Benny and Bucky at the Dakota©Andrea Canter

Green on piano and Pizzarelli on guitar offer their interpretations of classics from The Great American Songbook, featuring compositions by Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer and John Green, among others.  The album opens with Green’s introduction of “These Foolish Things” and Pizzarelli, on his seven-string Benedetto guitar, joins the chorus at the absolutely perfect moment.  The beauty of their conversations on the album is in evidence with this opening arrangement--they take turns making statements that elicit responses in support of what was just said, expand the dialogue in a new direction, engage in point/counterpoint, summarize the discussion, and then bring the discourse to a satisfying close. 

Jay Epstein©Andrea Canter

Long Ago was the first recording from drummer Jay Epstein, with pianist Bill Carrothers and bassist Anthony Cox.In describing the effort, Jazz Times noted “energetic, sometimes dark and eerie, peak musical moments abound with seasoned artistry.” But that was long ago (1997)—we’ve waited more than a decade for lightning to strike twice for this magical trio. Finally Epstein, Carrothers and Cox come back with Easy Company (GoneJazz). These artists are not new to the Twin Cities or national jazz scene or to each other; each has established his reputation through countless recordings, tours, and performance at diverse venues.

Frankhouse

The Twins Cities jazz scene boasts some very fine brass ensembles. There’s Snowblind, the CC Septet, Jack Brass, Hornheads, X-Tet, and now Frankhouse. Led by trumpeter Dan Frankowski, this quintet has released its debut recording, Thought Versus Emotion. And don’t let that title fool you, there’s plenty of thought and emotion throughout these sixteen tracks.

Mission Statement

Mission Statement features tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene along his working band of Xavier Davis on keyboards, Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums.  They have performed together for seven years and their musical conversations are superb and seemingly effortless, though we know that’s not the case. (BTW, for effective discourse, is there anyone who practices the art of listening better than accomplished jazz musicians?) 

The Greene Quartet is developing the simpatico you hear from super groups that have been together awhile and appear to communicate telepathically when performing.  Examples of this would be the Keith Jarrett Trio, the Branford Marsalis Quartet or the Dave Holland Quintet.  The musicianship on this album is as tight as those standard-bearers.  Guest appearances are made by guitarist Lage Lund and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, and it all adds up to a buy recommendation for this CD. 

Sweet Nothin's

There is magic afoot for The Midnight Serenaders’ second album. Sweet Nothin’s manages to avoid the sophomore slump and retains all the things which made their first album special without merely falling back upon a specific, now-proven formula.  The personnel is the same sextet from their first album and their familiarity with each other allows for not only an effortless interplay but a certain degree of playful virtuosity, which causes this studio recording to give off the excitement of a live date. The album is a little under an hour long, made up of (mostly) early big band standards and originals penned by The Serenaders’ Dee Settlemier. The packaging has vintage looking graphics inside and out with no liner notes.  

The Serenaders have always been a sort of musical era hub, embracing hot jazz, country swing and early Americana before genres became static in regards to what made up each of them. Listening to them play, one immediately picks up on an authenticity of execution which also manages to maintain an organicness, aural echoes of a sort; as Tin Pan Alley scribes sit drinking diner coffee with Gotham nighthawks while Fats Waller tinkers away in the background on an old upright.  While the components and roots from which The Serenaders draw their inspiration remain the same, they keep it interesting by varying the degrees from song to song in how much of each genre they draw from, the naissance of the big band era pedigree being the commonality.   

Chromatosphere

Jazz guitarist Jake Hertzog has recently released an adventurous new jazz fusion album titled Chromatosphere (That’s Out Records), which was recorded and produced by Grammy-winner Joshua Paul Thompson.  Originally a guitarist performing in rock bands, Jake turned his interests to jazz and began studying with Chip McNeill in high school, later performing with the University of Illinois jazz ensembles.  Soon he was off to the Berkley College of Music on scholarship, graduating in 2007.  Of the numerous awards Jake has won for his playing, most notable was at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition.

The album starts with “California Hills,” which is the most thrilling track on the album but also the farthest removed from the collective sound and vibe of the rest of the songs.  It seems to work very well, though, as a lead into the album, because it delivers some of the abrasive energy of rock music to vitalize the listener, coupled with the delicate intricacies of a refined jazz player.