Philip Dizack - Single Soul

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:59
Size: 131,2 MB
Art: Front

(1:00)  1. Single Soul (Intro)
(8:14)  2. Jacob And The Angel
(2:49)  3. Benny's Tune
(7:20)  4. Take Me With You
(5:21)  5. Single Soul
(7:57)  6. Twins Of A Gazelle
(4:37)  7. Book Of Stones
(5:02)  8. Joy And Sorrow
(5:28)  9. It's Not Just In Some Of Us
(5:52) 10. Sasha Anne
(3:13) 11. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good

Young trumpeter Philip Dizack is a new name on the Criss Cross record label but not a new name for those who closely follow the New York jazz scene. Since his arrival in New York, Dizack has been making waves and winning awards with his beautiful tone and dark intensity, both of which were on full display on his last album, End of an Era (Truth Revolution Records, 2012). For his Criss Cross debut, Dizack continues his maturation as a composer and player, contributing seven original tunes to this inspired recital. On "Single Soul," Dizack is accompanied by fellow newcomers to the Criss Cross label, Ben Wendel on tenor sax, and Eden Ladin on piano, also both young musicians who have been steadily gaining attention on the New York scene. Filling out the band are Criss Cross veterans, Joe Sanders on bass and Eric Harland on drums, giving the group a strong rhythmic foundation. After the fanfare-like intro, the group begins with the gently grooving Ladin original, "Jacob and the Angel." Sanders also contributes an original tune to the album, "Joy and Sorrow," which starts out as a gentle ballad and continues to build and crescendo right up to it's final climactic seconds. Ladin's and Sanders's original tunes prove to be good choices for inclusion on this album as they showcase both Dizack's unique tone and the group's strong chemistry and attention to dynamics. Dizack's original tunes are diverse and captivating, from the driving swing of "Take Me With You," to the lilting groove of "Single Soul." "Twins of a Gazelle" is a lively tune that leads the group into some of their best solos and interplay on the album. Dizack chose to record "Book of Stones" as a trio with just Sanders and Harland, and they masterfully lay down the groove. Harland never fails to keep the tune interesting and supports his Dizack and Sanders perfectly, but never overplaying.

The remaining two original tunes serve as a nice way to wind the album down. "It's Not Just in Some of Us" is an intense piece and gives Dizack and Ladin a good chance to show off their soloing skills. "Sasha Anne" is a delicate and soulful ballad, starting as a duet between Ladin and Dizack before the whole band joins in to bring it to it's joyous conclusion. The remaining two tunes on the album are thoughtful takes on standards and are elegant nods to the past. Dizack and Sanders give us a duet version of Lionel Loueke's "Benny's Tune," which is short, but tasteful. The duet has a lovely intimate quality and Dizack's and Sanders's warm tones on their respective instruments were perfectly recorded at Systems Two Recording Studio in Brooklyn. The album closes with an even more intimate take on Ellington's classic "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good." Dizack chooses to play the ballad a cappella, letting his tasteful phrasing and elegant tone do the talking. "Single Soul" is a strong addition to this young trumpet player's growing portfolio, and it shows that he has versatility, talent, and taste. In 2007, Downbeat Magazine named Dizack as one of "25 Trumpet Players for the Future." On "Single Soul" Dizack proves that "the future" is here and that he is one of the strongest young trumpet players on the scene today. ~ Andrew Luhn https://www.allaboutjazz.com/philip-dizack-single-soul-by-andrew-luhn.php

Personnel: Philip Dizack: Trumpet; Ben Wendel: Tenor Sax; Eden Ladin: Piano; Joe Sanders: Bass; Eric Harland: Drums

Single Soul

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Guilhem Flouzat - On Way...or Another

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:28
Size: 121,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Stompin
(6:32)  2. One Way... or Another
(6:19)  3. Clap
(2:47)  4. Black Magic
(9:49)  5. Sometimes, at Night
(6:10)  6. Agin
(6:30)  7. Avant l'Orage
(5:38)  8. Meet
(3:01)  9. Black Magic

It is interesting the assortment of sextet protagonist of this One Way ... Or Another. Together with a handful of very promising youngsters led by drummer composer Guilem Flouzat (a highly regarded student of John Riley) we find the already experienced Ben Wendel (Kneebody saxophonist) and Laurent Coq (the most American of French pianists) and, in three pieces, a rising star increasingly star like the Armenian-born pianist Tigran Hamasyan. The mix works pretty well, so much so that it's more than a One Way debut album ... Or Another seems like the work of a musician with years of experience behind him. 

This is thanks to the richness and the intrinsic articulation of the compositions that, despite their defined and recognizable structure, activate a continuous game of particularly interesting references and overlaps. To the care and dynamism of the arrangements that manage to combine timbric mixtures that are not exactly customary and to give continuous executions deviations from the traced paths. And finally, thanks to the ability with which Flouzat keeps away from an exhibitionism often lurking among young talents and to the wisdom with which he leads the sextet. One Way ... Or Another is enjoyable, fresh, intelligent disc, it holds up well to the test of repeated listening and will please both the faithful of a modern mainstream and lovers of contemporary sounds and contaminations.~AAJ Italy Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/one-way--or-another-ben-wendel-point-of-departure-wmpg-fm-review-by-aaji-staff.php

Personnel: Antonin Hoang (alto saxophone except 4,8,9); Ben Wendel (tenor sax, except 8); Laurent Coq (plan except for 3.4.8); Tigran Hamasyan (plan 3.8); Michael Valeanu (guitar except 8.9); Matteo Bortone (double bass except 1,2,6,8); Simon Tailleu (double bass in 1,2,3,6); Guilhem Flouzat (drums).

On Way...or Another

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Dan Tepfer & Ben Wendel - Small Constructions

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:27
Size: 118,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:24)  1. Still Play
(4:02)  2. Pannonica
(5:39)  3. Jean and Renata
(4:21)  4. Line Up
(2:00)  5. Line
(6:23)  6. Nines
(6:04)  7. Gratitude
(5:54)  8. Ask Me Now
(2:02)  9. Rygabag
(3:04) 10. Darn That Dream
(3:59) 11. Variation 1 in D minor
(2:28) 12. Oblique Strategy

The occasion. Some days spent at the Yamaha artist-space in Manhattan with some precious tools close at hand. The raw material. Two Monk classics, one of the best known standards, Lennie Tristano, Handel, a pinch of Messiaen and some original ones. The protagonists. Dan Tepfer, a young, award-winning pianist with an open mind and excellent collaborations (Konitz on all) and Ben Wendel, co-founder of Kneebody, one of the most interesting bands of the new electro-acoustic wave coming from the big apple. The result. Small Constructions. Brick after brick Tepfer and Wendel build colorful musical houses, small houses with different profiles, moods and perfumes, each with its own story to tell, each with a world to explore and share. The use in different passages of overdubs, the instruments that multiply and are also combined boldly - the mixture of piano and Fender Rhodes adds to the Tristanian "Line Up" a vaguely naive and psychedelic - contributes to greatly expand the palette timbre available to musicians, good at preserving size, good taste, respect for shapes and, why not, elegance. The risk of slipping into mannerism or of transforming the widespread intimacy of dialogue into a cloying exercise of style is averted by the familiarity of both with the canons of classical music, their innate propensity for research, and the gifts of exquisite improvisers. Finally, curiosity. In the last song, Tepfer and Wendel exchange instruments, the first takes the alto sax, the second sits at the piano. A simple melody, an execution with few notes, almost childlike, just over two minutes of poignant beauty, directly from the heart to warm up the soul. ~ AAJ Italy Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/small-constructions-dan-tepfer-sunnyside-records-review-by-aaji-staff.php

Personnel: Dan Tepfer (piano, fender rhodes, alto sax in # 12); Ben Wendel (saxophones, bassoon, melodica, piano in # 12).

Small Constructions

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Ben Wendel - What We Bring

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:29
Size: 120,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:08)  1. Amian
(4:31)  2. Fall
(5:17)  3. Spring
(4:55)  4. Doubt
(6:23)  5. Song Song
(6:43)  6. Soli
(5:50)  7. Austin
(6:39)  8. Solar

Ben Wendel can be considered the kind face of the Kneebody -band high-voltage adrenaline which is a founding member-feature that highlights mainly in his work as a leader. This is also the case of thisWhat We Bringalbum in which he makes use of the talent of Gerald Clayton , pianist who embodies the large group of musicians anchored to the straight ahead tradition and committed to refreshing it with the ferments of contemporaneity. What We Bring says Wendel in the cover notes is a work dedicated to teachers of the past and current musicians who have influenced not only musically. But we do not find in it any trace of nostalgia or commemorative rhetoric only a good dose of affection and a strong personality. As it happens in the initial "Amian." The references to the coltraniana "Naima" suggest nothing of the incipit, then the song stands out for other shores, on the wings of one of the leader full of pathos and essential, sweet without fuss, the original mood recreated to perfection but pulsating own life. And so, song after song, Wendel offers his personal perspective of jazz that has been and of jazz that will be, without clamor or revolutions, with the brilliance and good taste that distinguish it, as highlighted by the "Solar," perfect davisiana conclusion for a class album.~ Vicenzo Roggero https://www.allaboutjazz.com/what-we-bring-ben-wendel-motema-music-review-by-vincenzo-roggero.php

Personnel: Ben Wendel: sax (tenor), bassoon; Gerald Clayton: piano; Joe Sanders: double bass; Henry Cole: battery; Nate Wood: percussion.

What We Bring

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Ben Wendel - Frame

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:21
Size: 141,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:38)  1. Chorale
(7:25)  2. Clayland
(7:06)  3. Con Alma
(5:05)  4. Backbou
(5:56)  5. Jean and Renata
(8:09)  6. Blocks
(8:20)  7. Frame
(8:08)  8. Leaving
(5:29)  9. Julia

There is a beautiful and mysterious quality to multi-instrumentalist Ben Wendel's Frame. It is as if the hot breath from one of his horns has blown some ancient film away to reveal an iridescent object that begins to oscillate and spin, changing colors and hues, mesmerizing as it spins and swings with uncharacteristic swagger. All this seems both real and unreal as Wendel's singular, hypnotic voice unfurls. The saxophonist inhabits a sound as close to singing through the reed as is humanly possible. In so doing, he has perfected vocalizing in the manner of Nat "King" Cole combined with Ben Webster. Such is the velvet and whispering nature of Wendel's tone and texture. Of course, the colors that emerge from the bell of his horn are another matter. These come from a soulful palette that includes such a myriad of hues that they are difficult to count. His musical canvas is so filled with a riot of colors that a musical carnival ensues. Wendel is also a composer of considerable invention and ingenuity. This album is not called Frame for nothing. For here, the idiom of jazz forms the outer perimeter of the music. The material in the frame is an ever changing painting a moveable feast for the ear, heart and soul. Wendel paints with fey colors; his music has the effect of fluttering gently like a diaphanous water color work that is wet and dripping as it morphs from one legato passage to another. Thus the work here appears to form a suite of songs all with beginnings and middles and ends that are tantalizing and drive into the center of the heart. The music of "Chorale," for instance, is like a shimmering dart aimed at that sweet spot in the soul where every ache is unforgettable. 

Nothing describes that feeling better than Wendel's extraordinarily touching re-imagining of Dizzy Gillespie's classic missive, "Con Alma." The saxophonist/bassoonist is a fine writer of passionate portraits. Two of his finest are "Jean and Renata" and "Julia." The former paints a playful picture of two characters. Their differences are highlighted by Wendel's inner counterpoint, the two musical lines entwined like a DNA molecule that pirouettes magically to describe the two ladies in question. "Julia" is much more circumspect, as if the composer is portraying someone whom he has a deepening respect for. His melodic line here is more somber and upward-looking. The musicians on Frame have a marvelous sympathy for, and understanding of, the overall concept of the album. Thus, they play well within themselves while supporting the thesis that the music must swirl and swoop within the framework of an idiom that is constantly changing. In so doing, they create music that is as elastic as jazz will ever be. ~ Raul D'Gama Rose https://www.allaboutjazz.com/frame-ben-wendel-sunnyside-records-review-by-raul-dgama-rose.php

Personnel: Ben Wendel: saxophones, bassoon, melodica; Gerald Clayton: piano (1-3); Tigran Hamasyan: piano (4,6,7); Nir Felder: guitar; Adam Benjamin: piano (1,4,6,7), Fender Rhodes (8,9); Ben Street: bass; Nate Wood: drums.

Frame

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