I’ve only been to NYC once, and didn’t hit Smalls Jazz Club in Greenwich Village. By the sound of these two albums, I made a big mistake. These two albums culled from gigs at the club are absolute gems!
Pianist Johnny O’Neal leads a cognizant team of Paul Sikivie/b and Charles Goold/dr through a collection of tunes that sounds encyclopedic in its concept, and last set of the weekend earthy in the delivery. He sings like he chewed on his cigarettes on pieces such as “The More I See You” with a gravitas that is haunting. Then, he gets all sentimental on “Where Is The Love/Overjoyed” and takes these soul classics and turns them into heart rendering jazz standards. He shows his jazz chops and intellect on “Sudan Blue” and his red hands of clay on the “Blues for Sale.” This one’s gotta be up there for disc of the year. When’s he coming to LA?!?!?
Meanwhile, trombonist Frank Lacy leads The Smalls Legacy Band which consists of Josh Evans/tp, Stacy Dillard/ts, Theo Hill/p, Rashaan Carter/b and Kush Abadey/dr. The music is bold, brassy and intrepid, mixing the joy of swing with the adventureness as anything this side of David Murray. They do a take of Freddie Hubbard’s “The Intrepid Fox” that almost spontaneously combusts, while Lacy’s own “Stranded” saunters into town with the swagger of James Coburn in “Liberty Vallance.” Lacy’s horn is filled with volcanic ash, with Dillard’s molton tenor and Evan’s bristling trumpet just a half step behind as shown on “Sunbath” and “The Spirit Monitor.” This is a two drink minimum treat!
Smalls Live Records