Bill O'Connell and the Afro Caribbean Ensemble The Wind Off The Hudson

Bill O'Connell and the Afro Caribbean Ensemble
The Wind Off The Hudson
Savant Records

Bill O'Connell first big break in the New York scene came playing with Mongo Santamaria in 1977. Latin Jazz has always been a significant part of his musical world along with straight-ahead jazz over the past four decades. This newest release is in the Latin jazz vein with the Afro Caribbean Ensemble. Its members include Andrea Brachfeld – flute and alto flute; Craig Handy – alto sax and soprano sax; Ralph Bowen – tenor sax; Gary Smulyan – baritone sax, Alex Sipiagin – trumpet and flugelhorn; Conrad Herwig – trombone; Lincoln Goines – electric bass; Robby Ameen – drums; and Roman Diaz – congas.

With names like Handy, Smulyan, Sipiagin, and Herwig in this little big band, one's ears perk up. Add the leader's arrangements and own playing, and one has expectations for a fabulous recording. These expectations are met starting with the title track with its Afro-Cuban grooves and a charging, robust baritone solo from Smulyan against the percolating heated rhythms and the many-faceted orchestration of the horns followed by O'Connell's driving solo and Handy adding a short chorus. O'Connell's "Jerry's Blues" is a display in the integration of rhythm and melodic invention as the baritone sax and rhythm section plays a rhythmic motif as Sipiagin blasts off with some fiery trumpet followed by some surging tenor sax and more brilliant piano and a tight drum solo.

As good as the originals are, the covers stand out from the originality and inventiveness of the arrangements and the superb playing starting with Tito Puente's classic "Oye Como Va," taken at a slightly slower pace than the better-known versions by Puente and Santana. Besides Brachfeld's sonorous flute, Smulyan digs deep on the baritone sax. O'Connell provides a sterling orchestration for Juan Tizol's "Perdido," with Handy and Bowen but playing quite dynamically on alto and tenor respectively. O'Connell is brilliant sounding part McCoy Tyner and part Eddie Palmieri, and Herwig takes an energetic gruff-toned solo.

The most radical arrangement is on Duke Ellington's "C Jam Blues," which many people would not guess the tune if listening in a blindfold test. The arrangement remakes a song that historically has been a jam vehicle into an orchestrated showcase for band members which includes trading of fours by Smulyan and Bowen as the others provide atmosphere. O'Connell's again solos brilliantly, even inserting a phrase from Monk's "Rhythm-a-ning," before the horns play a riff during the drum and percussion solo that takes this to its close. Also fascinating is the rendition of John Coltrane's "Transition," a composition from Coltrane's freer recordings. O'Connell's orchestration provides the foundation for terrific solos from Handy (on soprano sax), Smulyan and Herwig before the leader's solo backed by the high-level ensemble playing by the band. It is another first-rate performance on a superlative recording that is likely among the best albums of this year.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is "Oye Como Va" from this CD.

 

Sixth Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival Stands Up For Real Jazz

Paul Carr

The Sixth Annual Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival returns Presidents’ Day Weekend to the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Put on by the Jazz Academy of Music, the motto of Mid-Atlantic Festival is “Standing Up For Real Jazz.” In this vein, the focus is on hard, swinging jazz with a number of national headliners mixed in with some of the finest musicians in the Washington DC area. The featured performers for this year include vocalists Tierney Sutton, Allan Harris and Carmen Lundy and instrumentalists including trumpeter Sean Jones; saxophonists James Carter, Jimmy Greene, Craig Handy and Marcus Strickland; bassist Rufus Reid; trombonists Delfaeyo Marsalis; and pianists Kenny Barron, Ellis Marsalis and Patrice Rushen. Local jazz favorites include vocalists Sharon Clark and Janine Gilbert-Carter; saxophonist Paul Carr; pianist Eric Byrd, and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. Performances are held both on the Ronnie Wells Main Stage as well as smaller club settings.

Sharon Clark

Friday night, February 13, the Ronnie Wells Main Stage opens with tenor saxophonist Paul Carr, head of the Jazz Academy of Music, and a marvelous player leading a group with vocalist Sharon Clark. Clark, arguably DC’s leading female jazz singer. Writing in the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote that she “evokes not Holiday but rather a less operatic Sarah Vaughan fused with the more animated side of Shirley Horn, a singer who also liked to take her time. Ms. Clark’s voice is rich, her phrasing unfussy, her jazz embellishments minimal.” They will be followed by another terrific singer Tierney Sutton, with trumpeter Sean Jones closing the evening with his group.

Main Stage activities resume late morning Saturday February 14 with the Mid-Atlantic "Jazz Voice"--Vocal Competition with six semi-finalists competing for a $2000 Grand Prize. Shortly afterwards an afternoon session features DC drummer Samuel Prather and Groove Orchestra with the marvelous vocalist Christie Dashiell. They are followed by Chelsey Green and the Green Project, led by the talented violinist. Saturday Evening’s Main Stage performance opens with a Tenor Saxophonist Summit with three of today’s most compelling tenor players: James Carter, Craig Handy and  Marcus Strickland. After their set, vocalist Allen Harris will captivate the audience followed by Ellis Marsalis and son Delfaeyo, on The Last Southern Gentleman Tour.

Craig Handy

Sunday on the Main Stage, Vuyo Sotashe, the 2014 Mid-Atlantic Vocal Jazz Competition winner, opens the afternoon show followed by the great bassist and composer Rufus Reid leading his Quartet. Craig Handy and Second Line Smith closes the session. Handy’s latest project mixes New Orleans grooves with a tribute to the great organist Jimmy Smith.

Sunday evening’s final Main Stage session opens with one of this writer’s favorite vocalists, Janine Gilbert-Carter backed by a trio that includes pianist Eric Byrd with a saxophonist to be named. Carter brings plenty of warmth and a touch of Dinah Washington to a varied selection of material. Next is  tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene whose backing group includes the legendary Kenny Barron on piano and will focus on music from Greene's latest album, “Beautiful Life” on Mack Avenue Records. Greene is a masterful saxophonist with a robust tone and this recording is part of his ongoing grieving process at the sudden and tragic loss of his 6-year old daughter, Ana Marquez-Greene, who fell victim to the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass murder in Newtown, CT. After this performance, vocalist Carmen Lundy will close out the Main Stage with the great Patrice Rushen on piano and keyboards.

Marcus Strickland

Throughout the festival, there will be plenty of music in the MAJF Club and the MAJF Juke Joint rooms. Friday night the Marcus Strickland Quartet performs two sets in the MAJF Club while David Cole will be laying down blues in the Juke Joint. Saturday shows in the MAJF Club include the Terry Koger Sextet, vocalist Chad Carter, and the great drummer Winard Harper, while Memphis Gold will be in the Juke Joint. Sunday evening Shirletta Settles, Anthony Compton, and Sarah McKenzie are among the MAJF Club room performers while Anthony “Swamp Dog” Clark will be blowing his harmonica and shouting the blues in the Juke Joint.

Additionally there will be free performances in the Hotel Atrium including Big Band and Combo competition performances. There will also be interviews with a number of the artists and workshops for students that are led by some of the performers. One can see how packed the weekend will be. For more information with fuller artist biographies, information on accommodations and tickets along with special features on several of the performances visit, http://www.midatlanticjazzfestival.org.

The Cookers "Cast The First Stone"

Taking their name from a series of classic Blue Note live recordings, The Cookers is an ensemble built upon some of the strongest jazz musicians of the past half century or so. With the tenor saxophone of Billy Harper and trumpet of Eddie Henderson they are supported by a rhythm section of pianist George Cables, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart. These five have graced clubs, stages and recording studios with the likes of Dexter Gordon, Max Roach, Lee Morgan, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey and countess others, while each also establishing a formidable legacy of their own.

More recently they have been joined by younger players in their tradition: trumpeter Dan Weiss and alto saxophonist Craig Handy. Weiss in fact has become the band’s straw boss and produced the group’s latest disc, Cast the First Stone (Plus Loin Music). Saxophonist Azar Lawrence guests on several tracks on this. The compositions are originals from Harper, McBee and Cables with one exception.

The title track is a Harper original built around a punchy four note figure that sports tempo changes in its melody and displays the band’s fiery approach that may suggest some of the recordings by Woody Shaw and others from the seventies and eighties with the energetic ensembles and surging solos from Harper, Weiss and Cables. The latter mixes in a more melodic segment as McBee buzzes around him and Hart mixes in adept use of accents on his cymbals, before Harper takes the lead with some fiery playing followed. The nature of the composition gives the performance a rougher feel. McBee’s Peacemaker has a lighter, more supple tone with Henderson taking the initial solo employing a mute. He is followed by a lengthy solo from Craig Handy and then McBee, as Cables and Hart softly play under him.

Cables’ Looking For Light has an elegance to it. Guest Azar Lawrence adds some alluring soprano, soloing along with Henderson (again using a mute) and Cables reinforcing the spirit of the performance. Harper’s The Seventh Day has a more forceful cast, followed by the uplifting Croquet Ballet. Harper, Weiss and Cables solo on both numbers while the latter tune also includes a solo from Handy. After Cables’ Think of Me where Henderson soars, the recording concludes with Harold Mabern’s The Chief, that features dynamic tenor sax solos from Lawrence and Harper, and a drum solo by Hart. It concludes a strong recording.

This is not simply an all-star band put together for the studio, but a working group as evident through the striking performances of fresh, engaging material.

A publicist provided me with my review copy. 

Here are The Cookers (with Kirk Lightsey in lieu of George Cables).