Volume 10 Issue 4 - December 2004

1hy. proving rha1 1he anisr did not
work out his solos or even his approach
to the music ahead of time.
The sound quality is intimate, yet
rich, showing the pianists' lovely
1ouch. h makes a piano fan wonder
why Hancock ever embraced
electronic keyboards.
Ted O'Reilly
Transparency
Lenny Solomon
Independent
(www .lennysolomon.com)
After listening to Canadian jazz
violinist Lenny Solomon's "Transparency"
I was both entertained
and even a little surprised by the
album's stylistic diversity. What
really stood out, in addition lo great
playing, was the range of styles,
from standards and bebop, ro more
recent. impressionistic forms.
Traditional works, such as Oh
Susanna are treated with respeci
and sensitivity, while producer
Shelly Berger's The Reel Thing and
Oliver Nelson's Hoe Down bring
in subtle elements of American
folk. country, and bluegrass.
The title track Transparency,
composed by Solomon, allows for
some effective improvisational interplay
between Solomon, pianist
Phil Dwyer, and guitarist Geoff
Young. Don't Tell Me What To
Do, a Solomon-Berger collaboration,
bears testimony to the violinist's
firm grounding in traditional
jazz performance and composition.
while renditions of Sweet
Georgia Brown, 1 Got Rhythm
(with a hint on Anthropology). and
The Nearness of You gives further
even evidence of Lenny Solomon's
jazz mastery.
It is rare for virtually any instrumentalist
10 be able to play convincingly
and authentically in as many
different genres as Lenny Solomon
does. The only uncertainty that one
might have after listening to
"Transparency" is whether or not
Solomon, in future endeavours. will
attempt to hone in on a signature
style and/or sound, or if he will
continue to explore the multitude of
musical forms, jazz. classical. and
otherwise. that he has at his fingertips.
My guess is the larrer.
Eli Eisenberg
Play it Loud!
S Mos Quintet
Cristal Records CRCD04-13
Imagine just for a moment the classic
jazz quintet of piano. bass,
drums, trumpet. and saxophone.
Then slowly trace the evolution of
jazz from bebop to post-bop to
avant-garde, to modern jazz to fusion
and add a dash of popular
dance music forms and you pretty
much have the ingredients of a new
band out of Montreal called the S
Mos Quintet. S Mos is the keyboardist,
composer and bandleader,
and in spite of his traditional
instrumentation, his debut album
"Play It Loud" is anything but tri\ditional.
All ten tracks on the disc
are written by Mr. Mos and they
combine a very funkified sound of
upbeat, keyboard driven grooves
with Brecker Brothers style horn
arrangements. Soloing is plentiful
yet well managed throughout.
Two of my favourite moments
on the disc occur early on. The
second track. Energic contains
impressive Latin-style blowing by
trumpeter Brice Moscardini, and
track number three. Up To The
Top, goes back and forth between
a fast funk and a slow half-time
groove with very little warning.
Although S Mos is the obvious
leader. bandmates Moscard ini.
saxophonist Adrien Daoud. bass
guitarist Yann Gourhand. and
drummer Julien Serie contribute a
great deal to the band's sound. It
might be nice in future recordings
to hear bassist Gourhand explore
some of his instrument's subtleties
during his solos. but overall the
CD is a fine effort by a great group
of young Montreal musicians.
New York Forever -
Jazz in the Big Apple
Various Artists
Cristal Records CR 304
Eli Eisenberg
As more and more recordings
move out of copyright' in Europe
anything over fifty years old is considered
public domain - record
companies continue to take full advantage
of the situation. In the jazz
and blues field this vast treasure
trove is being pillaged to assemble
complete editions of the work of
various artists as well as collections
showcasing schools and styles.
Then there are those ubiquitous
theme sets: the "Joe Blow Plays
Jazz For Lovers" kind of thing. ·
"New York Forever", while not
really a historical overview. at
least manages to display the wide
range of jazz heard over the years
in New York City. It contains recordings
made between 1930 and
1953.
The artists range from Fletcher
Henderson to Milt Jackson. Included
are a fine 1945 version of Harlem
Air Shafr by Duke Ellington
as well as a delightful romp - 46
West 52 - by Chu Berry and Roy
Eldridge. Then there are vocal selections
b"y Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
Ethel Waters. Billie Holiday.
Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinarra.
And Cab Calloway. Nat
Cole, Luis Russell. Benny Goodman,
Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie
Parker. Louis Armstrong, Chick
Webb, Teddy Wilson, Wardell
Gray, Lester Young. Clifford
Brown and Illinois Jacquet all make
appearances. But what makes the
set more interesting than most is
the excellent choice of material.
The CD's producer has managed
to pick outstanding, yet not obvious,
performances by all concerned.
Don Brown
CONTINUES NEXT P ... CE
Paul Hodge
Design • Recording • Editing • Live Sound
l11Eulllodge!(u.dio.co111 v'-10
phone 416-409-1081
web h11p;//paulhodgeaudio.com
email info@paulho