GENE SEGAL - Double Rainbow
Steeplechase Records: SCCD 3195
Gene Segal (guitar) Jay Anderson (bass) Adam Nussbaum (drums)
Recorded October, 2019)
New York based guitarist Segal is more usually encountered in an organ trio setting, a format for which he evinces a special enthusiasm. In this latest release, however, he opts for a trimmed down bass ‘n drums combo which reveals with a vivid clarity his indebtedness to jazz/rock stylings and the sort of sound we associate with John Abercrombie and John Scofield.
Performing on both solid and hollow bodied guitars he applies remarkable transformative effects to several jazz standards including Jobim’s `Double Rainbow` as well as wringing exciting licks and tricks from his own quirky originals like the somewhat misnamed `Art Deco Blues`, a tough nosed blues/rock vehicle that owes nothing to the elegant school of design that inspired the title. Other examples of his oeuvre display an allegiance to country/rock influences with fuzzy vibrato, pinched harmonic smears and fractured phrasing featuring heavily in his articulation of the various improvised narratives, one of which entitled `Dream States` even extends to some free-form extemporisation. It is, however, his interpretation of material by Monk, Wayne Shorter and Duke Ellington that provides the most convincing evidence of his lively, musical imagination: the closing `Creole Love Song` is re-crafted as a bucolic country blues, more fitted to a gospel setting than a swish Harlem night spot and Shorter’s `The Big Push` exchanges its driving hard-bop pace for an infectious rhythm and blues shuffle beat.
In the realisation of his re-constructions Segal is well served by the crack rhythm team that is Anderson and Nussbaum. Several pieces give way to powerful bass solos and Nussbaum continually stokes the momentum with well-placed percussive accents and nifty brushwork, their intuitive responsiveness more than making up for the absence of a harmony instrument. A stimulating set in every respect, there is much here to enjoy and followers of trends in contemporary jazz guitar will be well satisfied with their purchase and the opportunity to become better acquainted with an artist who is really beginning to establish his credentials as a talent of note.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Steeplechase Records: SCCD 3195
Gene Segal (guitar) Jay Anderson (bass) Adam Nussbaum (drums)
Recorded October, 2019)
New York based guitarist Segal is more usually encountered in an organ trio setting, a format for which he evinces a special enthusiasm. In this latest release, however, he opts for a trimmed down bass ‘n drums combo which reveals with a vivid clarity his indebtedness to jazz/rock stylings and the sort of sound we associate with John Abercrombie and John Scofield.
Performing on both solid and hollow bodied guitars he applies remarkable transformative effects to several jazz standards including Jobim’s `Double Rainbow` as well as wringing exciting licks and tricks from his own quirky originals like the somewhat misnamed `Art Deco Blues`, a tough nosed blues/rock vehicle that owes nothing to the elegant school of design that inspired the title. Other examples of his oeuvre display an allegiance to country/rock influences with fuzzy vibrato, pinched harmonic smears and fractured phrasing featuring heavily in his articulation of the various improvised narratives, one of which entitled `Dream States` even extends to some free-form extemporisation. It is, however, his interpretation of material by Monk, Wayne Shorter and Duke Ellington that provides the most convincing evidence of his lively, musical imagination: the closing `Creole Love Song` is re-crafted as a bucolic country blues, more fitted to a gospel setting than a swish Harlem night spot and Shorter’s `The Big Push` exchanges its driving hard-bop pace for an infectious rhythm and blues shuffle beat.
In the realisation of his re-constructions Segal is well served by the crack rhythm team that is Anderson and Nussbaum. Several pieces give way to powerful bass solos and Nussbaum continually stokes the momentum with well-placed percussive accents and nifty brushwork, their intuitive responsiveness more than making up for the absence of a harmony instrument. A stimulating set in every respect, there is much here to enjoy and followers of trends in contemporary jazz guitar will be well satisfied with their purchase and the opportunity to become better acquainted with an artist who is really beginning to establish his credentials as a talent of note.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
