Trumpets are out in front in quartet and quintet forms here.
John Pittman has a classic, clean sound with a dash of Kenny Dorham sweetness. He teams with Shirantha/ts-bs, Jeff McLeod/p, Mike Downes/b and Curtis Nowosad/dr for some vintage sounds for his originals and covers. Of the latter, his take of Stevie Wonder’s “As Is” is a New Orleans-grooved delight, and “Where is the Love” has a loose and frisky feel. Hip bop grooves team Pittman and Beddage’s tenor on “Ties that Bind” and Downes adds a great line on “For Siobhan.” Pittman glistens like a late night star as muted “Home” and the team has fun with a Monkish “Reminiscing.” Traditional and fresh.
While Claudio Roditi is not the leader, drummer Samuel Martinelli wisely chose the trumpet and flugelhorn meister for the lead instrument in this rich mix of hard bop standards and originals. Martinelli’s rhythm team of Marcus McLaurine/b and Tomoko Ohno/p dig a rivulet for Roditi on the sleek “Samba Echos” and is peppy for Roditi’s soft touch on “A FIft For You.” Roditi’s muted horn sashays to Martinelli’s deft brush work on “Bob’s Blues” and gets bluesy on “Birks’ Works.” Ohno snaps to Martinelli’s cymbals on “Song for Carina” and chimes on a surprisingly successful and sublimely soft “St. Thomas.” Warm sparks are flying.