Bruce Gertz Quartet - Blue Cube

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:31
Size: 136,4 MB
Art: Front

(9:53)  1. Blue Cube
(6:12)  2. Bass First, Face First
(6:35)  3. A Conversation We Had
(6:40)  4. Apeture
(5:13)  5. Squeeze
(9:07)  6. The Heart Of A Champion
(9:04)  7. So Lie
(6:43)  8. Trajectory

This music is fresh and a joy to listen to. The jazz quartet format with Saxophone, Bass, Drums and Piano is an easy one to digest and this recording posesses a wonderful sound that is warm and full. The program includes easy latin grooves , ballads and some contrafacts or tunes based on standard chord progressions. The band is an allstar cast featuring Jerry Bergonzi, Tim Ray, Bruce Gertz and George Schuller. Vist openmindjazz.com/omjradio to hear some of Bruce Gertz's music and see videos. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/brucegertz5

Personnel:  Bruce Gertz bass;  Jerry Bergonzi tenor saxophone;  Tim Ray piano;  George Schuller drums

Blue Cube

---

Bruce Gertz Quintet - Eepin' and Beepin'

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:24
Size: 118,1 MB
Art: Front

(8:31)  1. Eepin' and Beepin'
(3:53)  2. Rub At First Sight
(5:07)  3. People from the Past
(8:30)  4. Lunch
(6:28)  5. Shod
(6:43)  6. Open Up Please
(5:54)  7. Hogsly
(6:16)  8. Discovery Zone Again (Feat.Conley Del Ray)

A top bassist based in the Boston area, Gertz is also an impressive composer as shown on his own recordings. He began playing guitar when he was ten, switching to the electric bass (and later acoustic) when he was 14, performing rock, blues and finally jazz. He attended the Berklee College of Music and was soon freelancing in the Boston area. Gertz eventually became an educator himself, joining the faculty of Berklee. As a bassist, Gertz has worked regularly with Mick Goodrick, Mike Stern and George Garzone and has guested with many top artists including Gil Evans, Bob Berg, Charles McPherson, Tom Harrell, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz and many others. He also toured with Billy Eckstine, Maynard Ferguson, Gary Burton, Dave Brubeck and Jerry Bergonzi. Bruce Gertz has led record sessions for the Freelance and Ram labels. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bruce-gertz-mn0000628948/biography

Eepin' and Beepin'

---

Bruce Gertz Quintet - Reptilian Fantasies

Size: 149,5 MB
Time: 63:56
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2008
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Bell Ringers (6:18)
02. Tango Reflexivo (4:33)
03. Snake Shot, Alt. Take (5:51)
04. Cadiz, Alt. Take (4:56)
05. To Boldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before (5:52)
06. You Too? Or... (4:41)
07. Freedom From Religion (5:07)
08. You're Invited (4:57)
09. Reptilian Fantasies (6:05)
10. The Lizard Of Odds (4:45)
11. An Internal Affair (3:42)
12. Cryptic Current (2:41)
13. You're Invited, Alt. Take (4:22)

Bassist Bruce Gertz lays a solid foundation for this set, taking the spotlight only intermittently as he shapes 13 modern-jazz tracks ranging from exotic, winding melodies and gently creeping conversations to buoyant hard-bop and freewheeling rhythmic exercises. Longtime associate Jerry Bergonzi provides a bright spark on tenor sax (occasionally doubling on drums), while Ken Cervenka’s understated trumpet gives the album a certain moodiness. Gabriel Guerrero balances ornate and halting piano statements, while Tim Horner describes wide vistas on drums.

Reptilian Fantasies

---

Bruce Gertz - Third Eye

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 75:02
Size: 120,5 MB
Art: Front

(12:02)  1. Small Fortune
( 3:44)  2. Third Eye
( 7:33)  3. Alone Together
( 7:55)  4. Mixed Messages
( 5:14)  5. In Memory
( 6:47)  6. Deep Sea Vent
(16:06)  7. In Your Own Sweet Way
( 7:40)  8. Prime Suspect
( 7:58)  9. The News

Bassist Bruce Gertz's debut for the Italian RAM label is an interesting sampler of today's modern mainstream. The music is sometimes fairly straightahead and sometimes lightly funky while consistently featuring plenty of dynamic solos from Gertz's sidemen (tenor-saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Joey Calderazzo and drummer Adam Nussbaum) that, although tied to the tradition, are unpredictable and explorative. Abercrombie switches easily from rock-oriented sounds to a dryer tone reminiscent of his ECM dates. Bergonzi displays a tone influenced by Joe Henderson and John Coltrane, Calderazzo has his spots and Nussbaum is stimulating in support. The impressive Bruce Gertz (splitting his time between acoustic and electric bass) contributes seven of the nine selections, all but the standards "Alone Together" and "In Your Own Sweet Way." Gertz is showcased on "Third Eye" and "Prime Suspect" and has close interplay thorughout with Abercrombie, particularly on "Alone Together."

Overall this is a superior outing by a variety of fine players. As a bonus, Gertz's liner notes (in which he traces the evolution of the jazz bass from the late '50s up to the present) are quite informative. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/third-eye-mw0000627701

Personnel: Bruce Gertz (acoustic bass, electric bass); John Abercrombie (guitar); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor saxophone); Joey Calderazzo (piano); Adam Nussbaum (drums).

Third Eye

---

Bruce Gertz - Red Handed

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1998
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 66:38
Size: 123,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:35)  1. Red Handed
(6:54)  2. In A Perfect World
(6:03)  3. J.B.
(3:44)  4. Remembering The Future
(7:49)  5. Eleven Moons
(6:39)  6. Are We There Yet?
(3:07)  7. Giant Steps
(9:10)  8. Celestial Light
(3:25)  9. Big Heart
(8:53) 10. Sun Flash
(3:14) 11. Bea

Boston-based bassist Bruce Gertz is a writer-leader to reckon with. As annotator Bob Blumenthal reminds us, this is the fourth outing for the Gertz quintet. Since its debut disc in 1991, Gertz’s fivesome, save one change, has retained the same turbo-charged line-up of guitarist John Abercrombie, tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi and drummer Adam Nussbaum, with pianist Bruce Barth now in for Joey Calderazzo. Talk about musical ESP. These guys “see” as well as hear around corners. Lines fly “inside” and “out” and everywhere else. A large part of that has to do with Gertz’s tunes which, while appealing in their own right, also function to push the band into the ether of inspired weight-free improvisation.

On one hand, there’s the loping gait of “Are We There Yet?,” a deceptive little swinger graced with Monk-ian twists and Gertz’s alluring arco and pizzicato forays. Gertz, an accomplished double bassist, also displays impressive electric chops in the spirited run-down of “Giant Steps,” the one non-Gertz track. The mystic aura of “Celestial Light” is a perfect set-up for Abercrombie’s cloud-hopping peregrinations, as well as the more earthbound wanderings of Bergonzi and Barth. Bergonzi, by the way, is colossal, whether rhapsodizing with “In a Perfect World” or churning funkily in “J.B.” Nussbaum is a constant source of evocative colors, subtle punctuations and Swiss watch time keeping. And, when the fivesome strolls late at night, as they do on the street-smart title track, watch out-It’s serious attitude! ~ Chuck Berg https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/bruce-gertz-red-handed/

Personnel: Bruce Gertz (bass); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor saxophone); Bruce Barth (piano); John Abercrombie (guitar); Adam Nussbaum (drums).

Red Handed

---

Bruce Gertz - Shut Wide Open

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:20
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:37)  1. Letter From Ghana
( 8:17)  2. Toots
( 6:17)  3. Shut Wide Open
( 8:49)  4. Tenerife
( 7:04)  5. Pluto Was Here
( 4:07)  6. I See You
( 5:31)  7. Booga Chacha Lu
( 5:07)  8. Blueprint
(10:27)  9. Revolving Door

The art of the ensemble, led here by bassist Gertz and trumpeter Cervenka, displays itself in a lively and diverse set of originals by band members Jerry Bergonzi (tenor) and Bruce Barth (piano). What's consistent is the good taste and mutual understanding, which extends itself even to the new compositions, which sound confident enough to have been around for ages: Gertz's breezy "Letter From Ghana," based on Cole Porter's "Love for Sale," flows flawlessly into the next track, a whimsical tribute to "Toots" by Bergonzi. Cervenka's title tune is a post-bop scamper built on "Rhythm" changes, while "Tenerife" is a kind of "Caravan" for the '90s, resonating with open horn harmonies and imaginative solos. Drummer Jorge Rossy neatly splashes his cymbals to underscore all the fun, which goes south for a samba on Gertz's "Pluto Was Here," loosely based on Jobim's "Triste" and a cha-cha on Barth's "Revolving Door," sustaining the excitement and good vibes to the album's final measure. ~ Jeff Kaliss   http://jazztimes.com/articles/10376-shut-wide-open-bruce-gertz-ken-cervenka.

Personnel: Bruce Gertz (bass); Ken Cervenka (trumpet); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor saxophone); Bruce Barth (piano); Jorge Rossy (drums).

Shut Wide Open

---