John Daversa - Kaleidoscope Eyes: Music of the Beatles (2016)

Label:

Source: Allaboutjazz

Genre: Big Band

GAB's Rating: ★★★★☆

Does the world need another collection of Beatles covers? The same argument could be had about any of the dozens of standards that regularly, sometimes ad nauseam, crop up on new releases. But redundancy is validated each time an Amy Winehouse takes on "Body and Soul" or Avicii reinvents "Feeling Good," and those instances serve as wakeup calls to re-appreciate the originals. There should be little doubt that the works of John Lennon and Paul McCartney—and occasionally George Harrison—need to be included in the vaguely defined category of "standards." On the live recording, Kaleidoscope Eyes: Music of the Beatles, the trumpeter, composer, band leader, John Daversa, shows us why that's the case.

Daversa is still a relative newcomer to the jazz scene though he has an impressive resume including performances at the Montreal Jazz and Montreux Festivals. The Los Angeles based musician released his debut, Junkwagon (BFM Jazz, 2011) with little fanfare despite the appeal of the album. He's led smaller groups and several big bands but his Progressive Big Band is a massive ensemble with forty members, not including a six-person choir and a dozen guest musicians. On Kaleidoscope Eyes he allows the Beatles compositions to unfold into improvisation, developing and shifting momentum and finally interpreting most of the pieces as fresh and contemporary.

"Good Day Sunshine" storms out of the gate, big and brassy with a fine tenor solo from Tom Peterson. Reneé Olstead, primarily know as an actress, smokes the piece with a voice that was made for real jazz singing. The pace slows on the instrumental, "And I Love Her" with Daversa taking the opportunity for an expressive solo while "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" weaves in and out of a carnival atmosphere. "Here Comes the Sun" begins on an appropriately pastoral note but turn abstract as it progresses. Olstead returns on "Do You Want to Know a Secret" channeling Eartha Kitt in her sensuous reading of the song. The one instance of Kaleidoscope Eyes faltering is on the ten-plus minute "I Saw Her Standing There," where the parts are greater than the sum. With flat-out aggressive swing, rap, free improvisation and more, the wheels come off the track a bit. Daversa manages to regroup for the rousing finale, "Kaleidoscope Eyes Medley: With a Little Help From My Friends/Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da/Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/I Am the Walrus"

Recording live at the classy Alva's Showroom, a relatively small space in a strip mall in San Pedro, California, would presumably be a logistics issue with this small army of musicians. Despite that challenge, Daversa and his Progressive Big Band do a commendable job of bringing new life to the nearly fifty year old Lennon/McCartney tunes. He has taken a chance with several compositions that are not as frequently covered. Daversa's playing—as well as all of his soloists—is high caliber and exuberant and Reneé Olstead's two distinct vocals are eye-openers. An ambitious, and largely successful, outing from an artist who deserves more recognition.  Karl Ackermann

Good Day Sunshine
And I Love Her
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Here Comes the Sun
Do You Want to Know a Secret
I Saw Her Standing There
Michelle
Kaleidoscope Eyes Medley: With a Little Help From My Friends/
                          Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da/Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/I Am the Walrus
Good Day Sunshine (Reprise)

Genevieve Artadi: chorus
Zane Carney: chorus, guitar
Peggy Baldwin: celli, cello
Chad Bernstein: trombone
Bill Booth: trombones
Katisse Buckingham: flutes, tenor saxophone, vocals
Bob Carr: bassoon, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Susan Chatman: violin
Giovanna Clayton: celli
Gene Coye: drums
Jay Daversa: flugelhorn, trumpet
John Daversa: arranger, conductor, EVI (electronic valve instrument), trumpet, vocals
Jeff Driskill: flute, piccolo, saxophones
Phil Feather: flute, oboe, tenor saxophone
Derek Ganong: flugelhorn, trumpet
Tyler Giroux: trombone
Craig Gosnell: tuba
Paula Hochhalter: celli
Carol Huston: chorus
Alex Iles: bass trombone
Ron King: flugelhorn, trumpet
Tommy King: keyboards, piano
Gina Kronstadt: violin
Songa Lee: violin
Liza Liu: celli
Nick Mancini: vibraphone
Joe Martone: bongos, percussion
Matt Nabours: viola
Nancy Newman: saxophone
Phil O'Connor: clarinet, saxophone
Reneé Olstead: vocals
Tom Peterson: clarinet, flute, tenor saxophone
Kate Reddish: viola
Daniel Rosenboom: flugelhorn, trumpet
Jimbo Ross: viola
Rob Schaer: flugelhorn, trumpet
Jordan Slocum: violin
Aaron Smith: flugelhorn, trumpet
Glenda Smith: flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, trumpet
Andrew Synowiec: guitar
George Thatcher: trombone
Bijon Watson: flugelhorn, trumpet
Jerry Watts, Jr.: bass
Paul Young: trombone
Yi-Huan Zhao: violin  

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Socrates Garcia Latin Jazz Orchestra - Back Home (2016)

Label: Mama Records

Source: Allaboutjazz - Jack Bowers

Back Home, the debut recording by composer / arranger / musicologist Socrates Garcia's Latin Jazz Orchestra, combines the best of two worlds: ardent Latin jazz that never forswears its roots, and emphatic American-designed big-band swing that provides a solid framework for Garcia's picturesque Latin / American excursions. Garcia, who was born in the Dominican Republic, is director of Music Technology at the University of Northern Colorado, and Back Home, it seems, represents more a state of mind than any physical locale, even though there are brief stops at "Calle el Conde" and "From Across the Street" in Garcia's native land, the last a part of the three-movement "Dominican Suite for Jazz Orchestra."

Garcia's compositions (he wrote and arranged every number on the album) are lively and effervescent, easily bridging whatever gap, real or imagined, that may exist between American jazz and the music of his homeland. While Latin rhythms predominate, the more well-known samba, bossa and tango are supplanted by Dominican cadences such as the bachata and merengue. As for Garcia's sidemen, most of whom call Colorado home, their mastery of his blueprint is such that they might easily be misread as emigres from Garcia's birthplace. An exception is the all-Dominican rhythm section, comprised of pianist Manuel Tejada, bassist Pengbian Sang and drummer Helen De La Rosa (with an assist from percussionists Felix "Abuelo" Garcia, Rafael Almengod, Josue Reynoso and Otoniel Nicolas). Guitarist Steve Kovalchek is added on "Celebration of the Butterflies," and Garcia plays guitar on "Back Home."

The album's centerpiece and inspiration is the colorful "Dominican Suite," which opens with a sharply drawn "Tribute to Tavito" (identified by Garcia as saxophonist Tavito Vasquez, known as "the Charlie Parker of the Caribbean"). As SuperSax did for Parker, Garcia has embedded one of Vasquez's solos as part of the composition. The second movement, "Bachata for Two," akin to a Latin waltz, was written for Garcia's wife, Wanda, while the third, "From Across the Street," recalls folk music—called Palos or Atabales—performed by a woman who lived across the street from Garcia's home in the Dominican Republic and is the only track on the album with vocals (by a suitably well-spoken quartet). The opening number, "Vantage Point," is a bracing merengue whose charming melody and addictive rhythms give way to canny solos by Tejada and baritone saxophonist Ryan Middagh. The vivacious "Calle el Conde a Las 8:00," whose bright solos are by soprano Wil Swindler and trumpeter Jordan Skomal, precedes the earnest "Celebration of the Butterflies," Garcia's homage to the three Mirabel sisters who were assassinated by dictator Rafael Trujillo's government for their opposition to his regime. Tenor Kenyon Brenner is showcased on "Butterflies," as he is on "Back Home." Another splendid soloist, trumpeter Brad Goode, is front and center on "Bachata for Two" and shares the spotlight with Tejada on "Homage to Tavito."

Not only is Back Home a near-perfect blend of Dominican and American music, it stands tall on its own as a superlative example of big-band jazz at its best. Well done, Socrates.  

Vantage Point

Calle el Conde a Las 8:00

Celebration of the Butterflies

Back Home

Dominican Jazz Suite for Orchestra:

Homage to Tavito

Bachata for Two

From Across the Street

Socrates Garcia: composer, arranger, conductor, guitar (4)

Brad Goode: trumpet, flugelhorn

Dave Rajewski: trumpet, flugelhorn

Jordan Skomal: trumpet, flugelhorn

Miles Roth: trumpet, flugelhorn

Wil Swindler: alto, soprano sax, flute

Briana Harris: alto sax, flute

Kenyon Brenner: tenor sax, flute, clarinet

Joel Harris: tenor sax, clarinet

Ryan Middagh: baritone sax, bass clarinet

Brielle Frost: flute

Joe Chisholm: trombone

Frank Cook: trombone

Jonathan Zimmy: trombone

Guillermo Rivera: trombone

Gary Mayne: bass trombone

Manuel Tejada: piano

Steve Kovalchek: guitar (3)

Pengbian Sang: bass

Helen De Rosa: drums

Felix “Abuelo” Garcia: tambura, congas, atabales, vocal (7)

Rafael Almengod: atabales, tambu, vocal (7)

Josue Reynoso: guira

Otoniel Nicolas: timbal

Hovernys Garcia: vocal (7)

Lia Nova: vocal (7) 

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Scott Reeves Jazz Orchestra - Portraits & Places (2016)

Label: Origin Records

Source: Allaboutjazz - Jack Bowers

Scott Reeves formed his splendid New York-based orchestra eight years ago, in 2008, and while Portraits and Places marks its recorded debut, Reeves spent a number of years before that sharpening his composing and arranging skills at the highly regarded BMI Jazz Composers Workshop where he received tutelage and counsel from Manny Albam, Mike Abene, Jim McNeely and Mike Holober, among others. Judging from the eight numbers presented here (three of which comprise the colorful L & T Suite), that strong background has paid off handsomely, as Reeves is a resourceful writer with a firm grasp of the components that are essential to the success and stability of any large ensemble.

Foremost among those traits is a keen ear for melody, harmony and counterpoint, and Reeves earns high marks here, as his compositions are sophisticated yet accessible, his arrangements scrupulously burnished and invariably engaging. Kudos are also in order for Reeves' choice of sidemen, as the orchestra's roster reads like a who's who of the New York area's busiest and most sought-after musicians. That's one less burden for the leader to bear, knowing that the notes he has inscribed on paper can and will be scrupulously brought to life in the recording studio.

Those notes begin with "The Soulful Mr. Williams," a shuffling blues-based groover with typically close-knit ensemble work and decorous solos by Reeves on alto flugelhorn and the resourceful pianist Jim Ridl. As an aside, the alto flugelhorn sounds much like a trombone or, to adduce a more historical reference, the bass trumpet wielded so handily by Cy Touff in Woody Herman's Second Herd in the mid-40s. "3 'n 2" is a carefree flag-waver with ardent solos courtesy of tenor Tim Armacost and trumpeter Bill Mobley, preceding a temperate journey to the Far East for "Osaka June," on which Sara Serpa's wordless vocal sets the stage for spoken dialogue (in Japanese) by Emi Miyajima Nobe and Yuzuki Nobe (mother and son / daughter?) and ripping solos by Ridl and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson.

Jobim's flowing "Aguas de Marco" (Waters of March) is next (eloquent statements by Ridl, alto Vito Chiavuzzo, trumpeter Nathan Eklund and a second wordless vocal by Serpa), followed by the L & T Suite, whose movements are the agile "Wants to Dance" (featuring Wilson on alto and drummer Andy Watson), the balladic "Trombonist's Tale" (with the trombonist in this instance represented by Matt McDonald) and the ebullient "Hip Kitty," again showcasing Ridl's earnest piano. "Last Call," which closes the session, gives the lower register its due, enfolding splendid solos by bass trombonist Max Seigel and baritone Terry Goss before floating calmly away on the wings of Seneca Black's muted trumpet.  

01. The Soulful Mr. Williams 9:51
02. 3 'n 2 5:24
03. Osaka June 9:08
04. Aquas de Marco 9:52
L & T Suite:
05. Movement 1: Wants to Dance 5:20
06. Movement 2: A Trombonist’s Tale 6:10
07. Movement 3: Hip Kitty 4:39
08. Last Call 6:37

Scott Reeves - conductor, arranger, alto flugelhorn
Steve Wilson - soprano & alto saxophones, flute
Vito Chiavuzzo - alto sax, flute
Rob Middleton - tenor sax, clarinet
Tim Armacost - tenor sax, clarinet
Jay Brandford - baritone sax, bass clarinet (1,4)
Terry Goss - baritone sax, bass clarinet (2,3,5-8)
Seneca Black - lead trumpet
Nathan Eklund - trumpet & flugelhorn
Bill Mobley - trumpet & flugelhorn
Andy Gravish - trumpet & flugelhorn
Tim Sessions - lead trombone
Matt McDonald - trombone
Matt Haviland - trombone
Max Seigel - bass trombone
Jim Ridl - piano
Todd Coolman - bass
Andy Watson - drums
Sara Serpa - voice (3,4)
Japanese vocal dialogue (3) - Emi Miyajima Nobe & Yuzuki Nobe

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