The Seth Weaver Big Band Truth

The Seth Weaver Big Band
Truth
Outside In Music

Seth Weaver, originally from Franklin, Tennessee, has established himself as a trombonist, composer, arranger, vocalist, and education in New York City. He has been leading a 17 piece big band which has shined in a variety of New York venues including Iridium, St. Peter's Church, Birdland, and the Zinc Bar. On this album, he leads his big band on five originals and three standards. In addition to Weaver's trombone and vocals, band members include: Reeds- Lucas Dodd, Alex LoRe, Sam Dillon, Lukas Gabric, and Eitan Gofman; Trombones- Nick Grinder, Corey Wallace, Peter Nelson, and James Borowski; Trumpets- John Lake, Nolan Tsang, Andrew Neesley, and Oskar Stenmark; and Rhythm Section- Aleksi Glick (guitar), Addison Frei (piano), Marty Kenney (bass) and Nolan Byrd (drums).

This is a big band with a modern flair in the vein of Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, and Clark Terry's Big Bad Band, with a touch of Basie. There is plenty to appreciate starting with the opening track, "The Hudson," where Weaver's scoring that employs a deep bottom for the trumpets to riff against stands out. His own robust trombone gets featured with its burly sound. 'Frost," which debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2018, hints at Miles' second quintet with its opening before showcasing Weaver's gruff cotton ball sound. Sam Dillon's down-in-the-alley tenor sax is showcased against the mellifluous horns, and guitarist Glick's single-note runs. Drummer Byrd takes a drum solo set against a crisply played riff. "Red" has an engaging, prancing tempo led off by Kenney's walking bass before Weaver takes flight. Alto saxophonist Lucas Dodd exhibits a bluesy tone before some clean, imaginative single-note lines by Glick. Weaver is a very amiable crooner with his rendition of "On a Clear Day," standing out among his three very alluring vocals.

The rhythm section is first-rate, and the horns are wonderful. Showcasing Weaver's abilities and with a first-rate group of musicians, "Truth", simply stated, is a marvelous, straight-ahead, swinging big band recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here the Seth Weaver Big Band perform "On a Clear Day."