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JazzDigger Home > J - Jazz Artists > Jazz Expressions > Item 75
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Expressions
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by Ted Rosenthal Quintet
Price:$16.98
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Listener Reviews & Comments
Is it just me, or do others feel the same as I do about retro-jazz? What I'm talking about are discs like this one, where the musicianship is beyond reproach, the players are veritably soaked in the tradition so that bop, hard bob, and post bop are the air they breathe, and--very little of consequence happens. It's as if the listener is walking through a sound museum, listening to all the faithful renditions of past styles, spiffed up, impeccably rendered, and essentially lifeless. First off, there's an attractive blues, aptly titled "True Blues." Next, there's an angular, boppish, Monkish tune, "Bar Hopping." Then comes a ballad standard, "When We Were Young." Next is another Rosenthal original, and the most satisfying cut, "Bambi," a loosely swinging number featuring Dick Oates playing some very attractive soprano sax, and John Riley adding distinctive percussive coloration. Rosenthal's solo also manages to hold one's attention with its rhythmic sophistication and grand design. Things slip back again with "Royal Horse," a Messengers hard-bop workout with a vague Tom Harrellish (although not so attractive) feel. "Expressions," a piano-soprano sax duet, likewise does little for me. With its loose-formed, impressionistic feel, its earnest modernity, and essentially static mood, I'm left cold. "Gone with the Wind" (the theme of the famous movie? I don't know) strikes me as the most successful piece on the disc. A trio number, it dances and lilts along with an attractive vibrancy and energy I find generally lacking in the other pieces. "Come Rain or Shine" (from the Harold Arlen songbook), another trio number, gets a sultry Latin makeover, and continues the most successful part of the disc. Indeed, Rosenthal seems to have settled into an attractive vibe--creatively reworking standards, evoking a relaxed, open feel, and giving plenty of solo space to his partners. "Monks Dream," for me, falls somewhere in the middle. There are some attractive parts mixed in with too much reverence. Monk ought to be played freer and dirtier, a la Steve Lacy. In particular, I'm just not taken by Dick Oates's alto playing, although he does manage his most effective solo on the disc here. And John Riley's drumming is full of energy and sly coloration (indeed, he manages to be pretty brilliant throughout). I'm perhaps being a little hard on what eventually, after a somewhat shaky start, turns out to be a quite creditable outing. The leader, especially, DOES have monster chops (he did, after all, win the Second Annual Thelonius Monk Piano Competition). It's just that he struggles through much of this disc to find the proper vibe. In retrospect, I think he may not have found the proper front line in Dick Oates and Bryan Lynch, dyed-in-the-wool post-boppers as they are. Certainly the most effective cuts are the trio numbers. It's especially interesting to compare the two versions of "True Blue," which open and close the session. The first feels mannered and stiff, and features both Oates and Lynch on the front line. It simply doesn't work. The latter feels loose and slightly greasy, is a trio version, and works marvelously. If he could've found and sustained that sensibility sooner, it might've been a top drawer outing. 3 and 1/2 stars.
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Expressions
by Ted Rosenthal Quintet
Price:$16.98
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