Tag Archives: Bebop

Artist, CD-Reviews

Steve Fidyk: Battle Lines

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Battle Lines

 

Jazz drummer and composer Steve Fidyk has just released the album “Battle Lines”, his third recording as a leader. The album features an all-star band of some of the finest musicians from the New York scene:

  • Steve Fidyk – Drums
  • Joe Magnarelli – Trumpet
  • Xavier Perez – Tenor Saxophone
  • Peter Zak – Piano
  • Michael Karn – Bass

The album starts with “Ignominy”, a composition by tenor saxophonist Eddie Harris. The tune is a straight jazz composition with an unusual length of 20 measures. We hear solos by Xavier Perez on saxophone, Joe Magnarelli on trumpet and Peter Zak on piano. A nice swinging start into this recording.

“Battle Lines”, the title song of the album comes next. It is the first of seven originals by Steve Fidyk.
The up-tempo piece features piano and saxophone and also Steve on drums. Great solos from all musicians and a pushing rhythm section make this song to my first highlight on the album.

The album continues with “Loopholes”. Steve has some information here: “I set out to write a ‘groove tune’ for this project; something that felt good and had a dance sensibility to it. I came up with the title idea as an extension from previous compositions I wrote for other solo recordings: The Flip Flopper (from Heads Up!) and Gaffe (from Allied Forces). Loopholes follows suit and was conceived with a similar approach. This tune features a funky swing feel with a 16-bar (A) and (B) section with solos by Joe Magnarelli, Xavier Perez and Peter Zak”.

“Thank You (Dziekuje)” by Dave Brubeck comes next. The Chopin inspired piece entitled Dziekuje, meaning “thank you” is an expression of gratitude for the fans of Brubeck during his 1958 visit to Poland. The song is arranged as a jazz waltz and has a great melody. Outstanding is the piano solo by Peter Zak. Definitely another highlight on the album.

“Bebop Operations” is the next song on the album. Great to hear that kind of music. The classic Bebop-feeling with trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section is brought alive in this song. The solos are also inspired in classic Bebop manner, entertaining and educational at the same time.

The album continues with “Bootlickers Blues”, a strange blues with a strange title. Steve explains: “A ‘bootlicker’ is a person who tries to gain influence or favor through a servile, obsequious or brown-nosing manner. The tune features a standard 12-measure blues form with a few measures of ’3/4 time’ mixed in to keep things interesting. The first chorus of piano and tenor follow the form of the melody, before breaking into a hard driving swing feel in 4/4 time over the blues form. The drum solo that follows the tenor is two choruses, accompanied by the bass and piano, over the form of the melody”.

“Lullaby for Lori and John” is a ballad which Steve Fidyk composed for his late parents. Steve has again some more details: “My folks had a traditional, ‘old school’ relationship for 60 years. My father worked 40+ hour weeks as a machinist at TOPPS Chewing Gum Factory, and my mom stayed home, raising myself and three siblings. When I was young, my father would also play gigs with his trio on tenor saxophone. On occasion, he would take me out with him on a Saturday night to hear his group play, and the drummer would let me sit in on a tune or two as the night came to a close. ‘Lullaby for Lori and John’ was recorded in one take and I was in tears by the end of it. It features the incredible fluegelhorn sound of Joe Magnarelli”.

“Churn” an up-tempo original in 6/8 meter is the next song. Steve has another chance to shine in an accompanied drum solo over the introduction vamp played by Michael Karn on bass.

The album continues with “Steeplechase” by Charlie Parker. Second chance to hear the Bebop class of this band. The song features Xavier Perez on tenor saxophone and Peter Zak on piano and a classical 8/8 trading solos with the drums.

“#Social Loafing” is the next song dedicated to those who spend an excessive amount of time on social media. This original by Steve Fidyk comes as a medium swinger with straight chord progressions and the band enjoys this with nice solos by Xavier Perez, Joe Magnarelli, Peter Zak and a 1/2 chorus of drums on the first two A-sections of the final head.

The album finishes with “Sir John”, composed and recorded by trumpet legend Blue Mitchell on his 1960 LP Blue’s Moods. The original recording features Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. “Sir John” is a cool standard blues and it showcases solos by each member.

“Battle Lines” is an excellent jazz album with an outstanding cast of musicians. The music is rooted deeply in the Bebop tradition and the band masters the various styles with ease and a wink. It’s good to hear that this music is so alive and vibrant it shows that there is sometimes no need for major experiments in Jazz music, just have fun and play and the result will be brilliant.

More information about Steve Fidyk and upcoming shows are found on his website:
https://stevefidyk.com

And finally the complete album on Spotify:

Artist, CD-Reviews, Guitarist

Henry Robinett Quartet: Jazz Standards, Vol. 1: Then

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From Sacramento, California comes guitarist, composer, bandleader and recording engineer Henry Robinett. On May 1st, he released his album “Jazz Standards, Vol. 1: Then” which he recorded 20 years ago together with
Joe Gilman – piano
Chris Symer – bass
Michael Stephans – drums.

Henry has some more details: “Honestly, I don’t know why I left it on the shelf for so long. I grew up listening to bebop, and the great bebop players had enormous influence on me. When I wrote and performed my own music, though, I naturally incorporated the wide range of music styles I had played with other bands. I think the Jazz Standards album was just too different from my other work, which made me hesitant to release it. But after listening to it again after so many years, I like it. I think it stands up well and shows another side to my playing.”
The album caught my attention because I was looking to write a review of a “traditional” Jazz album. I thought of looking back to Jim Hall whom I was listening a lot these days but lucky enough this album came along.

The album starts with “I Hear a Rhapsody” (a song which I always associate with Jim Hall), no intro, no extra warm up is needed. The melody starts right away and the band plays straight jazz music with great solos from guitar, piano, bass and 4×4 drums.

“Yellow Days” is the next song, beautifully played with Michael Stephans using brushes and a pushing guitar solo by Henry Robinett where he shows his ability to play incredible long lines of 16th notes.

The album continues with “The Days of Wine and Roses” a jazz standard which I always love to hear. The version from Henry Robinett is again without any frills just enjoying the very well known melody and changes in his entertaining solo. We also hear nice and straight solos from Joe Gilman on piano and Chris Symer on bass.

“The Way You Look Tonight” (after “Yellow Days”) another standard from Frank Sinatra’s repertoire is the next tune. The band plays it in fine up-tempo.

“Ill Wind” comes next. The medium tempo invites Henry Robinett on guitar and Joe Gilman on piano to play intensive 16th notes in their solos.

The album continues with “East Of The Sun” another standard which I like very much. Henry Robinett uses a Chorus effect on this song. Beautiful variety on the guitar sound. The piano solo is outstanding.

“Invitation” is the next song. The solos by guitar and piano are quite intensive and create a lot of tension. Michael Stephans on drums and Chris Symer on bass provide excellent support support for the soloists. One of my favorites on the album.

After this intensive tune we hear “Soul Eyes” a beautiful ballad. The band starts easy with brushes but Michael Stephans switches to drum sticks during the guitar solo where dynamics increase and returns back to brushes and soft support when the head is played again.

“Why Do I Love You” by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein comes next. A heavy swinging band is the main characteristic of this tune. Joe Gilman on piano convinces again with an extraordinary solo.

“Pinocchio” by Wayne Shorter is the last song on the album. This rather dissonant song feels like an open end to this otherwise compact and consistent sound and style. The reason is perhaps that Henry Robinett has some plans. He will be releasing a volume of jazz standards, called “Volume 2: Then Again” in the near future. He is also planning on releasing two volumes of contemporary standards, called “Volume 3: Now” and “Volume 4: Now and Again”.

“Jazz Standards, Vol. 1: Then” is a great compilation of very well known jazz standards played in a very traditional style where the guitar is used as a solo instrument, like a saxophone. Henry Robinett is responsible for the melody and the first solo and he is not comping during piano or bass solo. Very interesting to see his role in this album. Since all those songs are timeless classics the music has not collected any dust in the 20 years since it was recorded. If you like this standard approach to jazz music, here is an excellent example.

More information about Henry Robinett can be found on his website:
https://henryrobinett.com/

And here is the complete album on Spotify: