 Bob Sneider released two new CD's this year, both on Sons of
Sound records. He teamed up with Paul Hofmann on Escapade
and he joined with Joe Locke in The Bob Sneider Joe Locke
Film Noir Project: Fallen Angel. With
these two projects Bob Sneider expresses two sides of jazz. Escapade
is
a duet with pianist Paul Hoffman (a follow-up to there 2004 release:
Interconnection) is chamber jazz at its finest, demonstrating
with
eloquence that jazz is a serious musical idiom. With Fallen Angel
we
change from day to night and from the concert hall to the smoky
basement jazz club, evoking the unforgiving dark underbelly of urban
life. Teaming Sneider's guitar with the haunting sound of
Locke's vibraphone and a killer combo defines the dark mood and sets an
emotional hook. Both CD's are highly recommended.
Escapade, the second collaboration from Bob Snider and Paul
Hofmann,
has found its' way into my CD player over and over again. It reminds me
so much of Jim Hall and Bill Evans masterpiece,
Undercurrent, which is considered one of the best jazz recordings
of
all time and certainly the finest example of jazz piano/guitar duo
performance. Escapade approaches this with a very similar
sound,
especially evident on "My Funny Valentine" the only tune these two
records have in common. The rest of Escapade is most original
compositions by Hofmann and Sneider that reveal a deep understanding of
harmony and form. The music varies in intensity, rhythm and density
with many surprises and clever turns, with several quotes from classic
and baroque music. The interplay between Sneider and Hoffman reveals a
musical relationship based on a desire to create beauty along with
common respect and trust in the ability of the other.
The Film Noir Project includes Bob Sneider on guitar, Joe Locke on
vibes, Bob's brother John Sneider on trumpet, Grant Stewart on
tenor, Paul Hofmann on piano, Phil Flanigan on bass, and Mike
Melito on drums. In
Fallen Angel Bob Sneider with
Joe Locke lead a solid septet though film tunes, the title tune written
by Joe Locke, and "The Last Kiss" written by Paul Hofmann. It is a
concept project that hits its mark with a stylized1940's sensibility,
but subtle solos and post-bop harmonies keep it from being nostalgic
reenactment. From the opening track, Locke's "Fallen Angel", we get a
sense of sadness in the melody on the vibes while Hoffman provides a
relentless supporting vamp that subtly drives the song forward with a
sense of inevitability. Evocative throughout, it's
easy to imagine a black-and-white rain
soaked city street, a pool hall and a mysterious woman who
looks too good to be anything but trouble. I guess the point is this is
music
to listen to. The mood is there, but the musicianship is too. Bob
Sneider adopts a grittier style, but his tone is still sweet and
pure. Locke delivers the goods again and
again on vibes throughout this project along with the solid band on
material that in less skilled hands could've turned out like so many
tired film scores. Throughout Fallen Angel the
combination of guitar,
piano and vibraphone blend surprisingly well and provide a rich blanket
of
sound in these great arrangements. Dave Grusin's "Theme from Mulholland
Falls"and John Bary's "Body Heat, both arranged by Joe Locke,
serve as excellent showcases Grant Stewart's tenor prowess. John
Sneider proves to be a skilled balladeer on trumpet with a full round
sound particularly on "Chinatown (Theme)" which he also arranged.
Guitarist/composer/educator Bob Sneider is currently the Jazz
Guitar
Professor at the Eastman School of Music. Sneider performs a
multi-faceted role at Eastman as Instructor of Jazz Guitar at the
Eastman's Community Education Division and Jazz & Contemporary
Media Department.
Before joining the Eastman faculty in 1997, Bob Sneider won Downbeat's
1989 "Outstanding Performance in High School Jazz" award; an award he
duplicated at the collegiate level in 1993. Sneider toured with
two-time Grammy Award Winner Chuck Mangione for nearly four years.
Other notable performers with whom Sneider has performed include: Nat
Adderley, Don Menza, Nick Brignola, Houston Person, Etta Jones, Nnenna
Freelon, Gene Ludwig, Steve Gadd, Gerry Niewood, Ralph Lalama, Roy
McCurdy, Freddie Cole, Jon Faddis, Keeter Betts and frequent
appearances with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Pops(guitar/banjo). Bob has also toured with his brother John, who
plays on several of the cuts on this debut album.
 The Film Noir Project band
Paul Hofmann was born in Buffalo, New York in 1962. His parents
were
Paul's first piano teachers, and he went on to study at the National
Music Camp (Interlochen, Michigan) and at the Eastman School of Music,
where he now serves full-time on the Eastman Community Music School
faculty.
In this capacity Paul teaches private composition and jazz piano
instruction, as well as teaching a variety of classes and improvisation
workshops ranging from Jazz Composition & Arranging and Jazz Lab
Band to three innovative classes Hofmann has introduced into the
curriculum: New Inventions, New Etudes and Contemporary Popular
Composition. Paul also remains active as a performer, composer and
recording artist; and when time permit as a producer and music
columnist.
 Joe Locke is regarded by many to be the most gifted
vibraphonist of his generation. In addition to his strengths as an
instrumentalist, the recent recordings and live performances by the Joe
Locke & Geoffrey Keezer Quartet, the Milt Jackson Tribute Band and
his group "4 Walls of Freedom", offer evidence of his ever-growing
stature as a band leader, composer and conceptualist.
Locke was born in Palo Alto, California, but raised in Rochester,
N.Y., Locke is a self-taught improviser, though he benefited from his
early studies in classical percussion and composition at the Eastman
School of Music with John Beck, Gordon Stout, Ted Moore and David
Mancini. As a jazz musician, Locke was precocious, having played with
such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Pepper Adams and Mongo Santamaria
before he was even out of high school. Since moving to New York City in
1981, Joe has performed with Grover Washington Jr., Kenny Barron,
Dianne Reeves, Eddie Daniels, Jerry Gonzales' Fort Apache Band, Rod
Stewart,The Beastie Boys, Eddie Henderson, Hiram Bullock, Bob Berg, Ron
Carter, Jimmie Scott, The Mingus Big Band and Randy Brecker, among many
others. Joe has toured extensively throughout the world, both as leader
and guest soloist. Joe Locke has released more than 20 recordings as a
band leader, and appeared on over 100 albums as a guest artist.
|
News 
Thursday, 08 January 2009
Home | Jazz Ed | CD/DVD/Book Reviews | Interviews | SF Bay Area | Chicago | Los Angeles | New York | Twin Cities, MN | More Cities | Festivals | News | Contact | Video | 
