One of the few labels with its own distinct sound, Canada’s Cellar Music Group has been a reliable supplier of vintage Blue Note-sounding hard bopping jazz. Here are a couple of their latest releases, with a dash of change in the air.
I’m usually skeptical of bands that are identified by something arbitrary such as one’s sex, but that is the case here with a XX team of Allison Au/as, Jocelyn Gould/g, Sanah Kadoura/Dr, Jodi Proznick/b, Rachel Therrien/tp, Amanda Tosoff/p and Joanna Majoko/voc. Gould’s strings groove like Wes Montgomery on the bluesy “Delta Sky” and Therrien’s trumpet is Kenny Dorham sweet on “Little One”. Kadoura swings loosely under Au’s alto on “Lluviona” and Majoko is melancholy over the soft brushes of “Tides Are Turning”. Tosoff’s keys are soft on the simmering “Storms and Oceans” and the team gives a nice Latin pulse to the cleverly arranged “Bye Bye Blackburn”. Tasty treats.
Pianist Kirk Lightsey is caught in concert with an impressive team of guitarist Mark Whitfield, drummer Victor Lewis and bassist Santi DeBriano at a gig at Smalls Jazz Club back in September, 2021. Lightsey displays an impressive left hand on “Heaven Dance” and gets into the soul of Eddie Harris’ classic “Freedom Jazz Dance”. DeBriano’s bass bows beautifully on the melancholic “Lament”, but for the most part, the rhythm team seems to get a bit too loose as on “In Your Own Sweet Way” and the slightly fragmented take of “Blues On The Corner”. A little bit of tightness could have shored up the frayed ends marvelously.