Dave Stryker - Eight Track I

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:27
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:54)  1. I'll Be Around
(7:16)  2. Pusherman Superfly
(6:03)  3. Wichita Lineman
(7:17)  4. Aquarius
(6:10)  5. Never My Love
(6:06)  6. Superwoman
(5:49)  7. Never Can Say Goodbye
(5:07)  8. Make It With You
(6:49)  9. Money
(4:51) 10. Thats The Way Of The World

Ah, the eight-track. Is there any music format that's more dated? Vinyl is on its way back, albeit with a select crowd, and the CD is still holding on for dear life, but it's not likely that eight-track tapes will be making a big comeback any time soon. Those audio-delivering relics have been left behind, yet the memories surrounding their existence and the music they helped to usher in remains fixed in the mind for those who came of age in the '70s. Guitarist Dave Stryker is a proud part of that pack. Stryker has been known to throw a '70s pop tune into his sets every now and then, but he goes the whole nine yards on this album; all ten tunes are taken from that glorious-to-some-and-not-so-glorious-to-others musical epoch. Jimmy Webb, Pink Floyd, Curtis Mayfield and many more get the Stryker treatment on Eight Track.

Since this is a different kind of project for Stryker, a slightly different instrumental combination was in order. He turned to his working trio, with underrated organist Jared Gold and up-and-coming drummer McClenty Hunter, and then added celebrated vibraphonist Stefon Harris to the mix to shake things up. Together, these four men manage to remove the layers of schmaltz that rest atop some of these pieces, giving this music a new shine while remaining largely faithful to the originals. Things get underway with a shuffling "I'll Be Around," a "Pusherman/Superfly" that's pleasing but a bit toothless, and a "Wichita Lineman" that's wonderfully buoyant, balancing propulsion with sensitivity along the way. As the program continues, the quartet goes full steam ahead through "Aquarius," takes a reflective look at "Never My Love," simmers on "Money," and has its way with a few other well-known nuggets. No pretense or posturing on this one. Stryker's Eight Track is just straight up fun. ~ Dan Bilawsky   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/eight-track-dave-stryker-self-produced-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php#.U5uDBiioqdk  

Personnel: Dave Stryker: guitar; Stefon Harris: vibraphone; Jared Gold: organ; McClenty Hunter: drums.

Eight Track

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Dave Stryker - Prime

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:57
Size: 134,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:24) 1. Prime
(6:37) 2. Lockdown
(8:14) 3. Captain Jack
(5:20) 4. Hope
(5:25) 5. As We Were
(5:16) 6. Mac
(5:41) 7. I Should Care
(6:36) 8. Deep
(8:21) 9. Dude's Lounge

Guitarist Dave Stryker, a ubiquitous presence on the New York scene (and elsewhere) for more than three decades as a leader or sideman, is also a prolific recording artist with more than 35 albums under his belt (and many more than that as member of various ensembles) in formats ranging from big band to trio. On Prime, he opts for the smaller arrangement, employing his long-time working group (Jared Gold, organ; McClenty Hunter, drums) to perform eight of Stryker's engaging compositions and one standard, the melancholy "I Should Care."

From the opening measures of the album's fast-moving title song, Stryker shows that, at age 65, he is as sharp and nimble- fingered as ever, skipping handily through the lightning-swift changes and setting the stage for vigorous statements by Gold and Hunter. Having made his point, Stryker turns next to the blues, proving on the enchanting "Lockdown" that he is no less comfortable at a more unhurried tempo, as he does again on the shuffling "Captain Jack," which follows.

"Hope" is an unhurried charmer with an earnest Latin beat, "As We Were" an ambrosial ballad on which Gold and Stryker are at their rhapsodic best with McClenty lending sure-handed support on brushes. "Mac," set in a handsome walking groove, leads to the melodious "I Should Care," which is without a doubt one of the session's several highlights, as is the buoyantly rhythmic "Deep," which follows. Stryker saves another surprise for last, as "Dude's Lounge" opens as a seductive ballad before assuming a funkier but no less engaging persona.

As organ trios go, Stryker's is first-class, thanks to his special talents and those of Gold and McClenty. Prime is far more than background music to be played while the mind is otherwise engaged. It is serious jazz, ably performed by three masters of the genre, and deserves to be considered on those terms.By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/prime-dave-stryker-strikezone-records

Personnel: Dave Stryker: guitar; Jared Gold: organ, Hammond B3; McClenty Hunter, Jr.: drums.

Prime

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Eric Reed - Everybody Gets the Blues

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:35
Size: 137,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:49) 1. Everybody Gets the Blues
(8:23) 2. Cedar Waltzin' ~ Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing
(5:28) 3. Naima
(7:49) 4. Martha's Prize
(6:07) 5. Yesterday ~ Yesterdays
(8:49) 6. Up Jumped Spring
(5:00) 7. Dear Bud
(9:30) 8. New Morning
(4:36) 9. Road Life

The title of Eric Reed’s new album has a double meaning as in, everybody understands the blues, and everybody feels down from time to time. “Your blues may not be my blues, but everybody gets them,” he writes in the liner notes. True enough, but this album is too joyful for that to be the parting message. After having listened to it, you’ll understand intuitively if you don’t already why Eric Reed is one of the most reliably good pianists in the gospel-jazz tradition. Reed grew up in the church his father was a Baptist preacher in Philadelphia and here, accompanied by saxophonist Tim Green, drummer McClenty Hunter, and bassist Mike Gurrola, he filters pop medleys, jazz standards, and original compositions through the gospel prism.

That comes through most clearly on his own “New Morning,” whose lovely solo piano introduction, with lush blues-inflected chord voicings, recalls Oscar Peterson’s “Night Train.” There’s a Coltrane cover (“Naima”), a hat tip to Freddie Hubbard (“Up Jumped Spring”), and snippets of two mainstream pop tunes the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” in a medley with Jerome Kern’s “Yesterdays,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing,” which appears as a tag at the end of “Cedar Waltzin,’” Reed’s nod to Cedar Walton. An actual Walton composition, “Martha’s Prize,” is recast here as a funk number. Near the end, Reed plays a phrase from the buoyant Roy Hargrove earworm “Strasbourg/St. Denis,” an upbeat line that’s in keeping with this album’s optimistic spirit, its title notwithstanding. ~ Matthew Kassel is a freelance writer whose work has been published by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review, among other publications.
https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/eric-reed-everybody-gets-the-blues-smoke-sessions/

Personnel: Organ – Eric Reed; Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Tim Greene; Bass – Mike Gurrola; Drums – McClenty Hunter Jr.

Everybody Gets the Blues

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Stan Killian - Evoke

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:53
Size: 102,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:06)  1. Subterranean Melody
(4:54)  2. Evoke
(6:44)  3. Echolalic
(5:33)  4. Kirby
(7:47)  5. Beekman33
(6:16)  6. Observation
(6:30)  7. Hindu

Stan Killian is reminiscent of Jimmy Heath in that his compositions and tenor saxophone work make each other better, and reflect a stubbornly abstruse but still amiable sensibility. He’s a mainstream postbopper but favors layered riffs that don’t necessarily interlock in his tunes; his swing can be restless, and have a little hitch in its gait. And he enjoys the modal form. On Evoke, Killian eschews the high-powered guest stars (Roy Hargrove, David Binney, Jeremy Pelt) from his 2011 Sunnyside debut, Unified, and relies on the quintet that workshops his tunes every week at the 55 Bar in New York. That familiarity deepens the virtues, especially the somewhat quirky angularity, of his compositional style, while providing fewer solo highlights. It’s a solid band drummer McClenty Hunter, bassist Corcoran Holt and pianist Benito Gonzalez return from Unified, and guitarist Mike Moreno has a notable résumé and a low, liquid tone that calls to mind John Scofield. But the players are mostly in service to the tunes, with Hunter the most notable colorist aside from Killian. Not surprisingly, then, the songcraft seems top-notch. The opener, “Subterranean Melody,” makes arresting use of a 7/4 pulse that surges forth from Killian’s tenor as the rhythm section steadily ups the intensity. “Beekman33” moves with the sort of confident glide that became a hallmark of deeper cuts on albums released during Blue Note’s golden era. And “Hindu” is an effectively itchy pastiche, enlivened by noteworthy solos from Hunter, with Gonzalez unearthing his Latin roots. ~ Britt Robison  http://jazztimes.com/articles/94313-evoke-stan-killian

Personnel: Stan Killian (tenor saxophone); Benito Gonzalez (piano); McClenty Hunter (drums).

Evoke

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Stan Killian - Brooklyn Calling

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:22
Size: 122,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:53) 1. Horizon
(8:57) 2. Holocene
(5:14) 3. Buy Back
(7:40) 4. Shibuya Crossing
(9:01) 5. Concept of Peace
(7:45) 6. Brooklyn Calling
(5:49) 7. Open Doors

Years ago, a group of folks were having dinner at a Westside San Antonio, Texas, restaurant known as Los Barrios. Occasionally, some restaurants there would start a jazz policy. In a place better known for mariachis, this would be a pleasant surprise. One Friday evening, some kid was playing tenor sax, quite a bit of tenor sax, in fact. The guy's name because getting his card seemed like a good idea was Stan Killian, not a familiar one among the roll of local notables, which made his instrumenal facility even more interesting. What was this guy doing playing here?

There have been a number of players who made the seventeen-hundred mile trek from San Antonio to New York, such as Ernie Caceres, for one. Others have, too, but Killian has stuck around, for good reason. While the temptation to label him a Texas Tenor is understandable, that is not really fair to Killian. Apart from being able to blow with a raw edge, he does not really put a listener in mind of Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate, or David "Fathead" Newman. In the end, he sounds very much himself, modern, less bluesy or r&b than any of the other Texans. On "Horizon," one thinks, a taste of Sonny Rollins, but Killian's bridge is the Brooklyn, not the Williamsburgh.

Killian also plays with his band, not just backed by a rhythm section. "Shibuya Crossing," which he dedicates to his Japanese fans, is an interactive production, not just solo tenor, and pretty as well. We get to hear plenty of both bassist Corcoran Holt and McClenty Hunter, a fine drummer who can definitely play time. "Concept of Peace" is reflective, framed by Paul Bollenback's spare guitar and a fine arco solo on bass which shows how far bowing on jazz bass has come since Paul Chambers.

Bollenback also provides a reflective solo which strikes a delicate feeling. Killian comes roaring back on "Brooklyn Calling," with a certain urgency which adds to the jazz-rock ambience Bollenback provides. "Open Doors," with its shifting rhythmic feel, closes things out. All the compositions are original, by the way. There was, of course, nothing laid back about the Texas Tenors. Maybe, in just that way, Killian does fit right on this very appealing and dynamic recording.
By Richard J Salvucci https://www.allaboutjazz.com/brooklyn-calling-stan-killian-sunnyside-records

Personnel: Stan Killian: saxophone, tenor; Paul Bollenback: guitar; McClenty Hunter: drums; Corcoran Holt: bass.

Brooklyn Calling

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Dave Stryker - Eight Track III

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:36
Size: 124,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:11)  1. Move On Up
(7:29)  2. Papa Was a Rolling Stone
(5:39)  3. Pretzel Logic
(5:16)  4. Too High
(5:07)  5. We've Only Just Begun
(6:21)  6. This Guys In Love
(6:24)  7. Everybody Loves the Sunshine
(5:38)  8. After the Dance
(4:27)  9. Joy Inside My Tears

If an idea works, you might as well ride it to its logical conclusion. Following vibraphonist Stefon Harris' advice along those lines in this context, guitarist Dave Stryker completes his Eight Track odyssey with the delivery of the third volume of jazz takes on '70s radio staples. Harris, after having passed the mallets off to fellow vibes heavy Steve Nelson for the second set, returns to the fold to see this trilogy to its end, and percussionist Mayra Casales spices things up by making a few appearances on the date. Otherwise, things remain unchanged. The same sense of enthusiasm still shines through in the music, organist Jared Gold and drummer McClenty Hunter continue to artfully underpin the arrangements, and Stryker remains as ruggedly stylish and direct as ever. Shuffling and swinging their way through Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up," the core four go at it right from the start. Then the straight-time hip of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" settles on the soul, the slick intelligence behind Steely Dan meets with Stryker's earthy resonance for "Pretzel Logic, a spirited trip through Stevie Wonder's "Too High" lives up to its name, and a beautiful "We've Only Just Begun" serves as an understated breather of a centerpiece. Whether observing that opening portion of the program, addressing what follows, including a lightly funky "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" highlight, or looking back at the first two Eight Track dates, one thing remains true and constant: the strength of the song itself remains paramount. Stryker doesn't bend the originals into unrecognizable shapes or use the art of the cover as a means for intellectual exercise. He plays the songs in relatively straightforward manners, leaves space for solos, and lets the magic take shape on its own. And that, in a nutshell, is his formula for success when dealing with this terrain. While this may mark the end of Stryker's Eight Track projects, it's doubtful that (m)any would complain if a fourth happened to find its way to the marketplace. As fun dates go, these are hard to beat. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eight-track-iii-dave-stryker-strikezone-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Dave Stryker: guitar; Stefon Harris: vibraphone; Jared Gold: organ; McClenty Hunter: drums; Mayra Casales: congas & percussion (2, 3, 6-9).

Eight Track III

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McClenty Hunter Jr. - The Groove Hunter

Size: 121,2 MB
Time: 51:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Blue Chopsticks (4:57)
02. The Big Push (7:44)
03. Autumn (6:25)
04. That Girl (5:42)
05. My Love (6:20)
06. Sack Full Of Dreams (4:35)
07. I Remember When (5:50)
08. Countdown (3:40)
09. Give Thanks (6:42)

Drummer McClenty Hunter Jr. has left an indelible mark on the scene in the years since his move from the Washington D.C. area to the New York proving grounds. Whether taking to the studio with Jim Snidero, tearing it up on stage with icons like Curtis Fuller and Lou Donaldson, or holding down the fort during his lengthy stays in the respective bands of Kenny Garrett and Dave Stryker, Hunter has continually shown his true musical mettle and risen to every challenge and situation he's faced. Now, he takes on the ultimate responsibility—the mantle of leadership—on this, his debut.

The Groove Hunter is both a gathering of friends, a display of diversity, and a marshaling of forces. Hunter brings together a collection of colleagues to cover a wide spectrum of material that leaves no doubt as to the veracity of his position within the jazz community and his groove-hunting habits. He quickly shifts from dirty hi-hat slams to swing on Herbie Nichols' "Blue Chopsticks," serving as the engine of a trio train engineered by pianist Eric Reed. Then he ably backs a horn happening on "The Big Push," takes a back seat to beauty while Stacy Dillard's tenor takes center stage during "Autumn," shuffles his way into a barroom vibe on a Stryker-enhanced take of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl," and ushers the listener from the quietude of Reed's eighty-eights to a John Coltrane-ish realm on "My Love." In each and every instance Hunter holds down the fort and gives the song just what it needs.

The second half of the album, giving Hunter the opportunity to further diversify his portfolio and showcase the heavy company he keeps, is no less pleasing. Stryker returns for an understated "Sack Full Of Dreams" with a low-key soul feel, Hunter joins with pianist Christian Sands and bassist Eric Wheeler for his own nostalgic-turned-triumphant "I Remember When," and muscle and tussle define the day when Donald Harrison's alto leads the charge on Coltrane's "Countdown." Then the tonal beauty of toms underscores reflection and praise on the album-closing "Give Thanks."

In fleshing out this vision, Hunter delivers a work of strength without ego, passion without piousness, and art without artifice. It's music that's straight from—and to—the heart. The Groove Hunter's aim is right and true. ~by Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: McClenty Hunter Jr.: drums; Eddie Henderson: trumpet (2); Donald Harrison: alto saxophone (2, 8); Stacy Dillard: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone (2, 3, 5); Eric Reed: piano (1-3, 5, 8-9); Christian Sands: piano, Fender Rhodes (4, 6-7); Dave Stryker: guitar (4, 6); Corcoran Holt: bass (1-3, 5, 8-9); Eric Wheeler: bass (4, 6-7).

The Groove Hunter

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