Download - Downbeat

Five PlayWhat The WorldNeeds NowARBORS 19381AAAMany years ago, bigbands begat small bands:Benny Goodman had histrio, quartet and sextet,Cab Calloway his CabJivers, Artie Shaw hisGramercy Five, and Woody Herman hisWoodchoppers. Drummer Sherrie Maricleskims her DIVA Jazz Orchestra for this capablequintet. Like her forebears of the big bandera, Five Play is an instrumentally hot condensationof DIVA.Post-bop and soul-jazz treatments of jazzrepertory dominate, and the heads are seldomcomplicated. A little retooling turns BurtBacharach’s “What The World Needs Now IsLove” into a straightforward groove. Surprisesinclude bassist Noriko Ueda’s pastel reed voicingson “Old Folks,” a thoughtful pizzicato featurefor her. A bright rhythm section treatmentof “I Could Have Danced All Night” showcasesUeda and pianist Tomoko Ohno, bringing tomind the Red Garland tour de force “Billy Boy”with the Miles Davis rhythm section.The personnel are strong and often exemplary.Reed player Janelle Reichman is a standout,with a real singing quality to her phrasing.Her tenor moves beautifullythrough the changes on thetitle track and shows a strongblues vocabulary on ToshikoAkiyoshi’s “Jo-House Blues.”Trumpeter Jami Dauber’sopen horn on the former islikewise warm and limber, buther muted trumpet feature onthe obscure “Moon Song”channels Clyde McCoy’sstiffness, without irony. A littleof Sweets Edison’s puckishness would haveserved better. Maricle’s drums are peppery andpress against the ensemble aggressively, almostin the way Buddy Rich spewed fire at hisorchestra’s back. She’s a team player, parsimoniouswith the breaks and solos.Helen Reddy’s 1970s feminist anthem, “I AmWoman,” may have been an overly obviouschoice, but it’s probably safe to say that the tunewas never before turned into a blowtorchswinger as it is here. Under those circumstances,it would be a worthy choice for the band’s nightlycloser.—Kirk SilsbeeWhat The World Needs Now: What The World Needs Now IsLove; I Want To Be Happy; Moon Song; Groove Merchant;Slipped Disc; Cry Me A River; I Could Have Danced All Night;Jo-House Blues; Old Folks; I Am Woman. (58:40)Personnel: Jami Dauber, trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet; JanelleReichman, tenor saxophone, clarinet; Tomoko Ohno, piano;Noriko Ueda, bass; Sherrie Maricle, drums.»Ordering info: arborsrecords.comFrank CatalanoBang!SAVOY JAZZ 17734AAA 1 /2“Funky energy” is theoperative term whenmentioning the tenorplaying of Frank Catalano,the 31-year-oldformer whiz kid who’sbuilt a solid jazz andpop resumé since the’90s. The title of his latest album signifies hisfondness of burning as hot as naphthalene. Anddig the cover photo: Catalano’s seated at a table,his sax within easy reach, as a woman in theshadows points a pistol at his back. Is he agoner? Nah, he’ll grab the sax, turn quickly,clamp teeth onto mouthpiece and slam theintruder with his astonishing firepower.Catalano’s urgent playing leaves the acridsmell of cordite hanging in the air over eightoriginal tunes. Those exciting blasts of r&blacedjazz, glad to say, derive from a fertilemusical imagination and seldom flow as jumblesof timeworn walk-the-bar histrionics. It’sgood when he stretches out on “Damn Right”and “Funky Dunky,” not so good when asalbum producer he arbitrarily fades “SoulBurner,” “Shakin’” and “Bang!”shy of the four minute mark.The Chicago-based fire-spewerhas it in him to vent creativeideas at greater length, even if itmeans cutting out solo space forelectric keyboardist ScottWilliams.After launching the standard“My One And Only Love” highup in the stratosphere, Catalanodarts back closer to earth to concoctan alternating prickly andtender mood, free of the sentimentality the tunewould give rise to in the hands of others. HisJohn Coltrane-inspired spontaneity is thrilling tohear. But he stumbles when modernizing WayneShorter’s “Footprints,” his jittery tenor at oddswith the plodding techno rhythm. On “NightMoves,” the bandleader switches over to altoflute, which he plays competently but unremarkably.This pyromaniac should stick with hiscombustible horn. —Frank-John HadleyBang!: Bang!; Soul Burner; Shakin’; My One And Only Love;God Made It Beautiful; Damn Right; Funky Dunky; NightMoves; Later; Footprints. (44:45)Personnel: Frank Catalano, tenor saxophone, alto flute (8), programming(10); Scott Williams, piano; Adam Whitson, bass;Daron Nelson, drums; Chris Paquette, percussion.»Ordering info: savoyjazz.com82 DOWNBEAT November 2008