David Sills Double Guitar Quintet Natural Lines

David Sills Double Guitar Quintet
Natural Lines
Gut String Records

David Sills is a Los Angeles based reeds player based who a prolific recording career, both as a leader and with others. Influenced by saxophonist Gary Foster with whom he studied privately, the LA Times has called Sills' sound "as a meeting of Stan Getz and Joe Henderson." The double guitar quintet arose from Sills playing venues where there was no piano, so he added a second guitar, which "seemed to open up many musical possibilities and allowed for an interesting mix of musical colors." Sills is heard on this recording playing tenor sax and alto flute. The other Double Guitar Quintet members are guitarists Larry Koonse and Mike Scott, bassist Blake White, and drummer Tim Pleasant. Sills composed five tunes, Scott and Koonse, one each, while Sills, Koonse, and Scott collaborated on one. The other four songs are covers.

Sills is a wonderful player as well as a composer with a striking band on this strong bop-laced date. Things start with Scott's bright, bouncy "Minor Monk." I presume that Scott takes the guitar lead and solo here while Koonse chords and adds fills. Sills' full-bodied tenor follows Scott's clean-toned, fluid lines. Sills also displays a fluidity in constructing his solos. The rhythm section is sterling with Pleasant takes a short drum solo. Koonse contributed "Sync or Swim" with an intriguing melodic line. Koonse's scintillating solo is supported by Scott's chordal backing, followed by the leader's robust solo.

Sills' "Sonny's Side" is a salute to Sonny Rollins with more sweet-sounding guitar followed by more strong tenor sax. Excellent guitar backing is present backing Sills' superb ballad playing on "Lover Man." "Foggy Daze," a contrafact of "A Foggy Day," is a terrific swinging performance. Another contrafact, "Mellow Daze" (based on "In a Mellow Mood"), is another sublime performance with precious guitar and warm tenor sax. "All The Little Things" is a brief, imaginative free improvisation between Sills, Koonse, and Scott based on the structure "All The Things You Are."

Sills' lovely alto flute is showcased on Alan Broadbent's "Quiet As a Star." This performance also has exquisite interplay between the guitarist in support. Sills also plays alto flute on a rendition of Miles Davis' "Nardis," that begins sounding like free jazz before bassist White bridges the group into the Davis melody. Other selections are similarly of a high level.

Sills' Double Guitar Quintet has produced this marvelous straight-ahead bop recording of great appeal with the superior musicianship and strong material.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a performance by David Sills with a group that includes Larry Koonze.

The Coachella Valley Trio Mid Century Modern

The Coachella Valley Trio
Mid Century Modern
dmacmusic

A guitar trio featuring guitarist Doug MacDonald takes its name from the fact that MacDonald and his fellow musicians settled in Palm Springs, in California's Coachella Valley. Besides MacDonald, the trio consists of Larry Holloway on bass and Tim Pleasant on drums. They started playing a regular gig in 2016 at A.J.'s on the Green, and they really clicked, inspiring MacDonald to capture the trio on tape. Big Black playing djembe is a guest on 6 of the 11 selections, four of which are MacDonald originals.

As MacDonald observes in his brief liner notes, the trio soon found they had a close rhythmic connection, that is evident in the performances heard here. MacDonald is an excellent bop-styled guitarist with a melodic core to his playing with a deft touch. His playing echoes the message of Lester Young of knowing the lyrics of the tunes one plays, while he ably constructs very sophisticated solos. His bandmates complement his performances, which include charming renditions of such standards as "My Shining Hour," "What's New," "Give Me The Simple Life," "Woody 'N You," and "The Way You Look Tonight."

MacDonald adds in delightful originals, including "Lance Or Lot," and "Cat City Samba." This latter song, with a percolating drum solo, is one of two Brazilian-oriented compositions that the trio give scintillating performances to. It complements the interpretations of the standards on a first-rate bop-styled jazz guitar recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review appeared in the March-April 2020 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 389).