Richie Cole Cannonball

Richie Cole
Cannonball
Richie Cole Presents

Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley is the veteran alto saxophonist Richie Cole's favorite alto sax player, and this new recording is Cole's homage to the legendary Adderley. Cole leads an ensemble drawn from his home base in Pittsburgh, including Cole's frontline partner on "Cannonball," trombonist Reggie Watkins who is a surrogate for cornetist Nat Adderley. Tenor saxophonist Rick Matt and trumpeter J.D. Chaisson, are present four of the album's 13 tracks, while guitarist Eric Susoeff, keyboardist Kevin Moore, bassist/producer Mark Perna, and drummer Vince Taglieri fill out the rhythm section. There are a dozen songs associated with Adderley along with a Cole original "Bell of the Ball," dedicated to Adderley.

Highlights include Bobby Timmons' "Dat Dere," with Cole preaching here, and a stunning "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," with Cole alludes to Coltrane's "Moment's Notice" in his solo. There is the driving "Jeannine" with the full horn section followed by a relaxed treatment of "Jive Samba." Cole's original, "Bell of the Ball," has the feel of an unrecorded Adderley tune, while "Sack o' Woe" has a guest appearance from former Horace Silver drummer, Roger Humphries.

While Scott Yanow's liner notes suggests turning "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" into a swinging number is innovative, these ears found this transformation not very convincing. Much more satisfying is a bossa nova accented rendition of Buddy Johnson's classic ballad, "Save Your Love For Me," warmly sung in Portuguese by Kenia. Cole and Watkins play sublimely on this performance that guitarist Susoeff arranged. After a barnstorming rendition of Sam Jones "Unit 7," the album closes a bonus track of Kenia singing "Save Your Love For Me" in English.

Cole and his ensemble may not play with the bite of Adderley's original recordings, but how many musicians have the force of nature presence Adderley and band had including a terrific rhythm section that included bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes. Still, these are extremely enjoyable performances with excellent solos and a first-rate backing band.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the November-December 2018  Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 381) to which a few minor changes have been made. Here is a video promoting this recording.

Jim Holman's Debut Jazz Explosion

Jim Holman is an emerging pianist in Chicago’s vibrant jazz scene and Delmark has just issued his debut recording, Explosion! His father is a jazz pianist but it was Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, as well as Bud Powell, Horace Silver and Bill Evans that left a deep impression on him growing up. After studying at the University of Pittsburgh, he returned to Chicago where with the recommendation of Ira Sullivan, leading to this debut recording. It is comprised of two quartet sessions; one of six tracks with tenor saxophonist Frank Catalano and the other four tracks with alto saxophonist Richie Cole. Each of the two sessions had a pair of piano trio selections.

Brian Sandstrom on bass and drummer Rusty Jones are heard on the first six selections which opens with the appropriately titled Explosion, by Catalano, with the composer’s fiery tenor sax taking the lead with some intense playing on this feverish tempo-ed number with Holman’s piano handling the tempo as well as displaying some nice dynamics. Cataldo sits out the trio’s rendition of Joe Henderson’s Recorda Me, with some nice playing, but one wishes the drummer was either a slight bit more restrained or was a bit down in the mix on this selection. Cataldo returns and lends a bluesy flavor to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which is followed by the trio on a marvelous rendition of John Coltrane’s Lazy Bird, with Holman’s solo sparkling with his fluid playing and touch. On Bye Bye Blackbird, Cataldo opens with some honking sax flavor before providing an extroverted statement of the theme which leads into a lengthy, thoughtful melodic solo from Holman into which short drum breaks from Jones are interspersed before Catalano returns and gets really gritty while Holman adds accents with nicely selected chords.

At an earlier session, Richie Cole joined Holman (with Rick Shandling taking over the drum chair) for a solid rendition of Thelonious Monk’s Straight No Chaser, with the rhythm laying down a nice latin-tinged groove with Cole delighting with some quotes mixed in on his solo. Its followed by a lively version of Coltrane’s Moment’s Notice, and Holman’s display his ability to use space as well as his considerable technique here which has the bonus of Cole’s strong playing.

The trio is heard on the only Holman original, Bill. This performance, inspired by Bill Evans, has a flamenco tinge. Another trio performance, Herbie Hancock’s Cantaloupe Island, closes this CD. Explosion! is a solid debut for Jim Holman and suggests that he is a voice we will be hearing more from.

I received a review copy from Delmark Records.