Bobby Hutcherson

For the past two decades pianist Aaron Goldberg has crisscrossed the globe, spreading his music and absorbing local knowledge along the way. True to the jazz mentality, he learned to embrace serendipity as an artistic muse. Five years ago this month, in an historic chateau at the exact geographic center of France, Goldberg was reunited with an early influence. Soon a new project began to take shape. Goldberg’s latest recording, At The Edge of The World, documents this recent collaboration with drummer and percussionist Leon Parker, a brilliant innovator and performer, in a new trio along with the gifted bassist Matt Penman.

One might assume that bassist Christian McBride's CD Kind of Brown would be a tribute to Ray Brown. Au contraire – in fact, it would be appropriate for this recording to own up to the title Kind of Blue Note, because this music bears a strong resemblance to the late-'60s to mid-'70s recordings of the legendary Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land quintet. That seminal post-bop ensemble defined the mid-period Blue Note label sound, and created resonant sonic signposts that remained unequaled, until now. A new discovery in vibraphonist Warren Wolf, Jr., teamed with veteran saxophonist Steve Wilson, the wonderful pianist Eric Reed, and drummer Carl Allen makes McBride's quintet dubbed Inside Straight into one of the more melodically tuneful and harmonically focused contemporary ensembles combining past tradition with a fresh new approach to this potent style of jazz.

One of the New Thing's extremely few trombonists and a greatly underappreciated composer of tremendous evocative power, Grachan Moncur III got his first major exposure on Jackie McLean's groundbreaking 1963 masterpiece, One Step Beyond. Toward the end of the year, most of the same musicians reconvened for Moncur's debut as a leader, Evolution; McLean, vibist Bobby Hutcherson, and drummer Tony Williams are all back, with Bob Cranshaw on bass and an extra voice in trumpeter Lee Morgan, moonlighting from his usual groovy hard bop style. While Moncur takes a little more solo space here, the main emphasis is on his talent as a composer. The four originals are all extended, multi-sectioned works (the shortest is around eight minutes), all quite ambitious, and all terrifically moody; much of the album sounds sinister and foreboding, and even the brighter material has a twisted, surreal fun-house undercurrent…

Four CD set features over four hours of jazz classics from such artists as Norah Jones, St. Germain, Nina Simone, Shuggy Otis, Luther Vandross, Ella Fitzgerald, & many more. It's the 1st part of popular series "The Best… Ever!"

Christian McBride & Inside Straight - Kind of Brown (2009)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 341 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 145 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb
© 2009 Mack Avenue / King Record | ICJ 565
Jazz / Post Bop / Bebop

One might assume that bassist Christian McBride's KIND OF BROWN would be a tribute to Ray Brown. In fact, this music bears a strong resemblance to the late-'60s to mid-'70s Blue Note recordings of the legendary Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land quintet. A new discovery in vibraphonist Warren Wolf, Jr., teamed with veteran saxophonist Steve Wilson, the wonderful pianist Eric Reed, and drummer Carl Allen makes McBride's quintet Inside Straight one of the more melodically tuneful and harmonically focused contemporary ensembles now playing. McBride is almost an equal in this company, putting aside his furious note playing for a more democratic role in an extraordinarily balanced small combo. The similarities to the Hutcherson-Land group are unmistakable, from the tick-tock rhythm and melodic line similar to Hutch and Herbie Hancock's classic composition "Blow Up" on "Brother Mister" to the steady swinger "Rainbow Wheel" and "Pursuit of Peace," with its probing basslines. The athletic and quirky "Stick and Move" is hard-charging bop at its best with Reed leading. McBride's role as a leader is more pronounced on "Theme for Kareem," an ultra-tight, very hip tune that has potential standard written all over it.