JerseyReviewsJazzOTHER VIEWScontinued from page 38Lisa Parrott on alto and baritone saxophones, ScottHarrell on trumpet and flugelhorn, Noah Bless ontrombone, Kenny Wessel on guitar, Harvie S on bassand Victor Jones on drums. Trumpeter Ingrid Jensenand percussionist Mayra Casales appear as specialguests on several tracks. I was intrigued by the title<strong>of</strong> “One for the Parking Fairy,” and, when I heard it,by the piece itself. Evidently, Mayhew has calledupon the parking fairy <strong>of</strong>ten when looking for aparking spot in Manhattan, a common ploy that Ihave employed, usually with great success, manytimes. I love her sense <strong>of</strong> humor, and that attributeis evident in her approach to arranging. Setting theMonk tune “Rhythm-A-Ning” with a calypso flavoring,and adding <strong>some</strong> New Orleans funk, is a masterstroke,giving a new, interesting take to a great tune.Six <strong>of</strong> the nine selections are originals by Mayhew,with the Monk tune mentioned above, MikeMayhall’s “Just a Blues,” which serves as a spiritedopener, and the title track, a Harvie S composition,filling out the program. Mayhew’s arrangementshave great depth, creating musical colorations thatmake the group sound much larger than it is.Virginia Mayhew is a large talent, and t<strong>his</strong> album isfurther pro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> that. (www.renmarecordings.com)■ For those <strong>of</strong> you who are only familiar withJIMMY BRUNO the burner, Maplewood Avenue(Affiliated Artists – 3415), the latest album fromt<strong>his</strong> fine guitarist, will be a revelation. T<strong>his</strong> is a trioalbum, with Bruno being joined by Tony Miceli onvibes and Jeff Pedraz on bass. They play eightoriginals, one by Bruno, three by Miceli and four byPedraz, with the other track being a Miceli arrangement<strong>of</strong> a Bach sonata. T<strong>his</strong> is an intimate album,recorded at Bruno’s home, and engineered by him.The sound is warm and wonderful. The compositionsare ear catching, and the interplay by the triois wonderfully natural and tight. These are threecats from Philadelphia, and they start out with fourtunes named after roads familiar to those from thearea. T<strong>his</strong> is, however, an album where titles do notmean much. It is the music and creativity <strong>of</strong> theartists that matter, and t<strong>his</strong> is the kind <strong>of</strong> recordingthat makes you wish that you had been there whileit was being captured for posterity. It would havebeen interesting to observe the concentration thateach must have exhibited as they created a unifiedwhole from their distinct talents. The final result isextremely satisfying. If you like your music subtleand engaging, Maplewood Avenue is right for you.(www.jimmybruno.com)■ For several years, I have enjoyed hearing recordingsby vocalist SUSIE ARIOI with guitarist/vocalistJORDAN OFFICER. Their latest release, Live at LeFestival International de Jazz de Montréal(Justin Time – 227), is a two-disc set, one a CDand the other a DVD. These Canadian jazzers performsongs from the world <strong>of</strong> standards, with <strong>some</strong>more contemporary material added. T<strong>his</strong> packagecaptures them in live performance with their regularbandmates guitarist Michael Jerome Browne andbassist Shane MacKenzie, and special guests RémiLeClerc on drums and Martin LaCasse and FrancisMondoux, who serve as background vocalists. Theirstyle is pretty straight forward with a bit <strong>of</strong> aWestern Swing flavoring, an occasional skiffle beat,and a touch <strong>of</strong> blues added here and there. Ariolihas a pleasant, unaffected approach to her vocals,well suited to the material. Officer’s guitar nicelycomplements Arioli’s singing style. When takinginstrumental breaks, and on the instrumental numbers,<strong>his</strong> jazz chops shine through. The songs varyfrom older tunes like “Pennies from Heaven,” “IfDreams Come True” and “He’s Funny That Way,” toblues songs by Memp<strong>his</strong> Slim and Willie Dixon, to afew Roger Miller ditties, a nod to Jimmy Webb, anda couple <strong>of</strong> Officer instrumental originals. The DVDcontains all <strong>of</strong> the songs that are on the CD plus anadditional five selections from the concert. Thereare also interviews with Arioli, and Officer. Officer’ssegment is particularly interesting as he articulatesin <strong>some</strong> detail <strong>his</strong> evolution as a guitarist. The SusieArioli Band featuring Jordan Officer is a winningcombination. (www.justin-time.com)■ Dreams & Shadows(Jazzed Media – 1031)is the second album byvocalist JUDY WEXLER,but is the <strong>first</strong> that I haveheard. From the evidencehere, she is one finesinger, and hassurrounded herself with afine cast <strong>of</strong> musicians.Pianists Jeff Colella andAlan Pasqua, reedmanBob Sheppard, trumpeterGilbert Castellanos,bassist Darek Oles anddrummers Steve Hass andJoe LaBarbera contributein various combinations,while Tollak Ollestad onharmonica and StefanieFife on cello each appearon one track. Wexler has adistinctive voice full <strong>of</strong>shadings, and simplyknows how to dig into asong and find its essence.Speaking <strong>of</strong> songs, Wexlerhas chosen an interestingand eclectic program. Shehas mostly stayed awayfrom the catalog <strong>of</strong>standards favored bymost jazz and jazzinfluencedpop singers. Even when she goes in thatdirection, the songs that she opts to include,“Comes Love,” “In Love in Vain” and “If I Only Had aBrain,” are not anywhere near the overdone category.Her take on “One Less Bell to Answer,” makest<strong>his</strong> song take on a depth that was untapped by thehit version from the Fifth Dimension. It would behard to find anyone other than Blossom Dearieherself who would include two songs by Dearie andJack Segal in an album. Well, Wexler sings “Bye, ByeCountry Boy” and “Summer Is Gone” in a way thatwill surely please Miss Blossom. To confirm her jazzchops, Wexler vocalizes two jazz tunes, “Pent UpHouse” by Sonny Rollins, with a lyric by JackPrather, and “Blue Daniel” by Frank Rosolino,retitled “Life’s a Lesson” by lyricist Ben Sidrin. T<strong>his</strong>is an impressive collection by a singer who is sureto attract lots <strong>of</strong> attention with quality efforts liket<strong>his</strong>. (www.JazzedMedia.com)Remember that these albums are not availablethrough NJJS.You should be able to obtain most<strong>of</strong> them at any major record store. They are alsoavailable on-line from the websites that I haveshown after each review, or from a variety <strong>of</strong>other on-line sources.JJC T S I M AG E S |The Face <strong>of</strong> JazzLICENSING • RESEARCH • APPRAISALSPhoto Archives include vintage Jazz, Pop, Blues, R&B, Rock, Country/Western,Radio Personalities, Big Bands, Vocalists, Hollywood and more.• PHOTOGRAPH RESEARCH • LICENSING FOR COMMERCIAL USE• FINE ART LIMITED EDITION PRINTS • GALLERY EXHIBITIONS• RECORD & PHOTOGRAPH APPRAISALSWWW.CTSIMAGES.COM e-mail: Cynthia@ctsimages.com© Ray Avery/CTSIMAGES.COM40__________________________________ May 2008
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