Dan Block: From His World to Mine

Miles High Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: From His World to Mine

Dan Block is among the many reedmen who make New York City their home. Although not well known to the public outside that area, he's a respected member of the music world. During his career, Block has played with icons such as Charles Mingus, Gerry Mulligan, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Clark Terry, and in bands supporting myriad headliner vocalists.

Block also is one of the few reed players equally fluent on the clarinet.

He holds Duke Ellington in the highest regard, and this album is a compilation of tunes composed by Duke or his alter ego, Billy Strayhorn; they were featured in the band's repertoire from the 1930s through the ‘50s. You may not be familiar with most of the menu, but don’t let that dissuade you; these 14 tracks demonstrate Ellington’s genius as a composer and arranger. Although all the famous members of his bands have passed on, the artists used here have done a magnificent job of recreating the sound and "feel" of those groups.

Ellington was a "portrait" composer; many of his songs were done with a specific member of his band in mind. Bassist Oscar Pettiford was the catalyst for "New York City Blues"; cornetest Rex Stewart for "Morning Glory"; clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton for "Are You Stickin' "; tenor sax artist Jimmy Sears for "Suburbanite"; and so on. Duke’s association with the Cotton Club and a theatrical production called Jump For Joy also are acknowledged.

This album is a trip down Memory Lane, in that marvelous Ellington style, rendered faithfully in trio, quartet and septet formats by excellent musicians. If you’re a Duke fan, you’ll love Block's work here.

Michael Camacho: Just for You

New Found Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.3.08
Buy CD: Just for You

When I say that Michael Camacho isn't well known, I mean it; if you research the name on the Internet, the first individual listed is a real estate agent. 

This particular Michael Camacho is a vocalist, and he reminds me of Chet Baker. The voice isn't robust; Camacho sounds like a Vienna Choir Boy with a jazz mentality. I don't mean that negatively, but the first time you hear him it's almost a shock ... not at all what you'd expect. 

Camacho uses his voice like an instrument, and his phrasing is all jazz. He's backed by an excellent sextet that truly swings. I'm not familiar with any of the players, but they must be upper-class musicians from the New York jazz scene: Tim Regusis on piano; Frances Moutin on bass; Randy Napoleon on guitar; Dan Block on soprano and tenor sax; Darryl Pellegrini and Marcello Pellitere alternating on drums; and Norman Hedman on additional percussion. 

When listening to a vocalist, one generally doesn't pay too much attention to the musicians. That isn't the case here; I found myself looking forward to their background, choruses and solos. 

Camacho wrote five of the 12 tunes on this album. The remainder are covers of some almost forgotten standards — "I'm Old Fashioned," "Skylark" and "This Is Always" — along with several tunes not often vocalized: "Blue Room" and "Spanish Harlem." 

This guy, and his group, grow on you; each replay has impressed me more. I'm awaiting his next CD.