One of the best saxophonists on the scene today is Doug Webb. Webb always produces a vibrant, zesty sound on his tenor and soprano saxes. His new CD is magnificent and includes eight selections, all pretty well-known tunes. The quartet includes Larry Goldings (piano), Stanley Clarke (bass), Gerry Gibbs (drums) and Webb (saxophones), with special guest pianists Joe Bagg on tracks 1 & 4 and Mahesh Balasooriya on track 5. I like every tune on the CD. Each offers true jazz music, relaxes the listener and is better with every listen!

Starting off is “Try a Little Tenderness,” building on a nice melody, then creating smooth interplay with solos from Webb and Bagg. Alec Wilder’s lovely ballad, “I’ll Be Around,” provides peaceful time. Some great listening is provided by both “Fly Me to the Moon” and “You Go to My Head.” “The Boy Next Door” is very alive; Webb’s saxophone on this gem is marvelous and Balasooriya’s piano work sets the bar high.

The rest of the quartet plays relaxed throughout the recording. In “Crazy She Calls Me,” Clarke produces an outstanding bass solo that defines the entire tune. Parker’s “Quasimodo” develops quickly into the normal blues mode that he wrote for many of his famous compositions. The quartet blends wonderfully on Johnny Mandel’s “Emily.” Gibbs’s drumming is eloquent and quietly distinctive with the quartet and Webb’s delicious sax sound to peacefully close off this excellent CD.

Reprinted with permission from L.A. Jazz Scene, November 2010 issue

Chicago native Ryan Cohan has already distinguished himself as pianist, composer and bandleader. His working quartet (the core of this recording) was chosen as one of only a handful of ensembles to tour internationally on behalf of the U.S. State Department through the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rhythm Road program in 2008 and again in 2009.  Cohan’s 2007 Motema release, One Sky, earned accolades as one of the year’s top recordings. Thus expectations were appropriately high for Another Look, the quartet’s debut collection of 9 original compositions and two covers, with special guests, vibes titan Joe Locke and percussion master Steve Kroon, joining Geof Bradfield on sax, Lorin Cohen on bass and Kobie Watkins on drums.

The opening “Monkin’ Around” heralds the compositional finery of the set as well as the elastic phrasing of Joe Locke. Cohan manages to blend strong swing with rhythmic twists, and my first encounter with Geof Bradfield is a delight. The title track shines the spotlight on Locke, shifting from assertive melody to balladic song to acrobatic
improvisation, with increasingly strong and percussive Latin rhythms, courtesy of Cohan (at times suggesting Ahmad Jamal) and the rhythm section. Latin beats fuel Cohan’s spikey arrangement of “Caravan,” highlighting percussionist Kroon as well as the leader’s extensive rhythmic vocabulary and penchant for gear-stripping turns.

Two compositions are divided into two parts, two tracks each. Bradfield goes solo on the tenor intro to “Gentle Souls,” 90 seconds of incantation leading into the sextet’s track and Bradfield’s switch to soprano. Cohan weaves a golden braid with Locke before settling into an exquisite trio conversation that delicately recalls Evans and Jarrett. Just when the track seems to reach resolution, Bradfield builds a haunting bridge between piano and vibes. Another two-part composition, “Song for My Grandfather” opens with just Cohan combining majestic chords and arpeggionated flourishes before yielding to the core trio, the pianist’s slight hesitations in tandem with elegant phrasing again suggesting Jamal; bassist Cohen solos with similar finesse.

The boppishly swinging “Steppin’ Up” closes the set, its high-energy propulsion ignited by Cohen and drummer Kobie Watkins, and with Joe Locke, evokes strong memories of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Another Look confirms Ryan Cohan as a seriously creative force in the composing, arranging and bandleading arenas of modern jazz.

Pianist Bruce Barth and saxophonist Steve Wilson have impeccable credentials individually, as bandleaders, sidemen and jazz educators. The two began jamming together as newcomers to the New York scene some 20 years ago, maintaining their collaboration which now culminates in this stunning duo release, Home:Live in Columbia, MO. 

Home has the intimacy of a house concert—which it was, recorded live in a private home (with an audience of 65) in Columbia, MO as a fundraiser for the community’s “We Always Swing” jazz series. Both Barth and Wilson had participated in the series, but never as a duo. Putting these two melodic players together makes for sublime and playful conversation, Wilson in the role of voice (on alto with two tracks on soprano). Of the challenges of the duo, Wilson says “It’s like tightrope-walking without a net. There’s that empty space, and the temptation to fill it all up keeps you honest.” And this pair keeps it honest throughout the nearly one-hour, 7-track set. 

They open boldly with Cole Porter’s “All Through the Night,” which at 11+ minutes nearly takes us all through the night, showcasing each talent separately as Barth and Wilson alternate solos and spar good naturedly, quoting everything from Monk to Jobim to Porter himself along the way. Cleverly playing off the title, that “Old Devil Moon” rises near the final verse.  

Barth contributes four compositions, written for this session with Wilson in mind. “The Ways of the West,” which has since expanded to a multi-part “Western Suite,” is built around a memorable melody with Wilson on soprano. “L.C.” (named for pianist/composer Laurent Coq)  is sufficiently gentle but the quirks in rhythm keep the listener from drifting into reverie, sort of a Mendelssohn meets Monk dialogue that highlights Barth’s golden touch as well as his compositional chops. In the same irreverent, harmonically extended vein, “Keep It Moving” gives Barth an open palette to paint outside the lines, while his “Blues Interruptus” prompts more Monk analogies, but never more apt than here as Barth gives us a down and dirty blues form with magnificent rhythmic hesitations and changes in direction; Wilson wails like Ethel Waters. 

The music throughout seems rather close to Bud Powell, so it’s natural that Bud’s “Wail” is included in this set. And maybe it’s really Charlie Parker haunting this track, as Wilson turns his alto into an elastic ball of twine, delightfully unraveling from one slipknot to the next; Barth gives him plenty of room, stoked for his solo turn that mirrors his partner’s somersaults while tossing off some gymnastic feats of his own. A madcap duel brings resolution, ending, breathlessly, in tandem. 

They close with a swinging “Sweet and Lovely,” which it is.

I am pleased that I was able to come across this late 2009 CD, Eternal Elixir, from Israeli native tenor saxophonist Benny Sharoni.  His parents began sharing music with him at a very early age, giving him an early calling to jazz music during his teens.  A resident of Boston since his days attending Berklee, he has assembled a crackerjack crew of Boston-area musicians, including Barry Ries (trumpet), Joe Barbato and Kyle Aho (piano, each on several tracks), Mike Mele (guitar), Todd Baker (acoustic bass) and Steve Langone (drums).  His titling of his CD comes from feeling a spiritual side of the music, thus the title Eternal Elixir.   

Of the ten tunes performed, half a dozen hint at the “eternal,” bordering half century as well-known classics.  The other four are Sharoni’s compositions and merit close attention.  One of my favorites was the beginning number, “Bernstein,” composed by Sharoni in tribute to the free spirit of Leonard Bernstein. Sharoni has family ties to Bernstein as well from visits the maestro made regularly to a brother-in-law raised in Israel.  A second favorite would be the bebop composition from trumpet great, Donald Byrd, “French Spice.” “The Pentecostal Feelin,’ ” also by Byrd, has a fine swing and jazz feel from this group.  The hard bop groove takes a break with two softer numbers, “Estaté” and “Sunny.” “Cakes” by Sharoni reflects the nickname he earned from the pancakes he whips up for his bandmates when they come over to rehearse.  “Senor Papaya” is a tribute to his father, who raises fruit back home in Israel on the kibbutz.  It is a tasty composition and full of life.  “Benito’s Bossa Bonita” is a pretty bossa by Sharoni and gives us a lot of rhythmic feel to its melody and harmonic construction.  “To Life” (Jerry Bock, Fiddler on the Roof) features Ries on his muted trumpet and also brings out Sharoni’s extra smooth tenor work.  I hadn’t heard this one or “The Thing to Do” (Blue Mitchell) before.  Everyone plays very well throughout all of this CD.  The rhythm players keep the group tight.  This is a great CD to listen to many times, getting better each listen.  See Benny Sharoni’s website:  www.bennysharoni.com. 

Reprinted (with modifications) from L.A. Jazz Scene, September, 2010 issue