Dominick Farinacci - Smile

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:39
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:16) 1. Who Cares
(6:23) 2. The Nearness Of You
(6:26) 3. Estate
(6:39) 4. Just One Of Those Things
(4:51) 5. I Remember Clifford
(6:25) 6. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(6:41) 7. The Grey Goose
(7:32) 8. Relaxin' At
(5:23) 9. Smile

Recently featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, and at the Amy Winehouse Inspiration Awards, Dominick Farinacci has garnered critical acclaim around the globe. Upon the release of his U.S. debut CD, Lovers, Tales and Dances, the great Quincy Jones stopped by the hip Los Angeles club Vibrato to check out a show by the now 30- year-old trumpeter. Farinacci had recorded an obscure Q composition, “The Theme from the Pawnbroker.” Jones’ classic response: “This kid is 360 degrees!” a reference to the cosmopolitan, culturally expansive range of American and world music influences Farinacci brings to his own music.

Over the years, Farinacci has won numerous awards that speak to his wide-ranging impact and appeal: the International New Star Award (along with Diana Krall and Christian McBride) and Disney New Star Award. He was also invited to perform at the O2 in London, opening for Jamie Cullum and Jeff Beck. In January 2012, he was featured on an hour-long segment of NPR’s “Jazz Rising Stars.” Launching his recording career overseas with an incredibly prolific run of six albums from 2003-2007 on Japan’s Pony Canyon/M&I Records, the NYC based artist blossomed with the full throttle eclectic approach he took to Lovers, Tales and Dances, the first jazz recording produced by legendary three time Grammy winning pop/rock producer Russ Titelman (formerly with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, James Taylor, etc…)

Dominick was personally invited by music legend Wynton Marsalis to headline the newly established Jazz At Lincoln Center Doha in Doha, Qatar. Since then, he has been invited to return for a one-month residency later this year. He is the creator and Artistic Director for a youth outreach program in his hometown of Cleveland, at the Tommy Lipuma Creative Center for the Arts. This unique community program has reached over 5,000 kids in the past year.

Between Cleveland and NYC (where he lives), Dominick initiated a toy-drive campaign to help children devastated by Hurricane Sandy, partnering with the US Marine Toys for Tots. Together they and raised over 3,000 toys which were delivered to kids in affected areas around the Holidays.

Dominick also serves as an artistic consultant to the newly established Amy Winehouse Foundation. from www.dominickfarinacci.com
https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/subgenre/eclectic-fusion

Personnel: Dominick Farinacci - trumpet; Dan Kaufman - piano; Yasuhi Nakamura - bass; Carmen Intorre Jr. - drums; Jon Irabagon - alto, sopranosax

Smile

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Dave Douglas - Brazen Heart

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:01
Size: 150,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:23)  1. Brazen Heart
(3:58)  2. Deep River
(7:31)  3. Hawaiian Punch
(5:38)  4. Inure Phase
(2:55)  5. Lone Wolf
(8:16)  6. Miracle Gro
(5:23)  7. Ocean Spray
(7:34)  8. Pyrrhic Apology
(6:23)  9. There Is A Balm In Gilead
(4:21) 10. Variable Current
(5:33) 11. Wake Up Claire

Leading a quintet whose debut recording, Be Still (Greenleaf Music, 2012) was an elegiac song cycle dedicated to his late mother, Dave Douglas' Brazen Heart, sadly, finds the trumpeter / composer in mourning once again. Damon Douglas, Dave's brother, passed away in June 2015. Yet, the overall tenor of Brazen Heart is completely different than Be Still and its direct antecedent Time Travel (Greenleaf Music, 2013). There are no vocals on Brazen Heart. Also, after many months of touring and recording with this band, Douglas is clearly challenging them (and us) knottier, more complicated material. Gone are the "lead sheet" type tunes (did they ever really exist?) Douglas endeavored to write for this band a few years back. Of course, the quintet rises to the occasion and then some. These are, after all, five of the most gifted (and busy) musicians around today. It's miraculous that Douglas has been able to keep the band intact for four years. The instrumentation remains simple: a classic acoustic jazz quintet lineup. And Douglas' writing for this group, no matter how far it strays from the tried-and-true, remains deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. Though the individual members of the band are actively involved in some truly radical musical experimentation, Douglas seems to prefer other venues for his own experiments with electronics (e.g., High Risk, Greenleaf Music, 2015) and hyphenated genre-crossing hybrid musics. The comforting familiarity of the instrumentation and the inclusion of two gorgeous hymns ("Deep River" and "There is a Balm in Gilead") aside, Brazen Heart is one of Douglas' more risky and adventurous albums. And if you know Douglas' music that's saying something.

"Hawaiian Punch," a medium tempo piece that juxtaposes a lengthy, but very pretty, melody against a jagged succession of heavily syncopated unison hits, evokes the music of Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols in a highly personal way. Matt Mitchell's comping sounds a tad wayward until you get to his deeply insightful solo. Linda Oh's virtuosic bass improv is similarly on-point. The intellectually funky "Miracle Gro" is no less engaging. Backed by Rudy Royston's sly machinations, everyone takes brief solos over the changes before the massive, ultra-majestic theme kicks in. Here, the solos tend toward the spare and icy-cool, while the thematic material provides the drama. That said, Jon Irabagon manages to whip up quite a lather here. "Inure Phase" is exactly that: super quick tempos, cliffhanging melodic lines, chiaroscuro harmonies, crazy polyrhythms, and Royston's unbelievable drums rolling and crashing all over the place. The closest thing to a ballad among Douglas' new pieces is "Phyrric Apology;" a rhapsodic mid-tempo piece that frames particularly fetching slow-burn solos by Douglas and Irabagon before taking off into the stratosphere. The rest of Douglas' originals are no less bracing, each a showcase for some different aspect of this amazingly talented and soulful band. The two hymns are understated and tender; contrasting with, yet not incongruous to the brainy dynamism that dominates Brazen Heart. And there's not a whiff of the mawkish or sentimental. Instead, there's a palpable sense of fortitude and gutty resolve at play here. Sure, it's jazz, but on these tracks Douglas and his quintet seem to be channeling the same sort of understated, gospel-inflected mojo that artists such as The Band, Sam Cooke, Van Morrison, and Ben E. King are able to access with stunning regularity. Fittingly, Douglas has chosen to pay tribute to his brother by bravely, brazenly, stepping forward with some of his most advanced and technically challenging music to date. ~ Dave Wayne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/brazen-heart-dave-douglas-greenleaf-music-review-by-dave-wayne.php
 

Personnel: Matt Mitchell: piano; Rudy Royston: drums; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Jon Irabagon: tenor saxophone; Linda Oh: bass.

Brazen Heart

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Jon Irabagon - The Observer

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:50
Size: 142,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:17)  1. January Dream
(6:56)  2. Joy's Secret
(6:54)  3. The Infant's Song
(6:09)  4. Cup Bearers
(7:45)  5. The Observer
(5:20)  6. Acceptance
(4:55)  7. Makai & Tacoma
(6:36)  8. Big Jim's Twins
(5:01)  9. Bar Fly
(5:52) 10. Closing Arguments

Best known as the volatile saxophonist in bassist Moppa Elliott's self proclaimed terrorist be-bop band Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Jon Irabagon has only just begun his career as a solo artist. His bristling duet with drummer Mike Pride, I Don't Hear Nothin' But The Blues (Loyal Label, 2009) was preceded by Outright! (Innova, 2008), the self-titled debut of his own vivaciously eclectic quartet. The Observer is Irabagon's first release for Concord Records, which awarded him a recording contract after he won last year's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. On this surprisingly straight-ahead session (expertly recorded by Rudy Van Gelder), Irabagon is supported by a trio of longstanding veterans; pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Victor Lewis Stan Getz's touring rhythm section of the 1980s. Years of shared experience elevates Barron, Reid, and Lewis' congenial interplay beyond mere professionalism, lending this date a timeless appeal.

Seven of the ten selections are originals, demonstrating Irabagon's flair for composing accessible jazz tunes that fit comfortably in the mainstream tradition. A dynamic soloist, Irabagon plays alto for most of the date, his tortuous cadences recalling Charlie Parker's blistering dexterity, Wayne Shorter's cerebral precision, and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's soulful poise. Showing great reserve, he reins in his more vociferous tendencies, using subtle expressionistic accents (altissimo, chromatics, multiphonics) sparingly. The heavily syncopated "January Dream" opens the set with lush harmonies from Barron and stalwart support from Reid and Lewis. Tom McIntosh's "Cup Bearers" is a brisk bop number, while the sultry title track is a lilting mid-tempo swinger featuring Irabagon's effusive tenor. Infused with simmering post-bop energy, "Joy's Secret" reveals a subtle complexity, underpinned by Lewis' Latin accents and Barron's prismatic flourishes, spotlighting a mellifluous trumpet solo from guest artist Nicholas Payton, who also contributes pithy salvos to the scorching hard bop burner "Big Jim's Twins."

Alternating vibrant up-tempo tunes with more introspective fare, Irabagon unveils a rarely heard sensitive side. His velvety tone is highlighted on Gigi Gryce's melancholy "Infant Song," while his lyrical phrasing dominates "Acceptance," the breezy bossa nova "Makai and Tacoma" and the earthy "Closing Arguments." His intimate duet with guest pianist Bertha Hope on her late husband Elmo Hope's somber ballad "Barfly" reveals depths of emotional maturity.  A solid and eminently likeable mainstream affair, The Observer scarcely hints at Irabagon's avant-garde credentials, focusing instead on his tastefully virtuosic capabilities as a straight-ahead stylist yet another facet of his wide-ranging artistry. ~ Troy Collins  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-observer-jon-irabagon-concord-music-group-review-by-troy-collins.php
 

Personnel: Jon Irabagon: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone (5, 7); Kenny Barron: piano (1-8, 10); Rufus Reid: bass; Victor Lewis: drums; Nicholas Payton: trumpet (2, 8); Bertha Hope: piano (9).

The Observer

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