Teymur Phell Master Volume

Teymur Phell
Master Volume
Self-produced

Teymur Phell was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1987, and began playing the bass guitar when he was 13. He graduated high school when 18 and continued his studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, studying classical upright bass with maestro Michael Klinghoffer. He came to New York in 2011, built his reputation as a vibrant and virtuosic player and has become a sought-after bassist, performing with artists such as Danielia Cotton, Alex Young, Leni Stern, Lafayette Harris, and landing major gigs with jazz greats such as Mike Stern and Arturo Sandoval. On this debut recording he is joined by varying musicians including Nitzan Gavrieli on piano and keyboards; Lionel Cordew on drums; Chad Lefkowitz Brown on tenor sax;/ Mike Stern on guitar; Dennis Chambers on drums; Daniel Sadownick on percussion; Itai Kriss on flute; Albert Leusink on trumpet; Brian Bonvissuto; on trombone; and Wisam Khoury on Darbuka.

Phell is a virtuoso on the electric bass (he also plays keyboards) that is demonstrated throughout starting on "Zero To Sixty." This composition is evocative of Weather Report, and Phell's remarkable playing suggests he is quite familiar with Jaco Pastorious. Brown plays quite energetically here. A similar hot, fusion mood is present on "Papano Kimono," with a propulsive, highly charged solos by Mike Stern and Brown. Dennis Chambers on drums helps provide the funk groove. The title track is a spirited funk performance with shifting time. Gavrieli is particularly impressive on this number. Itai Kriss' flute is spotlighted against riffing horns on "Worth the Wait" with its Latin tine, A solo bass performances, "Old Window," displays the underlying lyrical quality to his playing. "Unfinished Business" is another funky performance with Stern and Chambers joining Phell and Gavrieli, with a dazzling solo by Phell.

After a virtuosic bass solo, "Heyvanhana," the final three numbers are trio performances with pianist Gavrieli and drummer Cordew. Starting as a duet by Phell and Cordew, "Sweet Sweep" develops into a vibrant, bouncy track. It is followed by the more reflective, melodic "Chances Are," with Phell playing as if he was playing a guitar. The closing tune is the bop-flavored "Blues For Who?" where all three solos. Teymur Phell shows himself to be not only a superb electric bass player but also a composer of merit. The excellent playing and varied compositions make "Master Volume" a very engaging recording.

I received a download to review from a publicist. Here is Teymur Phell with Mike Stern performing John Coltrane's"Mr. P.C."

 

Mike Stern The Trip

Mike Stern
The Trip
Heads Up

Mike Stern has recuperated from a horrible injury that left him with two broken arms and significant nerve damage, he was left with significant nerve damage in his right hand that prevented him from doing the simplest tasks, including holding a pick. Following a second surgery, he gained more control of his nerve-damaged picking hand and subsequently devised a scheme where he literally glues his right-hand fingers to the pick, strengthening his grip and allowing him to more fully realize his signature speed, precision and fluidity informed mainly by bebop and the blues.

Feeling sufficiently fortified, Stern and his stellar crew of sidemen — many of whom go back with him to the ‘80s — went into Spin Studio in Long Island City between January and March of 2017 to record his 17th album as a leader. His sly, self-deprecating sense of humor comes across in the title of the album, "Trip," as well as on individual tracks like “Screws” (he initially had 11 screws put into his arm following his first surgery) and “Scotch Tape and Glue” (his current method for holding onto the pick). Produced by pianist-keyboardist Jim Beard, "Trip" features a number of longstanding colleagues including trumpeters Randy Brecker and Wallace Roney, saxophonists Bob Franceschini and Bill Evans, bassists Victor Wooten and Tom Kennedy, and drummers Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers and Lenny White.

The title track is a driving composition with a bit of funk and some fervent tenor sax from Franceschini, with Wooten and Chambers providing a tight bottom while Randy Brecker's muted trumpet adds a Miles Davis ambience to "Blueprint." His former Davis colleague Bill Evans adds some staccato tenor sax to open the effervescent "Half Crazy," with some percolating backing from pianist Jim Beard, drummer Lenny White and bassist Tyrell Phell to support Stern's horn-like likes. The afore-mentioned "Screws has the same rhythm trio along with Wallace Roney's trumpet on an performance that starts playful and reflective before Stern forcefully solos, following this up with pretty, tender acoustic guitar on "Gone." Then there is the funky fusion of "Whatchacallit," followed by the ebullient, latin-tinged "Emelia," with Stern on acoustic guitar as well as singing (Gio Moratti adds the backing vocal).

"Scotch Tape and Glue," is a spirited high-velocity romp based on the changes to "Green Dolphin Street," while the closing "B Train" is a quirky, mid-tempo contrafact on"Take the At Train,' with Roney muted playing adding to the enjoyment to Stern's own inventive playing. It is a delightful close to a varied recording that is perhaps more impressive knowing what he has had to overcome. Stern is modest about his own playing noting that “Everybody played their asses off on this record," but he certainly is back on top of his game on this excellent recording.

I received from my review copy from Concord. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2017 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 375). Here is an interview of Mike Stern.

Lucky Peterson Made the Right Moves

A little over a couple weeks ago (October 14), I posted about Lucky Peterson’s latest CD, “You Can Always Turn Around,” and stated that I thought his Verve-Gitanes recordings were amongst the best of the 1990s. Recently I was able to locate my review of his CD, Move, that appeared in the April 1998 Jazz & Blues Report (No. 230) which provides my reaction to that recording when it was issued along with comments on the previous “Lifetime” CD. Here it is for your edification.

Lucky Peterson certainly has matured since being a child prodigy. Having first recorded when he was five, and playing with his father James as he grew up, Lucky has emerged as one of the most important talents in the blues world. A superb keyboard player, Lucky is also a guitarist of considerable ability and one of the blues most underrated singers.

When so much of ‘contemporary’ blues is nothing more than rehashed rock-oriented blues rock, Lucky brings to his music strong soul and funk seasoning. His previous album, Lifetime, was one of the best records of the past few years with terrific remakes of Earth Wind and Fire’s Shining Star, and Sam Cooke’s Change is Gonna Come, along with Bad Condition, one of the finest blues set to a reggae groove. At a time when the latest teenage guitar phenom is heralded by some ‘as the music’s future, Lifetime has never gotten its due as among the most forward looking blues albums of the nineties.


Lucky’s newest album, Move, continues with a similar musical synthesis, although with stripped down backing of Butch Bonner’s rhythm guitar, ex-Iceman Johnny B. Gayden on bass, and Dennis Chambers on drums. There are new blues like the title track and the opening You’re the One For Me, and a cover of Robert Cray’s Don’t You Ever Care, that Lucky sings with considerable heat. Lucky also tackles the old Ashford and Simpson classic that Ray Charles made famous, Let’s Go Get Stoned, the Isley Brother’s classic It’s Your Thing, and Prince’s Purple Rain, providing a fertile musical stew. An instrumental, Pickin’ , shows his appreciation to Albert Collins, yet never lapses into imitation, and he takes Tin Pan Alley and provides a strong vocal to go along with his guitar playing. He has absorbed much from Hendrix, Prince, the various Kings and Albert Collins, and others, yet plays with a clarity and articulation in his solos that some of the emerging players in blues today might take a lesson from. Move is another reason Lucky Peterson is among the most important blues artists today.

Rereading these words, it is sort of bittersweet, since Lucky had the chance to establish himself as one of the premier touring artists. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons, this did not happen. Even if I do not find his newest recording to be on the level of Lifetime and Move, here’s hoping with his demons behind him he can bring the same mojo to his performances that made this recordings so compelling. One may have to shop around to find CD copies, either new or used. The music on these is available as downloads.


I do not recall if I received review copies or whether I purchased one or both.