Allen Vizzutti: Ritzville

Summit Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Ritzville

Allen Vizzutti is a trumpeter, composer and educator; he’s a master musician to his peers, but is relatively unknown to the general public. He’s also a perpetual- motion machine who never stops performing. His busy schedule derives, in part, from the fact that he performs in both the jazz and classical genres; he’s scheduled for almost 50 recitals and concerts during one six-month period this year.  

Vizzutti was born in 1952 and still in his early 20s when he became a member of Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herd, one of the last of Woody’s great bands. Vizzutti also worked with Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea and Doc Severinson’s Tonight Show Band, and has performed in literally dozens of name military, national, city, state and university concert and symphony orchestras throughout the United States and 40 countries worldwide. 

Oh, yes: He’s also a mainstay in movie studio orchestras.  

Ritzville isn’t your usual album. Vizzutti’s trumpet, flugelhorn and piccolo trumpet are the only “horns” featured; no other brass or reed instruments are used. The basic group also contains pianos (Chick Corea, Darrell Grant and Laura Vizzutti), acoustic and electric basses (Stanley Clarke and Reggie Hamilton), acoustic and electric guitar (Mike Miller) and drums (Ronald Bruner Jr.). These artists share duties on the various tracks. A few tracks also utilize a string section: another bassist, half a dozen violins, two violas and three cellos. And a vocalist for good measure.

These 11 tracks are composed by Vizzutti, and the styles range from traditional jazz through fusion, at meters from hip-hop to blues and ballads. And, no surprise, the awesome inventory of artists and instruments produces a truly joyous noise. 

 

Since Vizzutti is the only horn artist featured, special attention to his performance is warranted. His tone is gorgeous, particularly in the upper registers; it’s brilliant, without ever getting into the screaming mode that so many jazz players create, yet he produces stratospheric notes effortlessly and nails them precisely on key. His techniques with tongue and keys are perfection; I’ve never heard better. That’s essential for classical work, yet when he’s performing jazz, there’s no “stilted” feel to his work. The man can groove with the best.

The other musicians are just what you’d expect; you can’t do better than the likes of Corea, Clarke and the other members of this august “rhythm section.” As for the string group, a special accolade applies: It never gets in the way, but always complements the compositions in the best possible way.

This album is chock full of great music, and great fun ... and it swings, too!

Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White: Forever

Concord Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Forever

Jazz fans already know this: Chick Corea is a living legend, composer, keyboard artist and arranger; Stanley Clarke is one of the finest bassists in jazz; and drummer Lenny White is one of the founders of the fusion genre. All of them are — and have been in the past — members of Corea’s Return to Forever band. This two-CD set celebrates the kick-off of the group's recent world tour.

Disc 1 (recorded live) is identified as a best-of sampler from the 2009 RTF Unplugged world tour. Stylistically, these sessions highlight the artists when they concentrated more on traditional jazz, as opposed to the fusion approach that later dominated their work. "Green Dolphin Street" is the only standard featured here; the rest are originals by Corea and other artists who served time with the band at some point. Most of these iconic melodies have become standards in their own right.

During this period, Corea was using an acoustic piano most of the time and, for me, his command of that "old-fashioned" machine was unmatched by any other artists at the time. I’ve never heard a trio that melded more effectively, or swung more, than these guys did; just listen to "Hackensack" here, to confirm that assessment.

The interplay between Chick and Clarke on the latter’s "La Cancion de Sofia" also is masterful, and one of the most beautiful piano/bass duets ever recorded. Let me amend the "duet" adjective, however: White’s drum support is beyond perfection. He makes everything better without ever intruding on ensemble or solo passages.

Disc 2 was the result of action taken to initiate the reunion tour. Vocalist Chaka Kahn, violist Jean-Luc Ponty and original RTF guitarist Bill Conners joined the trio for a concert at the Hollywood Bowl; all had performed with the band at one time or another. The 10-tune menu from that event contains many of the compositions that made Corea and his various Return to Forever groups famous, including "Captain Marvel" (which originally featured Stan Getz), "Señor Mouse" and "500 Miles High."

This magnificent set was produced by White, with Clarke and Corea taking co-producer credits. You needn't be longtime Corea or Return to Forever fans; either way, this is a must-have album!

The Stanley Clarke Trio: Jazz in the Garden

Heads Up Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.10.09
Buy CD: Jazz in the Garden

Long ago, when meters usually were 2/4 time, the acoustic bass was just a straight rhythm instrument. Unless you were listening to a concert orchestra, it never was used for solos, and then it was “bowed.”

Then along came guys such as Chubby Jackson, who played with one of the early Woody Herman “Herds,” and things began to change. The beat was a solid, driving 4/4, and Jackson even added a fifth string to the basic four-string instrument, to make it easier to place the fingers to achieve desired melodic lines.

As icons such as Ray Brown, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen and Stanley Clarke entered the scene, the bass became an important musical instrument.

This album features the incomparable Clarke and his trio.

Stanley Clarke has been “the” bassist for a long time. He's both a master of the instrument, and a master of innovation, moving quickly from straight-ahead jazz into fusion and the more eclectic genres.

For this release, he's joined by Lenny White — one of the tastiest, hardest-driving drummers working today — and Hiromi Uehara, a young Japanese pianist who made her recording debut just six years ago. White is a living legend who, like Clarke, first played with the Joe Henderson band.

The dozen tracks in this release include covers of great jazz standards such as “Someday My Prince Will Come,” Miles Davis' “Solar,” Joe Henderson's “Isotope” and a take-off on Duke Ellington's “Take the A Train,” titled “Take the Coltrane.” The rest include half a dozen originals by Clarke or Hiromi, along with a traditional Japanese folk song.

It's a marvelous performance by a trio of masterful artists. I hear something new every time I listen.

Stanley Clarke: The Toys of Men

Heads Up International
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 1.3.08
Buy CD: The Toys of Men

Clarke is another iconic bassist who has played with many of the jazz giants. He entered the New York scene shortly after graduating from the Philadelphia Academy of Music in 1971, and immediately found work with the likes of Art Blake, Horace Silver, Dexter Gordon, Gil Evans and a young Chick Corea. 

Clarke and Corea formed the electric jazz/fusion group, Return To Forever, one of the most famous groups of that era. By age 25, Clarke was recognized as the prime pioneer of the jazz fusion movement. He doubled on both the electric and acoustic instruments; he also invented and played two "new" instruments, the piccolo and tenor basses. 

Clarke is a multi-Grammy Award winner, has been the model for aspiring young bassists for decades, and has recorded countless albums during his career. 

All of which makes this the hardest review that I've written in a long time. Quite simply, "The Toys of Men" is the poorest release I've ever heard from Clarke. Granted, his musicianship is excellent, as is that of all the artists supporting him in this endeavor. Sadly, the content is wanting. 

All the tunes were written and arranged by Clarke or other members of the group, and not one of them swings at any tempo. This obviously was intended to be a serious concept album — a musical anti-war expression — but the result is more ostentatious than moving. 

I've noticed this tendency in other great jazz artists: As they leave the zenith of their careers and move onward, they abandon the roots of the artistry and styles that made them famous, and decide it's time to "really get serious." This seldom works to their advantage. 

Once upon a time, Clarke was a joy to see and hear; he was exciting and moving. This album is neither. I don't want somebody preaching at me when I listen to music; I want to be awed and amazed by the genius at work. 

This album didn't do it.