BRANDON ALLEN - The Stanley Turrentine Project
Ubuntu Music: UBUO111
Brandon Allen (tenor sax) Will Barry (piano, Rhodes, congas) Conor Chaplin (acoustic and electric bass) Dave Ingamels (drums) Recorded at The Fish Factory, London, UK , 4th January 2022.
Originally from Perth, Australia, Brandon Allen has lived in London for the last 22 years where he has established an impressive career as a `go to` session musician with credits ranging across a wide spectrum of jazz and popular music as well as treading the groves of academe and recording as a soloist leading his own bands. His latest release follows an earlier curatorial project which featured the music of Gene Ammons and represents a further attempt to capture the spirit of an artist and a style he holds in high esteem. He does this by revisiting pieces featured by Turrentine in his heritage recordings from his Blue Note era and a selection of tunes that appeared in his CTI releases, aimed at a more `easy listening` market. In his interpretations Allen emulates the Bop ‘n Blues styling of Turrentine but with more of a vintage` Rhythm and Blues edge; a grittier vibrato, a degree of stridency and a more extrovert attack, sacrificing some of the mellow soulfulness typical of his mentor. The soul jazz element comes through with reasonable conviction in a passionate gospel fired performance of Stevie Wonder’s `Evil` but Brandon’s version of Ivan Lins’ sensuous ballad `The Island` gets a rather brusque seeing too for my taste; elsewhere, however, Allen’s approach is on the money, generating plenty of heat, swagger and foot tapping appeal to which his excellent cohorts contribute in no small measure.
Turrentine never had any reservations about including popular songs of the day within his largely blues derived repertoire and he usually succeeded in turning them into vehicles for potent jazz expression. Allen acknowledges this by kicking off the set with a funky take on Lennon and McCartney’s `Can’t Buy Me Love` before slipping into classic Turrentine territory with `You`re Gonna Hear from Me` from the 1966 album `The Spoiler`. Other Blue Note gems include pieces from the highly rated albums `Rough ‘n Tumble` and `Up at Minton’s`, namely Ray Charles’ `What Could I Do Without You`, infused with the requisite gospel fervour and Cole Porter’s `Love for Sale` delivered with an aggressive thrust over a jangly polyrhythmic beat.
Turrentine’s predilection for uncomplicated riff based themes is noted by the inclusion of three of his originals which are leapt on enthusiastically by Brandon and his band with a vigour guaranteed to animate the stiffest of limbs. Of the remaining tunes there is a testosterone fuelled `Little Green Apples` and another Beatles creation, `The Fool on The Hill`. I haven’t heard the original Turrentine version but I would have thought even he would have struggled to render it as suitable for his type of jazz treatment. Allen gives it good knockabout but despite a fair deal of huffing and puffing, ultimately fails to convince; a minor setback in what is all in all a very desirable album and a worthy tribute to one of jazz music’s finest exponents of soul oriented tenor sax.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Ubuntu Music: UBUO111
Brandon Allen (tenor sax) Will Barry (piano, Rhodes, congas) Conor Chaplin (acoustic and electric bass) Dave Ingamels (drums) Recorded at The Fish Factory, London, UK , 4th January 2022.
Originally from Perth, Australia, Brandon Allen has lived in London for the last 22 years where he has established an impressive career as a `go to` session musician with credits ranging across a wide spectrum of jazz and popular music as well as treading the groves of academe and recording as a soloist leading his own bands. His latest release follows an earlier curatorial project which featured the music of Gene Ammons and represents a further attempt to capture the spirit of an artist and a style he holds in high esteem. He does this by revisiting pieces featured by Turrentine in his heritage recordings from his Blue Note era and a selection of tunes that appeared in his CTI releases, aimed at a more `easy listening` market. In his interpretations Allen emulates the Bop ‘n Blues styling of Turrentine but with more of a vintage` Rhythm and Blues edge; a grittier vibrato, a degree of stridency and a more extrovert attack, sacrificing some of the mellow soulfulness typical of his mentor. The soul jazz element comes through with reasonable conviction in a passionate gospel fired performance of Stevie Wonder’s `Evil` but Brandon’s version of Ivan Lins’ sensuous ballad `The Island` gets a rather brusque seeing too for my taste; elsewhere, however, Allen’s approach is on the money, generating plenty of heat, swagger and foot tapping appeal to which his excellent cohorts contribute in no small measure.
Turrentine never had any reservations about including popular songs of the day within his largely blues derived repertoire and he usually succeeded in turning them into vehicles for potent jazz expression. Allen acknowledges this by kicking off the set with a funky take on Lennon and McCartney’s `Can’t Buy Me Love` before slipping into classic Turrentine territory with `You`re Gonna Hear from Me` from the 1966 album `The Spoiler`. Other Blue Note gems include pieces from the highly rated albums `Rough ‘n Tumble` and `Up at Minton’s`, namely Ray Charles’ `What Could I Do Without You`, infused with the requisite gospel fervour and Cole Porter’s `Love for Sale` delivered with an aggressive thrust over a jangly polyrhythmic beat.
Turrentine’s predilection for uncomplicated riff based themes is noted by the inclusion of three of his originals which are leapt on enthusiastically by Brandon and his band with a vigour guaranteed to animate the stiffest of limbs. Of the remaining tunes there is a testosterone fuelled `Little Green Apples` and another Beatles creation, `The Fool on The Hill`. I haven’t heard the original Turrentine version but I would have thought even he would have struggled to render it as suitable for his type of jazz treatment. Allen gives it good knockabout but despite a fair deal of huffing and puffing, ultimately fails to convince; a minor setback in what is all in all a very desirable album and a worthy tribute to one of jazz music’s finest exponents of soul oriented tenor sax.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
