Terry Hanck Gotta Bring It On Home To You

Saxophonist and vocalist Terry Hanck has a rhythm and blues party on his new Delta Groove release, “Gotta Bring It On Home To You.” The CD is by The Terry Hanck Band and Friends which has Hanck and his band of guitarist Johnny ‘Cat’ Soubrand, bassist Tim Wager and drummer Butch Cousins joined by friends guitarist (and producer) Chris ‘Kid Andersen; guitarist Debbie Davies; keyboardist Jim Pugh; Baritone saxophonist Doug James; pianist Bob Welsh; organist Lorenzo Farrell and background vocalists Lisa Leu Andersen and Dennis Dove.

Bringing his vocals with a touch a grizzle and his mix of King Curtis yackety-yak with Junior Walker honking, Hanck and his friends bring together a lively part of rocking R&B on Elvin Bishop’s Right Now Is The Hour evoked Hank Ballard; the straight blues Peace of Mind with Soubrand sounding like a cross between Magic Sam and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson; the swamp pop flavored My Last Teardrop, although the performance shifts midway into a West Coast R&B rocker; the King Curtis influenced organ sax groove of T’s Groove; and the  straight cover of Tommy Ridgely’s classic instrumental Jam Up.

There are plenty of production touches such as the cheesy fafisa organ used on Pins and Needles that lends it a Tex-Mex flavor. Hanck’s band is excellent and the guests all acquit themselves quite well. Also, production and recording is excellent, as expected with Delta Groove. Gotta Bring It On Home To You is another fine CD from Hanck.

I received my review copy from Delta Groove. Here is a video of the Terry Hanck Band with some booting sax to kick things off.

Carras Paton Expressive Saxophone on Fortune

Born in Southern California but now resident in Brooklyn, New York, Carras Paton has become a strong new voice on the Big Apple’s jazz scene. He has played alongside Bobby Rodriguez, been part of pit bands for theater productions of Kiss Me Kate and Bye Bye Birdie, and appearing as a leader at various New York venues including the Knitting Factory and Iridium. A multi-instrumentalist, he focuses on tenor and soprano saxophone for the debut disc by The Carras Paton Quartet, Fortune (CarrasJazz). 

Backed by a strong band that includes Max Haymer on piano and electric piano; Ryan Berg on upright bass; and Shinnosuke Takahashi on drums, Paton displays himself to be a forceful, audacious player. The track opens with the burner title track with Paton making his presence felt immediately over Haymer’s shimmering electric keyboards. 

Next up is January with a definite Coltrane feel with Haymer, at the beginning, evoking Tyner with his thunderous piano opening before Paton unleashes his fully-throated playing with the rhythm pushing the performance on. Berg’s bass-line kicks off Open, with Paton prancing on tenor as the tempo shifts down a bit as the band gets into a funky groove and Paton starts bearing down with his hard driving attack over a somewhat dreamy backing. 

Aristotle is a lovely number on which Paton displays a clean tone on the soprano saxophone as he starts in a pensive mode before his playing becomes more insistent before Berg takes a solid solo with Paton taking it out in a more reflective manner. Takahashi kicks off Into the Deep, with a simple groove before Paton states the theme on tenor. While not cited as his main sax guys, Paton’s passionate playing is suggestive of the hard blues edge of such players as Oliver Lake and Hamiett Bluett. His charged, extroverted style mixed with his fertile musical mind and a strong band makes his debut quite noteworthy, and explains why he is getting in demand as a leader. 

His website is www.carraspaton.com, and as he is only 25, one can expect to hear much more about him in the future.

This review originally appeared in the January 15-March 1, 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 323). I received my review copy from a publicist.

Sharel Cassity Is Vibrant New Saxophone Voice

An Oklahoma City native, saxophonist Sharel Cassity has become a presence on new York City’s scene, having obtained Degrees in Music from The New School and Julliard. She has honored by the late IAJE’s Sisters in jazz and Betty Carter’s jazz Ahead programs and her compositions have won Downbeat Music Awards and ASCAP’s Young Jazz Composer Award. She is an educator as well as work with such small groups as Harry Whitaker, Ingrid Jensen and Mark Whitfield to DIVA and Jimmy Heath Big Bands.

Looking at the cover of her recording Just For You, (DW Records), one does not know what to expect. Once the music starts, one is taken by the clarity and focus of her alto playing (although she plays multiple saxophones). It is produced by Michael Dease (who also contributed three originals to the seven song program) who has brought some of the musicians she regularly works with in the New York club scene. these include Tom Barber on trumpet (who contributed one number) and flugelhorn; Pete Reardon-Anderson on tenor sax, Adam Birnbaum on piano, Paul Beaudry on bass, and Vincent Ector on drums.

Cassity really draws attention with her bluesy tone which will suggest Sonny Stitt as much as Charlie Parker with a bit of Lee Konitz tossed in. Dease’s Phibe’s Revenge, is a brisk hard bop number that kicks off this release. The bouncy title track has a dreamy flavor before Cassity enchants with her chops and tone followed by Barber’s Irazu (Wish You Were Here). Again more standout playing from her along with the marvelous ensemble work. The rhythm section supports her so well and the full ensemble playing is tight.

On the quartet rendition of Ram Ramirez’s Lover Man, her tone is a bit drier with less Charlie Parker and more Lee Konitz. It is followed by Lennie Tristano’s Wow, with its intricate interplay between the horns as well as intriguing solos. Dease’s Roditi’s Dream, has a Latin accent, before the album concludes with her tearing into Cherokee, with shorter spots allotted to her bandmates, but throughout the superb music here, she burns the brightest on this superb album of hard swinging bop.

Sharel’s website is www.sharelcassity.com, and this disc is available from cdbaby.com, amazon.com and other better retailers.

I likely received this from Jazz & Blues Report or a publicist for this release. It was written for Jazz & Blues Report but may not have been published. Here is a video of her performing .

Sean Nowell's "The Seeker"

Saxophonist, flautist, composer and more, Sean Nowell is among new voices in the New York jazz Scene making an impact. The Birmingham, Alabama native is rooted in swing, blues, gospel and soul, and has studied and earned degrees at Berklee and the Manhattan School of Music. He has composed in a variety of genres including modern classical, big band and ballet, as well as composed and improvised film scores. He has collaborated with actors, poets, dancers, and acrobats from around the world and served as Musical Director for the New York based Bond Street Theater. He has just issued his second CD as a leader, The Seeker,” (Posi-Tone). His saxophone, clarinet and flute is supported by pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Thomas Kneeland, drummer Joe Abbatantuono, cellist Dave Eggar and guitarist Nir Felder on a collection of originals and classic ballads. 


The Seeker opens with Nowell displaying his fervid attack and hard tone on a hard bop original, New York Scene. It is followed by his ballad playing on the standard You Don’t Known What Love Is, where drummer Abbatantuono stands out with his responsive playing. The traditional Oy Matze Matze, has a klezmer flavor evidenced by the vibrato in Nowell’s tenor playing. Nowell’s Dunavski Park, is an atmospheric ballad with some tart playing , while Jaqmie’s Decision, has a dreamy flow to it and more of Nowell’s hard tone. The tempo picks up a bit on For All Intensive Purposes, on which guitarist Felder help state the theme before Nowell digs in. There is also some strong playing by pianist Hirahara. A lovely rendition of Lennon & McCartney’s I Will, with Eggar’s cello adding musical color, follows before Nowell and the band swings out with an imaginative romp through I Remember You, closing this striking recording disc on a energetic note.

Sean’s website is http://www.seannowell.com/ and The Seeker is available from itunes, amazon, emusic and Posi-Tone Records itself.


I believe I received my review copy from Jazz & Blues Report in which publication this review originally ran (the March 1- April 15, 2010 issue (issue 324)).

A bit of magic on video

Some magic by the incredible Rashaan Roland Kirk in 1969 (From the Supershow 1969?). Incidentally there is a terrific DVD of Kirk in the latest batch of the Jazz Icons® DVDs and for those who but the entire thrid set, there is even more Kirk on the bonus disc. Great stuff. Here is a link for Kirk with Buddy Guy and Jack Bruce from Supershow 1969. The video can't be embedded in a thread.

Still believing in Louis Jordan

Its the centennial for the great Louis Jordan (1908-1975) whose influence still can be felt in today's music. The vocalist and his wonderful fan, The Tympany Five, were a bridge between the swing era and jump blues (and rock'n'roll). Songs of his like "Let the Good Times Roll" and Caldonia," remain staples of blues, R&B and noveau swing repertoire. And his music is quite available from a Bear Family deluxe box set of his Decca Recordings, public domain reissues of these same recordings and post-Decca sides. He was also a major cross-over artist and had duets with other pop artists like Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby. For a nice concise biography check out the one written by Bill Dahl on allmusic.com.

Jordan's last recordings were made for the French Black & Blue label back in 1973, I Believe in Music. A session that included Irv Cox on tenor saxophone, Dave Burrell on piano (and he was on the Mercury New Orleans R&B sessions that included Professor Longhair), bassist John Duke and drummer Archie Taylor. While he would pass in less than two years, these exuberant recordings give no sense that Jordan had lost any of his powers, as these recordings illustrate Bill Dahl's observation about "Jordan's own searing alto sax and street corner jive-loaded sense of humor." This was issued on Evidence some time ago and now available for download from various sources (emusic, itunes, amazon, etc.).

From the bluesy alto that opens the disc with Its a Low Down Dirty Shame, through the closing instrumentals, there is a joy to this music that helps explain his immense popularity and influence on such artists who themselves became legends like B.B. King, Ray Charles and Sonny Rollins. There is more than a heavy dose of Jordan's humorous take on the blues like Three-Handed Woman, and Hard Head. Bill Dahl in his bio of Jordan notes Jordan had become a lounge performer and this affected his selection of material citing mac Davis' tune that gave this album its title as an example, but if Jordan included I Believe in Music, because he was primarily playing playing Vegas lounges, his exuberant performance transcends the lounge repertoire. If this is lounge music, well then let me here more in this vein. Considering how many mediocre renditions of Caldonia are out there in the blues world (and I point to Gatemouth Brown, Muddy Waters and Pinetop Perkins as easy examples), it is refreshing to hear the master on his last recording of this tune, including his jivey rap in the middle. Almost every rendition of this song lacks the simple joy of Jordan's ebullient approach. Then there is the lively rendition of a party that got out of hand on Saturday Night Fish Fry. Further display of his marvelous bluesy alto saxophone is heard on Red Top and Take the A Train. These thirty-five year old performances sound lively and fresh today and make much of what is called blues sound pretty pallid today.