The Liam Sillery Quintet - Minor Changes

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:38
Size: 114,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:42)  1. Minor Change
(7:45)  2. For Jane
(6:57)  3. Terry's Blues
(7:39)  4. Prana
(7:59)  5. Cecil's Bridge
(4:37)  6. You Are So Beautiful
(6:57)  7. Dial D For Dial

Trumpeter/flugelhornist Liam Sillery invites tenor saxophonist David Sills into the front line on this straight-ahead quintet outing for a sound reminiscent of Blue Note's heyday. The leader's musical mentors are Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, and especially tenor man Joe Henderson. The influences show as the band opens with a lively Sillery original, "Minor Change," featuring some sparkling unison blowing to kick things off, leading into a freewheeling trumpet solo. Sillery's tone is warm and bright, and the rhythm section elevates the proceedings with a buoyant insistence. Then tenor saxophonist David Sills blows in, more intense than Sillery, smoldering, seemingly holding back a bit, sounding full of Blue Note-ish soul. "For Jane" follows the opener. It's a mid-tempo beauty with, again, some fine soling, and the rhythm team pianist Jesse Stacken, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Richard Huntley shines on an extended turn. For those who grew up on the sixties mainstream sounds by the likes of Joe Henderson, Hank Mobley, Art Blakey, and a hundred other Blue Note artists, Sillery's approach sounds familiar yet fresh for example, the trumpeter trading solos with the tenor man, the bouncing rhythms. Sillery wrote all of the tunes except Billy Preston's "You Are So Beautiful" (made famous by Joe Cocker). His horn sounds a tad fragile here, achingly, and befittingly so. It's a beautiful tune, treated well by the band, with a pint-of-ale-in-the-hand, look-you-in-the-eye confessional feeling. Sillery and the quintet finish up with "Dial D For Dial," a bright romp, with the rhythm team kicking things forward behind the trumpeter; and again, Sills comes in with a relatively restrained but still burning turn of his own. A fine debut. ~ Dan McClenaghan  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/minor-changes-liam-sillery-oa2-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Liam Sillery: trumpet/flugelhorn; David Sills: tenor saxopone; Jesse Stacken: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass; Richard Huntley: drums.

Minor Changes

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Liam Sillery - Outskirts

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:17
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:10)  1. Prana
(6:11)  2. An Arm's Length
(9:38)  3. Black Bag
(8:44)  4. Blues For Lifetime
(5:58)  5. Wrong Number
(8:34)  6. Minor Change

For Outskirts, his third release as a leader, New York-based trumpeter/composer Liam Sillery assembles a progressive-thinking quintet to explore six original compositions. Sharing the frontline with alto saxophonist Matt Blostein, Sillery flirts with a free jazz mentality, mixing pre-conceived ideas with wide-open solo sections. The opening "Prana" begins and ends with an interesting form reminiscent of vintage Wayne Shorter, replete with an airy free-form middle section with communicative blowing between trumpet and saxophone. Pianist Jesse Stacken stands out on "An Arm's Length" with expressively frantic runs over the laid-back, deep groove of bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. Here, Sillery solos with swinging clarity, manipulating the warmth of the middle-register. Stacken takes control of the lengthy "Black Bag" with blunt, shape-shifting ideas. The bouncy, yet edgy "Blues for Lifetime" has a captivating theme that sets up inspired soloing by Sillery, Blostein, Stacken and Sperrazza. The angular "Wrong Number" is characteristic of the underlying urgency heard in Sillery's melodies. For as layered and rhythmically complex as they are, his themes are rather clear-cut and to the point. "Minor Change" the title track to a previous Sillery release comes out swinging and doesn't let up until all have had their say. The disc closer is a well-crafted, satisfying close to an extraordinary session of creative ensemble interplay and free-wheeling improvisations. ~ John Barron https://www.allaboutjazz.com/outskirts-liam-sillery-oa2-records-review-by-john-barron.php

Personnel: Liam Sillery: trumpet; Matt Blostein; Jesse Stacken: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

Outskirts

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