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| 4.565 Ft
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| 1. | 4Newk
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| 2. | Afros & Cubans
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| 3. | We Jazz June
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| 4. | Natural Woman
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| 5. | Mercury Blvd.
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| 6. | The Melting Pot
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| 7. | Autumn in New York
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| 8. | Crystal Star
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| 9. | The Blackamoor
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| 10. | Miss'ippi Man
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Jazz
Derrick Gardner - Trumpet and Flugelhorn
Vincent Gardner - Trombone
Rob Dixon - Tenor Saxophone
Rick Roe - Piano
Gerald Cannon - Bass
Donald Edwards - Drums
Brad Leali - Alto Saxophone
Jason Marshall - Baritone Saxophone
Change is in the air these days, and change has come to Derrick Gardner's long-standing group The Jazz Prophets. After over 20 years as a sextet with a firm front line of Gardner, trumpet, his brother Vincent on trombone and Rob Dixon on tenor sax, the lineup has been augmented by Brad Leali's alto sax and Jason Marshall's baritone sax, making this new Owl Studios album, Echoes of Ethnicity, by Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets + 2. Along with the new configuration comes a conceptual change, more a broadening of horizon than seismic shift, from the soulful, funky hard-bop roots of the sextet to a wider palette of sounds embracing a "little big band" tradition that also thrived during the hard-bop era under such leaders and arrangers as Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Ernie Wilkins and Bob Brookmeyer.
It's a great instrumentation to write for," says Derrick of the octet (actually a nonet with added Afro-Cuban percussion from Kevin Kaiser on some tracks). "It has the sounds of a big band but also has the looseness of a small group, so you get a really full sound." Actually the octet is the smallest ensemble that has one of every instrument in the standard big band: trumpet, trombone, alto, tenor and baritones saxophones, piano, bass and drums. Of course such a lineup can and has been used for solo variety and a loose jam session feel, but here the full ensemble possibilities of the little big band are explored in six charts by Derrick and two each by Vincent Gardner and Rob Dixon. Derrick says he "wanted to include everybody in each tune," making full use of backgrounds and a full range of ensemble strategies and tonal colors.
Whether it is a big band, octet or sextet Derrick is leading, one goal remains constant: connecting with the listener. Technique and virituosity may be all well and good, but the ultimate test for Derrick is listener appreciation, moving the audience. With that in mind, the music was given a live workout before an audience at an Indianapolis club, The Jazz Kitchen, the two nights before the band went into the recording studio.
~George Kanzler
Derrick Gardner's Jazz Prophets, up to ten pieces, is intent on presenting some of the strongest post-bop jazz music (not specifically ethnic as the title suggests) molded in the cast of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. There's a viscerally definable element, that of Woody Shaw's jazz ensembles from his award-winning Rosewood period of the late '70s. Trumpeter Derrick Gardner, trombonist Vincent Gardner, and saxophonists Rob Dixon, Brad Leali, and Jason Marshall provide this music with an uncompromising harmonic edge that parallels the brilliant and singularly individual music Shaw created in his most fruitful and critically acclaimed period. Both of the Gardners and Dixon are responsible for writing the original material that sounds so fresh and vital, with multiple layers of sound that make the band seem like a potent, joy-sprung big band. This great feeling of liberation and bold inventiveness is easy to hear and enjoy on "4Newk," a hard bop tribute to Sonny Rollins with rhythmic Latin conveyances from drummer Donald Edwards and the exceptional pianist Rick Roe driving the horn section into refined and outspoken refrains. The exceptional "We Jazz June" and "The Blackmoor" up the ante further with deft interwoven harmonic ideas and stirring rhythm changes, respectively. "Afros & Cubans" parallels the famous Shaw composition "Isabel the Liberator" in energy and depth, with descarga jam inferences from the high brass and low woodwinds. What "Mercury Blvd." offers is a highly modified version of "Skylark," sporting free introductory phrases into shout choruses abounding around big-city traffic. Roe's modal piano chords lead "Crystal Stair" as the prancing horns again identify a style Woody Shaw perfected with his Concert Jazz Ensemble. Derrick Gardner tackles Freddie Hubbard's "Melting Pot" in a tick-tock style with Latin jazz trim as if he's known the tune all his life, and likely has. Kevin Kaiser's African-style percussion lustily spices up the proceedings, while bassists Gerald Cannon and Brandon Meeks put the depth charges into this music without demanding more than a supportive role. Alto saxophonist Leali, tenor saxophonist Dixon, and baritone saxophonist Marshall are all formidable younger players who offer excellent solos, but more so provide the colorful harmonic flavors to complement the brass instrumentalists, playing loads of counterpoint and shading the nuances of the charts perfectly. This band strives for excellence, and for the most part succeeds on a recording that all listeners interested in modern mainstream jazz should pay close attention to. It's a winner. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide |
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