koonse, and utilized two bassists: Darek Oles on acoustic and Jimmy Johnson on electric. This instrumentation, and Shepard’s use of flute and the higher-register reed instruments, results in a “lighter” sound. In addition, while a-me contained only instrumentals, After the Rainfall includes some vocals; Sekine’s voice, heard on the title song (her own composition), Jobim’s “Inutil Paisagesm” and Toninho Horta’s “Aqui O,” is exceptional. Her duet with Arnold McCuller on the beautiful Beatles ballad “In My Life” is gorgeous.

A quartet format — consisting of Sekine’s piano, Sheppard’s soprano sax, Ole’s bass and Erskine’s drums — is used for Chick Corea’s “Windows” (one of Sekine’s favorite melodies). The final three tracks ably demonstrate how well this lady swings. For “So But Anyway,” she switches from piano to electric keyboard; Koonse and Sheppard provide great solos, backed by some tasty work by Erskine. “Spoon Key” is a truly swinging, straight-ahead tune that will cause all body parts to move; and Monk’s lesser-known “Evidence” morphs into a rock/fusion mode.

This is an exciting follow-up to Sekine’s debut album: a release that fulfills the promise of that initial offering. Her many significant talents, particularly when combined with the similarly excellent artists in the combo, will ensure great success for her in the future.

Peter Erskine Quartet: Standards 2: Movie Music

Fuzzy Music
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Standards 2: Movie Music

The 2008 album Standards, featuring the trio of pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Peter Erskine, received a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental. Now, three years later, we finally have a follow-up. The delay resulted, in part, from the sad death of Carpenter, who was replaced by Darek Oles on this release. Additionally, leader Peter Erskine decided to expand the trio into a quartet, by adding Bob Mintzer on tenor sax.

The result: Standards 2: Movie Music.

As Dick Clark once said, "Music is the soundtrack of your life." Each of this album's 10 compositions comes from the soundtracks to films or TV shows that we've watched over the years. In some cases, this would have been a primary theme, repeated in numerous scenes; alternatively, the composition could have been part of the underscore, to emphasize a particular event in the storyline. Either way, the music always heightened the viewing experience.

This album includes music from Gone with the Wind, West Side Story, Dr. Kildare, The Gay Divorcee, Cinema Paradiso, Broadway Melody of 1940 and Anchors Away. You may not remember how the music was incorporated in each case — some of these go back a way! — but you’ll recognize the melodies themselves.

Erskine's combo is excellent. The individuals have played with numerous bands, contributed to literally hundreds of albums, and have recorded together on many occasions. They swing wonderfully here.

Tim Hagans: The Avatar Sessions

Fuzzy Music
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.3.10
Buy CD: The Avatar Sessions

This phenomenal album features some of the world's best musicians ... and yes, I mean the world's best.

Americans Tim Hagans, Peter Erskine, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Rufus Reid, George Garzone and Vic Juris are joined by Sweden's Norrbotten Big Band, which is known all over Europe.

Trumpeter/composer Hagans and drummer Erskine, both master musicians, first met while with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Erskine is an exceptional big band drummer; he keeps everything moving, catches every accent and “fills” superbly. Liebman (tenor sax) is a Miles Davis alum; Brecker (trumpet) got his start with Blood, Sweat and Tears; Reid (bass) played with Dexter Gordon and Thad Jones; and Garzone (tenor sax) has worked with everyone in New York City.

Juris, a famed guitarist, appears on one track.

It should be noted that all these musicians have been around for years; their average age is in the late 50s to mid-60s.

And as for the Norrbotten Big Band, it's simply the most swinging big band working in that country ... and the rest of Europe.

This release's seven tracks, all written and arranged by Hagans, are sensational: They're intricate and complex, they swing like crazy, and the ensemble and solo work will take your breath away.

Each tune is related to an individual or event in Hagans' career: “Buckeyes,” a real burner, is a tribute to the many great jazz musicians hailing from Ohio; “Boo” is a boogaloo chart written for Brecker; “Box of Cannoli” is a relatively up-tempo love song; and “Here with Me,” a true ballad, features Liebman's soprano sax.

“Palt Seanuts” mixes Dizzy Gillespie's bop anthem with a traditional Swedish food item. “Rufus at Gilly's” allows Reid to demonstrate his chops, while “Song for Mirka” pays homage to Mirka Siwek, the producer of the Norrbotten Big Band.

The Avatar in the title refers to the New York studio where the recording session took place. The recording quality, mixing and mastering are superb.

Last, but not least, the album packaging is excellent: plenty of photos, concise writing and helpful information. This is a “must have” album for jazz lovers; it's the best thing I've heard in more than a decade.

The Trio: Live at Charlie O's

Fuzzy Music
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.6.10
Buy CD: Live at Charlie O's

The Trio consists of bassist Chuck Berghofer, pianist Terry Trotter and drummer Peter Erskine; Charlie O's is a jazz club in Valley Glenn, Calif.; and this is one of the best small groups I've heard in ages.

There are musicians, professional musicians and just a very few true musicians like these three individuals, who posses a combined century's worth of experience. A list of the bands and artists they've worked with would fill an entire page, but the key element is that each has performed extensively in back-up groups for vocal icons (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme) and top-ranked bands and instrumentalists (Diana Krall, Stan Kenton, Shelley Manne).

After Berghofer, Trotter and Erskine decided that their touring days were over, they settled into teaching and studio work. For kicks, they play together at clubs such as Charlie O's.

Which is great for the rest of us.

This album is a collection of originals and some of the best standards ever written. When did you last hear “Put Your Little Foot Right Out”? Well, here it is, in a jazz idiom. Two beautiful classics — “Ghost of a Chance” and “How Deep Is the Ocean” — also are present, along with the lesser-known “Afternoon In Paris.”

This isn't background music; it'll grab you by the throat and keep you riveted to the performers. Although Trotter's piano carries the responsibility for the melodic lines and much of the solo work, boredom never sets in. Berghofer's bass is elegant, and Erskine is one of the tastiest drummers working.

Since receiving this album, not a day has passed that I haven't played it. This Trio is mesmerizing.