March 3, 2014

George Schuller’s Circle Wide

Listen Both Ways
Playscape PSR # 053112

A restrained percussionist and bandleader, George Schuller, who will be playing The Rex March 4 and 5 as part of an all-star aggregation featuring guitarist Michael Musillami and bassist Joe Fonda, exhibits his gift for composition and arrangements on this quintet session.

Most of the tunes sparkle with easy swing based on the clever juxtaposition of Peter Apfelbaum’s tenor saxophone with Brad Shepik’s guitar and Tom Beckham’s vibes. Besides Schuller’s drumming whose rebounds often cuff and prod the soloists into an architecturally perfect presentation, Dave Ambrosio’s bass holds the rhythm steady. The saxman, who suggests what Stan Getz would sound like had he sharpened his tone after the early 1960s, outputs a slurry efficiency on straightforward tunes such as “Could This Be the Year?” yet can also spew out dramatic split tones on “A Map Would Help” while backed by shaking guitar licks, cascading rustles from the drummer and popping aluminum bar resonation from the vibist. MORE

June 3, 2013

Garchik/Sacks/Ambrosio/Sperrazza

40Twenty
Yeah Yeah Records YY 0004

Samuel Blaser Quartet

As The Sea

hatOLOGY 718

Extending the wide reach necessary to play their instrument with an equally ample range of ideas and skills, trombonists Samuel Blaser of Switzerland and New York’s Jacob Garchik confirm with these CDs that that the evolution of imaginative brass playing continues.

Blaser, whose experience encompasses working with other enlightened players like Swiss percussionist Pierre Favre and American drummer Gerry Hemingway, has composed a four-part suite to show off his prowess and that of his combo, featuring French guitarist Marc Ducret, Swiss bassist Bänz Oester and American drummer Gerald Cleaver. All-American and with a name that references the grueling club gigs of the 1950s, 40Twenty is a co-op quartet which highlights the improvisational and compositional muscle of all its members which include Jacob Garchik on trombone, pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. MORE