Don’t lose your hope in the longevity of hard bop jazz. Here are two ensembles keeping the flame burning brightly! Long time drummer Michael Carving takes a bunch of jazz standards and brings them up to date with Keith Loftis/ts, Jansen Cinco/b and Yayoi Ikawa/p. Classics like “Night In Tunisia” and “In Walked Bud” feature some nice piano work by Ikawa (especially on the famed “Night” break”) while Loftis’ tenor is juicy on “So What.” Some surprises come with a hip R&B beat on “You Stepped Out of a Dream’ and a hip little shuffle drive perks up “Autumn Leaves.” This is a great intro for the uninitiated or for a fun re-evaluation for the more versed.
The NYSQ features Tim Armacost/ts-ss, David Berkman/p, Daiki Yasukagawa/b and Gene Jackson/dr, and they also re-arrange well known pieces. Their take of “Autumn Leaves” has a NO-ish boogie groove with Jackson and Armacost’s tenor having a good time, while some free form chaos is displayed on “The Maze.” A lazy and limber “It Don’t Mean A Thing” features Armacost’s soprano, which is also spotlighted on the tick-tocky take of “Misterioso,” along with Berkman’s playful piano. Fun and frolicking bop is featured on “Ah–Leu-Cha” and the band broods through “Zingaro.” A clever take of classics.
Motema Music
Whirlwind Recordings