Peter Hand Big Band Out of Hand

Peter Hand Big Band
Out of Hand
Savant

A few years ago, guitarist Peter Hand led a big band, featuring tenor saxophonist Houston Person on a wonderful live recording on Savant “The Wizard of Jazz: A Tribute to Harold Arlen.” The Peter Hand Big Band returns with a new studio recording, also on Savant, “Out of Hand.” Again, Person is present (on three selections), and a number of top-notch players are heard here including saxophonists Bruce Williams, Kenny Berger, Don Braden, and Ralph LaLama; trumpeters Eddie Allen, John Bailey and Valery Ponomarev; trombonists John Mosca and Vincent Gardner; and a terrific rhythm section of pianist James Weidman, bassist Harvie S and drummer Steve Johns.

Person is featured on three selections, a swinging rendition of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny”; the classic Harold Arlen torch song “Blues in the Night”; and the Strayhorn/Ellington classic “Day Dream.” Person brings his warm, rich tone and the melodic quality of his improvisations set against Hand’s wonderful arrangements as well as Hand's own clean, crisp guitar. On the opening Sunny,” trumpeter Ponomarev takes one of several sharp-toned solos that exhibit an authority similar to that of Person. Selections like these evoke a classic Oliver Nelson Big Band album “Live in Los Angeles” that featured guitarist Mel Brown on a couple selections as well as Nelson’s arrangements for some of Wes Montgomery’s Verve recordings.

Hand is a wonderful guitarist in the vein of a Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Grant Green and the like with a definite blues sensibility. Hand’s original “Out of Print Blues” (called Out of Hand Blues” in Donald Elfman’s liner notes) is a nice swinging blues with strong solos from Bruce Williams, Harvie S and Vincent Gardner in addition to the leader. Another Hand original is the waltz “Listen to Your Heart” with its effective use of muted brass, flute, flugelhorn and soprano saxophone with Braden taking a nice soprano sax solo set against the riffing horns while Ponomarev is in more melodic vein.

Hand displays a romantic sensibility of a lovely ballad “Barbara Rose,” while the up-tempo “The Elevator” is a feature for LaLama’s robust and forceful playing and will evoke the Ellington classic “Cottontail.” After the light Latin groove of “Night Echo” (Hand, Bailey, and Weidman stand out here); we are treated the splendid “Day Dream,” before Hand enlivens “Summertime” with his arrangement in 6/4 and employment of flute, clarinet, bass clarinet and muted brass to provide musical colors for Allen’s vibrant trumpet and Weidman’s piano. It is a superb close to this splendid big band recording.

I received my review copy as a download from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2015 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 359). Peter Hand Big Band has a new CD out that I will be reviewing shortly. Here is "Sunny" from "Out of Hand."

Houston Person Featured on Harold Arlen tribute

I have become a huge fan of Houston Person over the past few years, and he certainly merits acclaim as one of the great tenor saxophonists. A master of blues and ballads, he is showcased on a marvelous tribute to Harold Arlen by guitarist Peter Hand's Big Band. This review written for Jazz & Blues Report but it has not run yet.

Guitarist Peter Hand has years of performing and writing experience and in more recent years put together several larger ensembles including his big band that has a notable roster of players including saxophonists, Kenny Berger, Don Braden, Ralph LaLama, Mike Migliore; Trumpeters and flugelhornists, Cecil Bridgewater, Valery Ponamarev, Jim Rotondi; and pianist Richard Wyands, to name some of the more recognizable names. For a concert to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Birth of Harold Arlen, held at Irvington Town hall Theater on April 22, 2005, he also added Houston Person as featured guest where they ran through some of Arlen’s most beloved compositions such as “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Ill Wind,” Let’s Fall in Love,” Stormy Weather,” and “Over the rainbow.” The Peter Hand Big Band’s concert was recorded and Savant has released it “The Wizard of Jazz: A Tribute to Harold Arlen.”

Any album featuring Houston Person is going to benefit form his warm, rich tone and the melodic quality of his improvisations and this comes to the fore early with his opening statement in then opening “Come Rain or Come Shine,” with interesting orchestral interjections to spice things up with some nice solos also from Hand and pianist Wyands. On the ballad “Ill Wind,” Person’s romantic playing evokes Ben Webster although his tone is feathery compared to the heavy vibrato Webster employed. Bridgewater has a lovely muted trumpet solo here. Hand in his annotation notes that the rendition of the ballad “This Time’s The Dream’s On Me,” is an uptempo one inspired by the Charlie Parker recording with Valery Ponamarev sparkling on his solo, while Person’s ballad playing once again is at front for “The Man That Got Away,” written for the 1955 film version of “A Star is Born,” and Person’s familiarity with this comes from the many years he played this with the late great Etta Jones. Special kudos here for the marvelous arrangement with Hand and Wyands making some nice contributions in the background. The bossa nova arrangement enlivens “Let’s Fall in Love,” with Don Braden’s snake charming soprano sax solo, and Jim Rotondi adding some blistering trumpet. “Stormy Weather” is among Arlen’s most famous songs and Person is magnificent here on an arrangement built upon that used by Person for his small group performances. One performance is a ringer, being a medley of Person’s “Blue Jug” and Hand’s “Harold Blues,” which is a lengthy blues jam with a number of different soloists (one of the trumpeters quotes “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”), with Person taking his last. The performance closes with an unaccompanied Houston Person performance of “Over the Rainbow.” Having an opportunity to listen to a number of recent Houston Person recordings in the past several years, he has become a favorite who can constantly be counted on for swinging tenor sax deep in the blues and a master of the ballad which is showcased as the special guest of Peter Hand’s marvelous big band for a thoroughly captivating recording.

For FTC purposes I was provided the review copy from Jazz & Blues Report which recived it from the record label.