Drummer-composer-leader Reggie Quinerly celebrates the Big Apple, which was his home for 21 years, in his fourth album, "New York Nowhere." The album title, "New York Nowhere," seems contradictory as New York would appear to be far from being in the middle of nowhere. Quinerly reflects that "You're surrounded by eight million people. But everybody has their own story and everybody's living their own life with a very singular focus. So even in the midst of all these people, you're kind of completely alone. It's everywhere and nowhere at the same time."
Quinerly is from Houston, where he attended the "High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. His schoolmates there included Robert Glasper, Kendrick Scott, and Mike Moreno. He then attended New York City's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he studied under Jimmy Cobb, Lewis Nash, and Kenny Washington. He spent several years performing in the New York Scene before enrolling at Julliard to earn a Master's in Jazz Studies. In the Fall of 2020, he moved away to Los Angelos with his family. In this session, he is joined by trumpeter Antoine Drye, tenor saxophonist John Ellis, pianist John Chin, and bassist Sean Conly. Quinerly has an association with each. Furthermore, Drye and Ellis have been associated with each for several deuces, as has Chin and Conly. One result is that this band is tight-sounding as if they have played together for years.
The light swing of "Reflections of the Hudson" opens a strongly performed set of modern jazz with echoes of the classic sixties Blue Note recordings along with such other masters as Woody Shaw. All five members showcase themselves, and in addition to showcasing his compositional skills here, Quinerly propels the band with a relaxed propulsive swing. Ellis' plaintive tenor sax and Conley's bass begin the plaintive ballad, "Dreaming in Place," with Drye melancholic trumpet and Chin's piano adding some harmony before the leader joins in with restrained brushwork. There are fitting moody solos from Chin and Conley.
While Quinerly is from Houston, he often played gigs in the vicinity of New York's Houston Street. Houston Street is pronounced differently than his hometown. It is the inspiration for "Somewhere on Houston," a bright, brisk finger-snapping number that captures some of the flavor of some Lou Donaldson and Lee Morgan recordings. Ellis takes a vibrant solo against the leader's shifting tempo, while Drye's solo is full of slurs and cries along with some fiery bursts.
There are two versions of the title track that is centered on an eight-bar theme. The first version is a traditional swinger with Ellis' tempestuous solo starting as a bass-drums trio before Chin sparingly add chords before Chin talks a mercurial solo on his own. The other version closes the album. It is a Latin-tinged rendition, which again places the spotlight on Ellis, who plays with an invention that Drye matches with his well-crafted trumpet solo. "Celso" is a groover with a bossa nova feel that is a tribute to Brazilian singer Celso Fonseca on which Drye's poignant trumpet sets the mood. Chin impresses again on this number. The remaining track, "Wine Cooler Heads Prevail," is a toe-tapping bluesy bop with superb Drye before Quinerly lays down a crisp solo.
The playing time for the seven tracks is a little over a half-hour. That reflects the conciseness and focus of the performances, and one would be hard-pressed to find a wasted note in the exquisite music on the recording. "New York Nowhere" is a simply superb album.
I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the EPK for this album.
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