CHAD LEFKOWITZ-BROWN - Onward
Self Release (www.chadlefkowitz-brown.com)
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (tenor saxophone); Steven Feifke (piano); Raviv Markovitz (bass); Jimmy McBride (drums); Randy Brecker (trumpet on 2 tracks)
This is saxophonists, Lefkowitz-Brown's second album under his own name, and shows the the tenorman to have something interesting to say, and the means with which to say it.
A new name to many, the 27 year old has built a solid reputation in his native New York, and toured internationally with Arturo O'Farrill and drummer, Clarence Penn, and is currently a memberofthe multi Grammy award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra since studying at the Brubeck Institution, a prestigious fellowship programme created by Dave Bubeck.
For his latest offering, the saxophonist has penned five out of the nine tunes and writes neat, concise and muscular themes on which to hang his improvisations, a perfect example being 'Deviation' which is taken at a fair clip with some lucid soloing from Lefkowitz-Borown and pianist, Feifke.
As a player, Chad comes very much under the influence of the late Michael Brecker, and if he doesn't quite have the maestro's technical facility he does possess a warmth in his playing that I found lacking in Brecker's. If he wears this very much on his sleeve, the blistering opener 'Onward' paradoxically shows both his debt to Brecker but also the making of a distinctive voice in his own right, with a torrent of notes pouring from the bell of his saxophone with a sharp musical mind that shapes his solo in a most pleasing and logical manner that requires far more than simply a prodigious technique.
The tenorist is joined on two tracks by Randy Brecker, and the addition of another horn provides a nice contract and keeps the set nicely varied and well paced, and could even be said that the playing of the older man reigns in some of Lefkowitz-Brown's natural exuberance with the tenor spinning even more relaxed lines and allowing his fertile imagination to pair his solos to the bare bones.
Of the non original pieces, Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' just doesn't cut the mustard for me, but the ballad reading of 'The Nearness Of You' certainly does. Playing with a great tone and keeping things simple, with a superb reading of Hoagy Carmichael's beautiful melody Lefkowitz-Brown stamps his authority all over it whilst engaging the listener all the way. Coltrane's 'Giant Steps'is something of a rite of passage for a tenor player and is dealt with here with no little aplomb and a degree of respect for this tricky composition, and its composer.
This satisfying set concludes with a reading of Cole Porter's 'All Of You' on which is given a fine arrangement by pianist, Fiefke who also provides some wonderful accompaniment, as he does throughout, and contributing a thoughtful solo to boot. It is also on this piece, more than any other, that Chad Lefkowitz-Brown lays himself bare and shows just how much of the tradition that he has absorbed in a solo that has light and shade, and a sure sense of development.
A new name to many maybe, but a talent to watch out for, and an album that delivers in spades and also raises the bar to see what the future holds for this enterprising young musician.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Self Release (www.chadlefkowitz-brown.com)
Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (tenor saxophone); Steven Feifke (piano); Raviv Markovitz (bass); Jimmy McBride (drums); Randy Brecker (trumpet on 2 tracks)
This is saxophonists, Lefkowitz-Brown's second album under his own name, and shows the the tenorman to have something interesting to say, and the means with which to say it.
A new name to many, the 27 year old has built a solid reputation in his native New York, and toured internationally with Arturo O'Farrill and drummer, Clarence Penn, and is currently a memberofthe multi Grammy award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra since studying at the Brubeck Institution, a prestigious fellowship programme created by Dave Bubeck.
For his latest offering, the saxophonist has penned five out of the nine tunes and writes neat, concise and muscular themes on which to hang his improvisations, a perfect example being 'Deviation' which is taken at a fair clip with some lucid soloing from Lefkowitz-Borown and pianist, Feifke.
As a player, Chad comes very much under the influence of the late Michael Brecker, and if he doesn't quite have the maestro's technical facility he does possess a warmth in his playing that I found lacking in Brecker's. If he wears this very much on his sleeve, the blistering opener 'Onward' paradoxically shows both his debt to Brecker but also the making of a distinctive voice in his own right, with a torrent of notes pouring from the bell of his saxophone with a sharp musical mind that shapes his solo in a most pleasing and logical manner that requires far more than simply a prodigious technique.
The tenorist is joined on two tracks by Randy Brecker, and the addition of another horn provides a nice contract and keeps the set nicely varied and well paced, and could even be said that the playing of the older man reigns in some of Lefkowitz-Brown's natural exuberance with the tenor spinning even more relaxed lines and allowing his fertile imagination to pair his solos to the bare bones.
Of the non original pieces, Stevie Wonder's 'Isn't She Lovely' just doesn't cut the mustard for me, but the ballad reading of 'The Nearness Of You' certainly does. Playing with a great tone and keeping things simple, with a superb reading of Hoagy Carmichael's beautiful melody Lefkowitz-Brown stamps his authority all over it whilst engaging the listener all the way. Coltrane's 'Giant Steps'is something of a rite of passage for a tenor player and is dealt with here with no little aplomb and a degree of respect for this tricky composition, and its composer.
This satisfying set concludes with a reading of Cole Porter's 'All Of You' on which is given a fine arrangement by pianist, Fiefke who also provides some wonderful accompaniment, as he does throughout, and contributing a thoughtful solo to boot. It is also on this piece, more than any other, that Chad Lefkowitz-Brown lays himself bare and shows just how much of the tradition that he has absorbed in a solo that has light and shade, and a sure sense of development.
A new name to many maybe, but a talent to watch out for, and an album that delivers in spades and also raises the bar to see what the future holds for this enterprising young musician.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
