Kenny Shanker - Beautiful Things

Kenny Shanker
Beautiful Things
Wise Cat Records

Kenny Shanker is a saxophonist, pianist, vocalist, and award-winning composer from Pleasanton, California. He started playing piano when two and has developed into an impressive talent. Shanker has performed with the New World Symphony, Richard Bona, David Benoit, Shelly Berg, Lage Lund, Taylor Eigsti, Bill Mobley, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, and many others. Now residing in New York, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Dizzy's Club, Smoke, Smalls, Fat Cat, Jazz at Kitano, and other locations.

"Beautiful Things" is his fourth album, second for Wise Cat Records. On this session, he played alto saxophone and backed by a rhythm section of Daisuke Abe - Guitar, Mike Eckroth - Piano, Yoshi Waki - Bass, and Brian Fishler - Drums. Bill Mobley plays trumpet on three of the twelve selections. Shanker wrote 5 of the twelve tunes, with the other seven being standards.

The opening "Cool Mint" has the feel of a sixties Brill Building hit with a memorable melody before Shanker's fruity solo followed by thoughtful solos by Eckroth and Abe. It is followed by the hard bop "Prestissimo" with a breakneck tempo that evokes "Giant Steps." Taken at an almost frantic tempo, Shaker, trumpeter Mobley, and pianist Eckroth navigate the changes impressively. On Rogers & Hart's "It Never Entered My Mind," it sounds like synthesized strings added to a ballad performance where he exhibits a beguiling tone. Abe takes an alluring acoustic solo here. It is followed by the bouncy "Mirth," with a solo that suggests Sonny Fortune and other Coltrane-influenced alto saxophonists. Mobley adds some mid-range heat on his trumpet on this selection.

Eckroth opens the swinging interpretation of Oscar Peterson's "L'impossible," with Shanker exhibiting fluidity along with his melodic tone over the entire range of the alto sax. Abe's guitar chords help set out the walking tempo for Shanker's lyrical playing on "Without a Song." A charming rendition of "I'm Old Fashioned," where Abe takes solos crisply and cleanly. "Like Someone In Love," an alluring duet with Waki on bass, is another choice track.

Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud" opens as a duet between Shanker and drummer Fischler. Eckroth and Waki join the performance halfway through. Eckroth also solos before Fischler does, with Shanker riding the performance out over Fischler. Shanker's title composition closes the recording in a beautiful manner (pun intended). Kenny Shanker plays thoughtfully, displays a beautiful tone and fluid technique, and is backed by a splendid band on an outstanding recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a promotional video for this recording.

Noah Bless New York Strong - Latin Jazz!

Noah Bless
New York Strong - Latin Jazz!
Zoho Music

On the back cover of "New York Strong," Arturo O'Farrill is quoted, "Noah Bless is New York Strong. I've seen him on the finest bandstands representing this great city, in a manner that honors that NYC tradition of purposefulness. He is equally at home in swing, rumba, or samba, but always strong." Trombonist, composer and leader Bless is a 30-year veteran of New York City's rich Latin Jazz scene. Bless, in the words of Bill Milkowski, "has immersed himself in Afro-Cuban music, soaking up mambo and rhumba while getting the clave ingrained into his DNA." He toured with legends such as Mario Bauza, Celia Cruz, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Santos, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. On this recording, Bless leads a band of Mike Eckroth on piano, Boriz Koslov on bass, Pablo Bencid on drums, and Luisito Quintero on percussion. Alejandro Aviles adds flute to two selections.

Bless is a trombonist who can exhibit a lyrical side as own his "Chasing Normal" or add heat to the surging Afro-Cuban groove of Rudy Calzado's "Ganga." This latter number places the spotlight on Bencid and Quintero. Bencid is on electric piano on the delightful Baden Powell samba, "Canto De Ossanha," with the spotlight on Bless' cashmere wool tone trombone. There is also considerable charm to Bless' interpretation of Jobim's "Ligia," which again shows his melodic side. Bless, in fact, says, "That melodic things always been my strong suit."

Bill Mobley's "49th Street" is transformed from a hard bop composition into a relaxed Afro-Cuban performance with Aviles' flute complementing Bless fluid solo flight over the effervescent groove. Aviles is also present on Bless' original "The Key," a rhythmically charged composition with alternating leisurely and feverish tempos that provides solo space to everyone. An unexpected delight is Bless' arrangement and the group's rendition of James Taylor's well-known folk composition, "Fire and Rain." It is another selection that results in Noah Bless' long-overdue debut as a leader being such a marvelous listening experience.

I received a review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the January-February 2021 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 394). I have made a couple minor edits. Here is "Sunny Ray" from the album.

Project Garnd Slam's Appealing Spring Dance

Project Grand Slam, named after the plot to break into Fort Knox in the James Bond thriller Goldfinger, is a contemporary jazz-fusion group led by bassist Robert Miller, with saxophones and flute from Gilad Ronen and drums from Ron Thaler. On their new Cakewalk Records release Spring Dance, they are joined by Mike Eckroth on keyboards, Joye Hennesey on vocals; Danny Lerman on alto saxophone and Justin Smith on strings. 

The nine selections are mostly originals by either Miller or Ronen with the exception of a cover of the Hollies He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother. There is nothing fancy here, just very melodic and bouncy performances with definite appeal to fans of such artists as Bob James, Grover Washington, The Crusaders, and Spyro Gyra. As a disclosure, I remember seeing Sypro Gyra regularly on Thursday Nights at Buffalo’s Tralfamadore Cafe in the mid-seventies when they played a variety of originals and always closed the night out with Sonny Rollins’ St. Thomas.

This listener heard some echoes of the theme from the TV show Taxi, on the title track, while Ma Petite Fleur, is a slow ballad with Ronen’s soprano stating the theme and establishing the winsome mood before Eckroth’s R&B-flavored piano solo. Vocalist Hennessey is showcased on the soulful Remember, with some nice playing by the rhythm, with an attractive tenor sax solo from Ronen and nice support from Miller and Thaler. After the bouncy Catch You Later, Ronen’s The Turn, displays a bit more reflective mood. Hennessey returns for the funky interpretation of The Hollies hit recording. 

The album closes with an instrumental version of “Remember,” which seems like filler. Even including it, the nine tracks on Spring Dance are a little over a half hour. This is nicely performed and recorded. While there is little deep or profound on this, it is a very entertaining recording with a definite appeal.

I was provided a review copy from a publicist.