Harrell

Tom Harrell has been on a roll since returning to action following a four-year hiatus during the mid-'00s. The trumpeter/composer's third release for HighNote retains the same consistent level of quality that marked his previous two for the label, Light On and Prana Dance, both of which shared the personnel found on Roman Nights: tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Johnathan Blake.

If Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto for cello and orchestra and Shostakovich's Second Concerto for cello and orchestra had heretofore seemed to be late works shot through with nostalgia and bitterness, that's certainly entirely understandable. Rostropovich, the works' dedicatee who gave both their world premieres, played them that way in his recorded performances and most subsequent cellists have naturally followed his lead.

Tom Harrell is in a classical mood on his genre-blending First Impressions. This isn’t new for the brilliant trumpeter-composer. The six-part suite The Adventures of a Quixotic Character, off Harrell’s 2014 album Trip, had a classical feel to it, and this new album’s liner notes, by Robert Baird, trace Harrell’s blending of classical music and jazz in his earlier work. But the emphasis of that fusion is heightened on First Impressions, and the jazz/classical recipe is seasoned with tastes of other styles as well.

Like other European composers of his generation, Miklós Rósza, born in Hungary in 1907, found political and creative sanctuary in Hollywood, where he wrote concert music and many notable film scores. These three works clearly show that he never lost his roots in his native folk music. The violin concerto, a lush, romantic piece, was written at the urging of Jascha Heifetz and is tailored to his and his instrument's strengths, with singing, soaring melodies, brilliant passage work, and a very effective cadenza. Later, Heifetz and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky asked Rósza to write a piece for them; the "Theme and Variations" is the slow movement of a longer work. It is beautifully written for both instruments; based on a Hungarian melody, the variations are wonderfully inventive and varied in mood, character, and expression. The Cello Concerto too is extremely difficult and virtuosic, often quite wild and aggressive, and full of contrasts. The orchestration is excellent throughout, but not too heavy.

Recorded in 1989 and re-released on Original Jazz Classics in 2003, Sail Away is a fine outing by trumpeter Tom Harrell. He's joined by pianist James Williams, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. A handful of guests – flutist Cheryl Pyle, guitarist John Abercrombie, tenor Joe Lovano, and soprano Dave Liebman – fill out the arrangements on ten instrumentals (two are bonus cuts from Visions). Together, Harrell and company add a contemporary spin to mainstream jazz.