JON SHECKLER TRIO - Cityscapes
Jon Sheckler: drums, compositions; Steve Denny: Fender Rhodes; Aron Caceras: Acoustic Bass
Recorded 27th October 2017 by Jon Sheckler at Continental Recordings, Queens, New York
Sheckler is a graduate of jazz studies of University of Northern Colorado where he won composers contest and was recognised as an outstanding musician at UNC / Greelely Jazz Festival. He has been based in New York, since 2014 and his trio has had a residency at Caffé Vivaldi since 2017. You certainly get the sense that this is a group that has long experience of working together. The recording has the verve of a live recording. As Sheckler says in his liner notes, "You can always tell when a record is made with a working band because there is something different in the music."
The tunes have strong rhythmic textures, working in a jazz-funk vibe with licks tied together to create atmospheric moods of the cities that Sheckler knows well. "The three sections each represent a neighborhood in New York and New Orleans. The first section is based around Ridgewood in Queens, the second is inspired by Midtown Manhattan and the final act is meant to sound like the Garden District in New Orleans. The tune is so sprawling and the title invokes so much imagery that it had to be the foundation of the record."
Sheckler describes a lot of new music, “alienating…because there [is] no real surprise or melody or anything outside of the technique of the composer.” He goes on to say, "Right Side Up has a good singable melody that seems less complicated then it is. You don't really feel the key changes and abnormal form. The same could be said about most of the record." Overall, this is a set that has a joie de vivre that is immediately accessible and engaging. Sheckler was keen to create tracks that the listener ‘gets’ straight away. Perhaps this is due to the immediate feedback from the audience that you get from playing long-term residency, perhaps it is due to the tightness of the band.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Jon Sheckler: drums, compositions; Steve Denny: Fender Rhodes; Aron Caceras: Acoustic Bass
Recorded 27th October 2017 by Jon Sheckler at Continental Recordings, Queens, New York
Sheckler is a graduate of jazz studies of University of Northern Colorado where he won composers contest and was recognised as an outstanding musician at UNC / Greelely Jazz Festival. He has been based in New York, since 2014 and his trio has had a residency at Caffé Vivaldi since 2017. You certainly get the sense that this is a group that has long experience of working together. The recording has the verve of a live recording. As Sheckler says in his liner notes, "You can always tell when a record is made with a working band because there is something different in the music."
The tunes have strong rhythmic textures, working in a jazz-funk vibe with licks tied together to create atmospheric moods of the cities that Sheckler knows well. "The three sections each represent a neighborhood in New York and New Orleans. The first section is based around Ridgewood in Queens, the second is inspired by Midtown Manhattan and the final act is meant to sound like the Garden District in New Orleans. The tune is so sprawling and the title invokes so much imagery that it had to be the foundation of the record."
Sheckler describes a lot of new music, “alienating…because there [is] no real surprise or melody or anything outside of the technique of the composer.” He goes on to say, "Right Side Up has a good singable melody that seems less complicated then it is. You don't really feel the key changes and abnormal form. The same could be said about most of the record." Overall, this is a set that has a joie de vivre that is immediately accessible and engaging. Sheckler was keen to create tracks that the listener ‘gets’ straight away. Perhaps this is due to the immediate feedback from the audience that you get from playing long-term residency, perhaps it is due to the tightness of the band.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
