Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:19
Size: 161,5 MB
Art: Front
(6:58) 1. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(7:45) 2. My Ideal
(8:17) 3. I'll Remember April
(8:22) 4. Wild Flower
(6:58) 5. I Remember You
(7:14) 6. Ugly Beauty
(8:22) 7. Alone Together
(9:07) 8. God Bless The Child
(7:11) 9. Equinox
American tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley lists John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Lester Young as his influences. When he just 17, Riley won the Stan Getz/Clifford Brown fellowship, and he has toured and recorded with a host of musicians including, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Levano, Joe Henderson and Michael Brecker. In other words, this man has chops. Riley had recorded around a dozen albums before this one as a leader, and decided that he wanted a change of direction, and use a guitarist rather than a pianist.
The player he chose was in fact, an old music teacher of his, Vic Juris, a guitarist who had played with the likes of Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, Gary Peacock, Dave Liebman and Joe Locke. Sadly, these would be the last sessions Juris played, because he died from cancer soon after their conclusion. This gives the album’s title a certain poignancy, and on the band photograph on the back of the CD booklet, the three other band members have a trace of a smile on their faces, while Juris looks haunted. The album is dedicated to him.
Bassist Jay Anderson has been a sideman for many including, Bob Belden, Paul Bley, George Cables, Lee Konitz, Bob Mintzer and Maria Schneider. He’s also played with Frank Zappa and David Bowie. Drummer Jason Tiemann’s resume includes Benny Gilson, Dave Liebman and Harold Mabern.
This is a straight-ahead jazz album, with the band playing nine covers, some of them standards from the pop and jazz worlds the composers include Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. The complementary nature of guitar and sax is strongly evident throughout the album, from the opening bossanova-tinged ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream’ to the powerful closer, Coltrane’s ‘Equinox’. On the former, the influence of Getz is easy to discern, with Riley’s s airy sax phrases producing a cascade of wispy, sighs, and Juris comping excellently, before playing a solo with such touch and delicacy, that the notes sparkle like raindrops dancing off a lake.
On the nine-minute plus Billie Holiday number ‘God Bless The Child,’ Riley and Juris play together softly and tenderly - Juris’s opening, delicate chords and harmonics are a joy to listen to. The band plays a lovely swinging version of Arthur Schwartz’s ‘Alone Together.’ Riley’s opening, snaking solo is accompanied by more superb comping by Juris (just listen to the chiming chord he strikes at around the 1.45 mark). Wayne Shorter’s waltz-time composition ‘Wild Flower’ is played with some zest, while the title track composed by Gene DePaul is an uptempo, feet-tapping, rendition. A note should be made about the great support provided by the rhythm section of Anderson and Tiemann, Anderson also solos excellently on many tracks including, ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream,’ ‘Equinox,’ and the band’s excellent interpretation of Monk’s haunting waltz, ‘Ugly Beauty.’
This album was a great pleasure to listen to, and one hopes that Riley reaches an even wider audience with it he deserves too. And it’s a fitting swansong to the talented and much-missed Vic Juris.~George Cole https://www.jazzviews.net/stephen-riley---i-remember-you.html
Personnel: Stephen Riley (tenor sax); Vic Juris (guitar); Jay Anderson (bass); Jason Tiemann (drums)
The player he chose was in fact, an old music teacher of his, Vic Juris, a guitarist who had played with the likes of Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, Gary Peacock, Dave Liebman and Joe Locke. Sadly, these would be the last sessions Juris played, because he died from cancer soon after their conclusion. This gives the album’s title a certain poignancy, and on the band photograph on the back of the CD booklet, the three other band members have a trace of a smile on their faces, while Juris looks haunted. The album is dedicated to him.
Bassist Jay Anderson has been a sideman for many including, Bob Belden, Paul Bley, George Cables, Lee Konitz, Bob Mintzer and Maria Schneider. He’s also played with Frank Zappa and David Bowie. Drummer Jason Tiemann’s resume includes Benny Gilson, Dave Liebman and Harold Mabern.
This is a straight-ahead jazz album, with the band playing nine covers, some of them standards from the pop and jazz worlds the composers include Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. The complementary nature of guitar and sax is strongly evident throughout the album, from the opening bossanova-tinged ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream’ to the powerful closer, Coltrane’s ‘Equinox’. On the former, the influence of Getz is easy to discern, with Riley’s s airy sax phrases producing a cascade of wispy, sighs, and Juris comping excellently, before playing a solo with such touch and delicacy, that the notes sparkle like raindrops dancing off a lake.
On the nine-minute plus Billie Holiday number ‘God Bless The Child,’ Riley and Juris play together softly and tenderly - Juris’s opening, delicate chords and harmonics are a joy to listen to. The band plays a lovely swinging version of Arthur Schwartz’s ‘Alone Together.’ Riley’s opening, snaking solo is accompanied by more superb comping by Juris (just listen to the chiming chord he strikes at around the 1.45 mark). Wayne Shorter’s waltz-time composition ‘Wild Flower’ is played with some zest, while the title track composed by Gene DePaul is an uptempo, feet-tapping, rendition. A note should be made about the great support provided by the rhythm section of Anderson and Tiemann, Anderson also solos excellently on many tracks including, ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream,’ ‘Equinox,’ and the band’s excellent interpretation of Monk’s haunting waltz, ‘Ugly Beauty.’
This album was a great pleasure to listen to, and one hopes that Riley reaches an even wider audience with it he deserves too. And it’s a fitting swansong to the talented and much-missed Vic Juris.~George Cole https://www.jazzviews.net/stephen-riley---i-remember-you.html
Personnel: Stephen Riley (tenor sax); Vic Juris (guitar); Jay Anderson (bass); Jason Tiemann (drums)
I Remember You
