If guitars are the new voice of jazz, here are some artists that have their fingers on the pulse of the times.
Thick toned guitarist John McLean teams up with Clark Sommers/b, Joe Locke/vi and Xavier Breaker/dr for some rich post bop originals and interpretations. He’s got a thick sound, and uses it well with the kinetic team on the prismatic “Blondie Roundabout” while he adds a kind of country twang as the vibes and drums rumble on ”Last Call” and “Labor Day.” Some pastoral buttons are turned on the axe during the thoughtful “time Unknown” and there is soft shadows on “Farther From That” while the team gets racing and assertive on the peppy “All Along.” Versatile and strong.
Rich sounding Mason Razavi splits his album up with half the songs performed in a quartet setting with Bennett Roth-Newell/p-key, Dan Robbins/b and Cody Rhodes/dr with a supplement on the last half by Justin Smith/tp-fh, Ben Torres/as-cl, Oscar Pangilinan/ts-cl, Kevin Bryson/tb and Alex Murzyn/bs-bcl-cl. Except for the 70s rock version of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” with Torres’ searing alto, all of the tunes are Razavi’s, ranging from a gracious and gentle “Riverbed” and “When The Ink Ran Dry” with Rhodes’ soft brush work to an assertive and fusion “With the Wind At My Back.” There are some rich Gil Evans-ish horns that frame the moods of “the laconic “Portrait for Mingus” and the elliptical “Grvunkabop” along with Robbins’ electric bass, but best times are reserved on the tender and patient “Looking Forward, Looking Back” and the easy swing of the melodic “Blue and Grey Waltz.” Multi-colored suits
Tom Rizzo mixes electric and country acoustic strings his album with a rhythm team of Dennis Hamm/p, David Hughes/b and Steve Schaeffer/dr along with a six piece horn section. Both acoustic and electric strings play a part on the hip pulse of “School Days” while folk country blues dominate “Lonesome Cowboy” and a read of Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes” that combines rural pickings with Gil Evans-toned horns. A cool toned string solos well with some nice ride cymbals on “So In Love” and piano rumbles with bass on a sleek “Heart of LA.” Some loose and tensile use of strings makes Ornette Coleman’s “Law Years” quite alluring, and Rizzo puts his heart on his strings with a pretty “Moon River/Matt and Kelly.” Folk and jazz strings working well together.