February 2010 issue - Jazz Singers.com

CD Reviews
CRAIG BAILEY –
TIM ARMACOST
BROOKLYN BIG BAND: LIVE AT SWEET
RHYTHM – Candid CCD71803. www.candidrecords.com.
Long Haired Girl; Brazilian Bop;
Take the Coltrane; East of Enid; Animated; Quiet
Time; My Blues; Announcement Funk.
PERSONNEL: Craig Bailey, alto sax, flute; Mark
Gross, alto sax, flute; Tim Armacost, tenor sax, clarinet;
Keith Loftis, tenor sax, flute; Mitch Frohman,
tenor sax, flute; Terry Goss, baritone sax, clarinet;
Riley Mullins, trumpet; Dwayne Eubanks, trumpet;
Larry Gillespie, trumpet; Dave Zalud, trumpet;
Jason Jackson, trombone; Dion Tucker, trombone;
Mike Fahn, trombone; Johannes Pfannkuch, bass
trombone; Gene Jackson, drums; David Berkman,
piano; Joris Teepe, bass.
By Matt Marshall
Recorded at Manhattan’s Sweet Rhythm club,
this big band – and big sound – set from saxophonist/clarinetist
Tim Armacost and saxophonist/flutist
Craig Bailey’s Brooklyn group is a lively collection
of mostly original material, with Duke Ellington’s
“Take the Coltrane” thrown in for good, big-band
measure. Not altogether surprisingly, that Ellington
number is also the freest, most experimental piece on
the record, with the backings improvised and soloists
offering avant-garde squawking. Bailey’s “East
of Enid” follows a convincing arc from David Berkman’s
nicely layered solo-piano opening through
Bailey’s contemplative, resolute flute passages over
swaths of orchestrated horns. Elsewhere, it’s the type
of surging blues-fed horn and woodwind arrangements
you’d expect from Ray Charles’ former musical
director (Bailey), fired by inspired soloing and a
rock-steady rhythm section.
SHERYL BAILEY
A New Promise – MCG Jazz, http://mcgjazz.org.
Lament, East To Wes, Miekkaniemi, A New Promise,
Mocha Spice, Unified Field, Carenia, You And The
Night.
PERSONNEL: Sheryl Bailey (guitar); The Three
Rivers Jazz Orchestra co-directed by Steve Hawk and
Mike Tomaro, Paul Thompson (bass), David Glover
(drums), Jay Ashby (trombone), Hendrik Meurkens
(vibes)
By Dan Adler
Sheryl Bailey is known to jazz fans in her home
base of New York and all over the world as one of the
best leaders of guitar organ trios. With her frequent
performances at “FatCat”, “Bar Next Door” and “55
Bar”, and with five previous CD’s as a leader, she has
become known as a “sizzling jazz guitar goddess”.
But her talents go way beyond the blazing chops and
guitar mastery: Bailey usually performs all original
material, and also has a great reputation as an outstanding
musician, teacher and clinician.
This project was conceived by Bailey together
with producer Marty Ashby, who had the idea of putting
her in front of a full 16-piece jazz orchestra to
create the kind of album not often heard these days.
As Ashby states in the liner notes, this configuration
gave them a wide palette to work from; from solo
guitar, to screaming full-band sections with Sheryl
Bailey’s guitar flying on top of it all. The wonderful
big-band arrangements for the album were done by
Mike Tomaro and Dr. John Wilson.
The opening piece, J.J. Johnson’s “Lament”, is
usually played as a ballad, but here it is presented in
uptempo 3/4 time with an exciting big band arrangement.
Bailey’s guitar solo is burning from the get-go,
with a beautiful round tone, and melodic fresh ideas
that keep coming in rapid succession. The guitar solo
gives way to a wonderful soprano solo followed by an
ensemble solo before Bailey’s guitar returns to restate
the melody and end with a cadenza. The arrangement
is full of delightful twists and changing moods,
which really make this a memorable piece.
“East To West” is the first of three compositions
by Emily Remler, a wonderful jazz guitarist who died
all too young, but managed to leave her strong musical
impression on Bailey, who starts off by playing a
great improvised solo, and then, as Ashby says in the
liner notes, the soli section (guitar, trombone and
soprano saxophone) is a transcription of the solo Emily
Remler played on the original recording. Bailey’s
ability to play the passage with such grit and passion
illustrates her commitment to understanding Remler’s
contribution to the jazz guitar and her desire to
carry her message forward.
“Miekkaniemi” is a Bailey original with a backbeat,
augmented by Jay Ashby on percussion. Bailey’s
solo is groovy and hot, with some quotes from
Wes, Benson and Monk all blending beautifully into
the big band backing. At times, this album almost
sounds like a Creed Taylor CTI production from the
80’s, but the ensemble sections never sound retrofitted
as they were on some of those albums, and the
album remains true to the tradition of big band and
jazz guitar at all times.
Remler’s “Mocha Spice” has a bossa feel, with
the wonderful big band arrangement punctuating
Bailey’s guitar and another inspired Bailey solo, her
relaxed virtuosity easily shining through the thick
layers of sound created by the large ensemble backing.
At times, I wished the guitar was mixed a little higher
and less compressed, but I respect the choice to make
it equal with the band, as the blend is very organic.
“Carenia”, the third Remler original, also has a light
latin Samba feel, and it’s “Autumn Leaves”-like progression
offers rich harmonic material for Bailey to
bite her teeth into with a blistering fast solo, as the
big band wails behind her.
Another Bailey original, “Unified Field”, a
modal minor burner, finds Bailey starting her solo in
a laid back melodic groove, and after the band builds
up the intensity, we are treated to a strong tenor solo
by Eric DeFade with Bailey comping, before she
makes her way back to the solo spot and develops an
intense and virtuosic solo statement of her own.
The Dietz and Schwartz standard “You and
the Night and the Music” opens with a masterful
solo guitar intro, Bailey’s beautiful sound and relaxed
swing getting the spotlight before she is joined
by drummer David Glover for some inspired duo
playing that seamlessly turns into the melody statement
with the big band coming in to fill the landscape.
Bailey’s solo, perhaps her most inspired of this
whole great session, is full of excitement and passion
- each of her ideas clearly articulated, executed and
developed to the fullest. James Moore follows with
a great trumpet solo as the big band comes back in
to build up the energy and close the session with a
crescendo that would bring the house down at a live
performance. It is evident that months, if not years,
of preparation went into the making of this album,
and the end result is a unique musical journey that
sounds strong and consistent from beginning to end.
As you listen to it, you will be amazed both by Bailey’s
masterful solos, melody renditions and ensemble
soli as well as the way in which it all blends together
with the wonderful big band arrangements.
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
ELEANORA FAGAN (1917-1959): TO BILLIE
WITH LOVE FROM DEE DEE – Emarcy/Decca
Records. www.emarcy.com. Lady Sings the Blues;
All Of Me; Good Morning Heartache; Lover Man;
You’ve Changed; Miss Brown to You; Don’t Explain;
Fine and Mellow; Mother’s Son-in-Law; God Bless the
Child; Foggy Day; Strange Fruit
PERSONNEL: Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocals; Edsel
Gomez, arranger, piano; Christian McBride, bass;
James Carter, saxophones, clarinet, flute; Lewis
Nash, drums
68 February 2010 • Jazz Inside Monthly • www.jazzinsidemagazine.com To Advertise CALL: 215.887.8880