JASON LINDNER BIG BAND: Live at the Jazz Gallery
Anzic, 2007

MODERN JAZZ – Large ensemble recorded live in 2005, featuring lots of important young players (Anat Cohen, Miguel Zenon, etc.). Unlike most big band discs the focus here is on the playing, not the writing, so it sounds a lot looser and fresher than you might expect, like an oversized combo jamming over Lindner’s spinning themes.

Fo’s Picks: Disc 1 – 2 Disc 2 – 2, 3, 4

DISC ONE:

1. 05:40 – simple spiraling theme percolates, straightforward trumpet solo
2. 12:49 – quick circular groove, tense and exciting; builds up from a smooth sweep to a heavy wallop. Great horn exchanges, keyboard break
3. 11:38 – uptempo, bright, sweeping: extended solos for sax & piano
4. 12:46 – exotic intro, then a calm ballad with perky surges; relaxed flute, hopeful piano.
5. 16:29 – stormy piano intro, main section like a cross between an Israeli folk song & spy music. Tender bass, acidic trumpet, gentle clarinet

DISC TWO:

1. 10:43 – strange synth/piano intro, odd popping theme, gliding breaks; trombone and trumpet trade off, breezy piano.
2. 14:23 – piano leads a slow-paced bluesy ballad, then an exotic midnight caravan ride with bowed bass solo, and back to the blues…
3. 18:09 – low and sneaky start, then a lightly popping melody with Latin touch. Trombones spar, saxes roll, then a long chugging section.
4. 09:34 – bluesy song about muddling through life, gruff vocal by Jay Collins. Cool song, sounds great in a big-band setting.

[ Fo ] 19-Jan-08