For the first time in a very long time super drummer STEVE GADD joins up with his friends from Gadd Gang times, EDDIE GOMEZ and RONNIE CUBER for a production with the WDR Big Band. Under the direction of Michael Abene, a heavenly groovy album emerges, with Steve Gadd and his friends taking center stage. Recorded in january & february of 2022! The cooperation between Steve's Gadd Gang and the WDR Big Band was hanging in the air for quite some time. Already back in 2011 there was talk about a potential collaboration with the Big Band under the leadership of Michael Abene (the chief conductor of that orchestra from 2004 to 2014). I love Michael and highly esteem his work, says Gadd, his arrangements as well as his piano playing. It is just a matter of trying to get the schedule together, but I am sure at some point we will be able to get it together.
Reissue with the latest remastering and the original cover artwork. Comes with a description written in Japanese. We'd hate to get caught in the force of a baritone explosion – as the horns are so big, that's a lot of metal to have to deal with! Fortunately, pianist Rein De Graaf's got the proceedings here on rock-solid territory – providing just the right sort of swing to keep things moving, yet also keep things in control – while both Ronnie Cuber and Nick Brigola open up on the bigger horns – reminding us why they're some of the few players able to carry forward the deftly soulful legacies of earlier baritone greats like Pepper Adams or Serge Chaloff! The album's a live one, and tracks are nice and long – plenty of room for solos on titles that include "Caravan", "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise", "Crack Down", "Night In Tunisia", and "Blue Train" – plus two short beautiful ballads, "What's New" and "In A Sentimental Mood".
In A New York Minute is good enough. Drew is an elegant foil, Cuber brought five originals to the date, and the playing is felicitous. By the end, though, the record's run out of steam, and "Sophisticated Lady" and "Caravan," the most overworked pieces of Ellingtonia, are unwelcome choices.
“ This is Ronnie Cuber’s first CD for SteepleChase …in the capable hands of the SteepleChase organization, Cuber is back making the kind of satisfying music he produced in an earlier era…All but one of the tunes are Cuber originals, and all are joyously funky” (Krin Gabbard, Cadence)
The accent is on R&Bish rhythms during this CD. Baritonist Ronnie Cuber teams up with altoist David Sanborn and a five-piece rhythm section (which includes bassist Will Lee and drummer Steve Gadd) for a variety of rhythmic originals plus "On Green Dolphin Street."