The latest releases reviewed.
KURT ELLING Nightmoves Concord *****
Elling's new CD is a right-of- passage of the emotions and intellect from one of the finest, most literate singers in jazz. With superior material, sensitively juxtaposed, one song resonates off another in a programme bookended by the moody fantasy of Nightmoves and the buoyant I Like the Sunrise. In prime form and superbly backed by his Lawrence Hobgood/Christian McBride/Willie Jones III trio, Elling offers constant delight; Leaving Again, with Elling's words to a Jarrett improvisation, morphs into In the Wee Small Hours, backed only by Laurence Hobgood's piano; Body and Soul features Elling lyrics to a Dexter Gordon solo; The Waking is a voice and bass setting of the Theodore Roethke poem; The Sleepers comes from Fred Hersch's Walt Whitman CD, Leaves of Grass. And that's merely a taste from an album that already feels like a masterpiece. RAY COMISKEY
BILL HOLMAN Hommage Jazzed Media *****
Holman is so inventive that he could pass off his arrangements of well-known material as originals, provided he dispensed with the themes. Here his brilliant Sunshinola began as an arrangement of You Are My Sunshine and took on a life of its own. He also audaciously transforms Strayhorn's Raincheck and Herman's Woodchopper's Ball, yet at the same time respects the beauty of Dameron's If You Could See Me Now and refracts Monk's Bemsha Swing (an old chart) through the prism of his creativity. On this live recording, mostly from last year, Holman has a fine west coast band and noteworthy soloists in Ron Stout (trumpet) and saxophonists Pete Christlieb, Lanny Morgan and Bruce Babad. Band and soloists deal well with his multifaceted charts. In this tradition of big-band writing, Holman's distinctiveness remains a marvel. www.JazzedMedia.com RAY COMISKEY
JERRY BERGONZI Tenorist Savant ****
Though his influences (Henderson, Coltrane, maybe Lovano) are obvious, Jerry Bergonzi's fine tenor is unmistakeable, and he's in good form on this date with past collaborators John Abercrombie (guitar), Dave Santoro (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). His busy, multinote style has grown more measured over the years, but the contrast with Abercrombie's more contained approach adds much to the flavours of the music, as does the solidly authoritative Santoro and, in particular, the understated but powerful thrust supplied by Nussbaum. All but two pieces - Monk's Pannonica and Dorham's ballad Mesha - are by Bergonzi; the stimulating, quirky angularities of Gecko Plex, Czarology, With Reference and Creature Feature are notably relished by both the tenor and Abercrombie on what is a quality blowing session. http://uk.hmboutique.com RAY COMISKEY
