Lizzie Thomas New Sounds From the Jazz Age

Lizzie Thomas
New Sounds From the Jazz Age
Lizzie Thomas Music

Originally classically trained, Lizzie Thomas discovered, after degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education, that she found personal expression in jazz and the American Songbook. On this, her fourth album, she provides some novel interpretations of nine classic standards from the American Songbook. Helping her with these imaginative arrangements and vigorous vocals is a sterling backing band. The studio players include John Colianni on piano, Jay Leonhart or Boots Maleson on bass, Russell Malone or Matt Chertkoff on guitar, Omar Daniels on tenor sax, flute, Felix Peikli on clarinet, Bernard Linette on drums, and Doug Hendrichs on percussion.

One is struck on the opening "Fascinating Rhythm" by Thomas' vocal command, and her ability to negotiate tempo and key changes. Peikli's clarinet adds to the mood here. One suspects she would be as enthralling on a musical stage as a night club or concert stage. Russell Malone's solo guitar provides for her intimate opening to "Our Love Is Here To Stay," before the full band enters for this alluring performance. Daniels' flute is outstanding here. Daniels' sensual tenor sax solo and Colianni's sparkling piano contribute to a hauntingly gorgeous performance on Duke Ellington's "I Didn't Know About You." Malone adds some trebly, blues-drenched guitar to the lightly rocking, "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To." Daniels adds a robust tenor solo while Thomas adds a brief scatting section.

Opening with a light Latin groove, Thomas sings enticingly on "In the Still of the Night," with nuanced delivery of the lyrics. Colianni stuns with his striking, and strong, accompaniment. There is a breathtaking rendition of Jobim's "One Note Samba," where she dazzles with her phrasing. Also, her handling of the lightning tempo during this performance leaves one astonished by her vocal technique. There is a bouncy "Cheek To Cheek" and a bubbly, yet sensual "Close Your Eyes." On the latter number, her vocal (including her horn-like scatting) weaves around Peikli's woody clarinet and Chertkoff's guitar obligatos.

"The Very Thought of You" benefits from the Afro-Caribbean groove underlying Thomas' seductive vocal, with marvelous piano, guitar comping, and Daniels' airy flute. It concludes a wonderfully rendered fresh and imaginative takes on these American songbook classics.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Lizzie Thomas performing "Fascinating Rhythm."

John Colianni I Never Knew

John Colianni
I Never Knew
Patuxent Music

Renowned for his work as accompanist for Mel Tormé and Les Paul among others, pianist Colianni leads a sextet for a swing rooted recording. His prior recordings featured a two guitar quintet but the present sextet is fronted by tenor saxophonists Grant Stewart and John David Simon, with guitarist Matt Chertkoff, bassist Ralph Hamperian and drummer Bernard Linette completing the rhythm section. band Colianni sees this sextet as an offshoot of his big band, the John Colianni Jazz Orchestra. “It’s sort of a band within a band, reflecting my admiration for the Ellington and Goodman small groups." Also the two tenor aspect has its precedent, not simply in Frank Foster and Frank Wess, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin, and Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt as Rusty Hassan observes in his annotation, but the great Count Basie Band of the thirties and early forties with the contrasting styles of Lester Young and Herschel Evans/Buddy Tate. Stewart and Simon have similar contrasting styles, and both are driving players with an affinity for the blues.

Colianni is a pianist rooted in the Hines-Wilson-Tatum piano lineage, who also displays awareness of more modern harmonic approaches and is a wonderful accompanist on the four originals and four covers that include the opening title number that was memorably performed by Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. Basie recorded it for Columbia and two new location recordings from the Famous Door were issued as part of the recent release of materials from the Savory Collection. Colianni's rendition is swinging and the tenor players acquit themselves although they don't match Young nor is the rhythm section quite as propulsive as Basie's legendary one, but it is a swinging small group and the leader displays a deft touch. A Beethoven adaptation, Fur Elise," displays his incorporation of stride piano as well on this clever performance.

"I Didn't Know About You" is a Duke Ellington number that Colianni played behind Tony Bennett and is a lovely composition with a finely developed solo with the tenor saxes adding color. Guitarist Chertkoff gets to shine on a solid blues, "Blues For Naomi" which he observed was a tribute to “a lady who used to watch over us young players cutting our teeth at One Step Down in Washington, DC, where I grew up," and both saxophonists acquit themselves strongly. Illinois Jacquet's "Achtung," is what might be called a barn-burner with the two taking off here as if Lockjaw Davis and Johnny Griffin with Colianni's intro and stride-rooted comping evoking the early Basie.

A competitor in the first Thelonious Monk competition, Colianni and group tackles Monk's "Little Rootie Tootie," which seems taken from the Hal Overton Town Hall Concert arrangement with strong solos from Stewart and Simon before Colianni develops his own, well conceived solo and followed by some fine playing from Chertkoff. If this does not break new grounds, it is a strongly played mainstream small group jazz session that will appeal to many.

I received my review download a publicist. This review appears in the September-October 2018 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 380). Here the John Colianni sextet performs "I Never Knew."