Archive for the ‘Wycliffe Gordon’ Category
Wycliffe Gordon – DigThis!! (2003 – Criss Cross)
Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon was the most adventurous musician to spin off from Wynton Marsalis’ orbit. Since his tenure with Marsalis, Gordon collaborated with everyone from revivalists in the Sidney Bechet Project to progressive composer Ted Nash and Randy Sandke’s Inside Outside project, which brings together practitioners from the musical extremes. He’s been more restricted in his own solo dates but has shown he’s willing to reach beyond the confines of traditional hard bop. Dig This!! finds him employing the fashionable textures provided by the Hammond organ. True to form though, Gordon refuses to get locked into the funk clichés of the organ combo sound. Rather with its wide-open swing feel Dig This!! comes off more as a contemporary version of swing trombonist Vic Dickenson’s 1952 quartet dates with Bill Doggett. Certainly “Limehouse Blues” fits the mold, albeit updated. And Gordon’s unaccompanied playing on “Blues Etude #2” and elsewhere shows him a fitting successor to Dickenson’s rubbery expressionism. Gordon has surrounded himself with a fine band. Organist Sam Yahel and guitarist Peter Bernstein each reveal a debt to their swing precursors while saxophonist Seamus Blake plays in a hard-driving contemporary manner. All of them swing, and regardless the context Gordon puts himself in, that’s a constant.
(All Music Guide)
1. Dig This!!5:59
2. Mahajual7:54
3. Old Man Blooz, Take 28:17
4. Limehouse Blues7:21
5. The Beautiful Souls4:16
6. Jookin’ the Blooz5:03
7. Lonnie’s Lament7:28
8. I Can’t Get Started5:19
9. Cone’s Tune5:18
10. Blues Etude #22:48
11. Old Man Blooz, Take 1
Wycliffe Gordon (Trombone)
Peter Bernstein (Guitar)
Seamus Blake: (Tenor Sax)
Sam Yahel (Organ Hammond)
Bill Stewart (Drums)
Original Release Date: September 23, 2003 – Label: Criss Cross
Wycliffe Gordon – Cone And T-Staff (2010 – Criss Cross)
While Wycliffe Gordon is the identified leader on Cone and T-Staff, this is just as much a cooperative effort by the trombonist and bandmate trumpeter Terell Stafford. What they have in common here is that they are soft served, but not verbally or musically — both utilizing bell mutes on quite a few of these selections, the two veteran brass players swing together swiftly or lightly through this program of modern mainstream jazz and three originals. Everyone, including pianist Mike LeDonne, is in good form, as the quintet moves in and out of bop, classic standards, soul-jazz, and modal music played effortlessly. The 6/8 Wes Montgomery evergreen “West Coast Blues,” Curtis Fuller’s stirring midtempo “Arabia,” the bebop icon “Robbin’s Nest,” and the Kenny Washington bass lead on Oscar Pettiford’s “Tricotism” are played with high professionalism, easily enjoyable to all. Stafford’s bluesy “Cousins,” with mutes in full blush, and the neo-bop clockwork of “La Marieur” could both quickly become standards alongside the others, as they are attractive melodically and rhythmically. Gordon and Stafford have excelled as leaders in their own right, but together they are a precious tandem, like a modern-day J.J. Johnson and Lee Morgan, here on the cozy, cushy side.
Michael G. Nastos (All Music Guide)
Original Release Date: 2010 – Label: Criss Cross
Across Rhythm 