PETE MALINVERNI - On The Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein
Planet Arts Records: 302124
Pete Malinverni (piano) Ugonna Okegwo (bass) Jeff Hamilton (drums)
Recorded April 11th 2021
The music of Leonard Bernstein is indelibly associated with the ethos of New York and the Great White Way so who could be better placed to make a jazz homage to one who immortalised the city through the medium of show biz spectacle than a musician who has spent four decades at the heart of the Big Apple jazz scene and has venerated the great composer since a chance encounter with him, some thirty years ago, seeded the idea that is realised with this release. Though it has taken some time for Malinverni to bring this project to fruition the result justifies the wait and is worthy of a distinguished place in that most popular of genres that began back in the fifties when Andre Previn, as a member of the Shelly Manne trio, gave us jazz interpretations of tunes from the musical `My Fair Lady`.
For his source material Malinverni has taken tunes from the Broadway musicals, `On The Town’, ‘Wonderful Town` and `West Side Story` plus a piece from Bernstein’s `Mass`, and a fantasia of his own which uses the core motif from `On The Town`. Though most of these tunes have over the years become part of the standard jazz repertoire with notable versions by the aforementioned Previn as well as Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, Malinverni’s interpretations are sufficiently individualistic to command attention and make us listen anew with sharpened perception. His arrangements are novel and his solos frequently temper the liveliness of the up tempo themes with notes of minor key introspection whilst the ballads are often subjected to against the grain rhythmic treatment.
The set opens with the irresistibly joyful scene setting `New York, New York`, its catchy four note motif played over a punchy vamp before Malinverni moves into a solo replete with Monk like pungency and contrasting Tristano style linearity. `Lucky to Be Me` follows and is invested with strutting bravura entirely in keeping with the spirit of the piece. `Somewhere` acquires a strolling gait and a wistful airiness which summons up images of cloudscapes and horizons whilst `Cool` incorporates an another Monkish vamp and a solo in a faintly eastern mode. Two tunes that Bill Evans made his own are given a markedly different treatment here, `Lonely Town` has an urbane city slicker feel with a reference to the New York motif hidden in the coda and the usually poignant `Some Other Time` rides on a robust 5/4 tempo with a touch of Lat-Am swagger.
In effecting these transformations, the part played by Hamilton and Okegwo is, of course, critical. Hamilton, who is also co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, contributes mightily to the success of the project, his brush work is reliably crisp and concentrated whilst his mastery of the cymbals creates exquisite sonic effects that add dimensions to the trio sound. Okegwo is similarly gifted, his ever present warm pulse maintaining momentum and delineating contrapuntal lines of counter melody. Both get an opportunity for an extended display of their proficiencies in a version of `It’s Love`, that is svelte and sophisticated in its harmonic contrasts. Malinverni winds up the set with his original composition, `A Night on the Town` which runs the familiar sol do sol do motif of the Bernstein signature piece through various harmonic treatments to create an intriguing variation on the original completing a delightful disc that celebrates a body of wonderful music that that justly belongs amongst the list of 20th century classics.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Planet Arts Records: 302124
Pete Malinverni (piano) Ugonna Okegwo (bass) Jeff Hamilton (drums)
Recorded April 11th 2021
The music of Leonard Bernstein is indelibly associated with the ethos of New York and the Great White Way so who could be better placed to make a jazz homage to one who immortalised the city through the medium of show biz spectacle than a musician who has spent four decades at the heart of the Big Apple jazz scene and has venerated the great composer since a chance encounter with him, some thirty years ago, seeded the idea that is realised with this release. Though it has taken some time for Malinverni to bring this project to fruition the result justifies the wait and is worthy of a distinguished place in that most popular of genres that began back in the fifties when Andre Previn, as a member of the Shelly Manne trio, gave us jazz interpretations of tunes from the musical `My Fair Lady`.
For his source material Malinverni has taken tunes from the Broadway musicals, `On The Town’, ‘Wonderful Town` and `West Side Story` plus a piece from Bernstein’s `Mass`, and a fantasia of his own which uses the core motif from `On The Town`. Though most of these tunes have over the years become part of the standard jazz repertoire with notable versions by the aforementioned Previn as well as Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans, Malinverni’s interpretations are sufficiently individualistic to command attention and make us listen anew with sharpened perception. His arrangements are novel and his solos frequently temper the liveliness of the up tempo themes with notes of minor key introspection whilst the ballads are often subjected to against the grain rhythmic treatment.
The set opens with the irresistibly joyful scene setting `New York, New York`, its catchy four note motif played over a punchy vamp before Malinverni moves into a solo replete with Monk like pungency and contrasting Tristano style linearity. `Lucky to Be Me` follows and is invested with strutting bravura entirely in keeping with the spirit of the piece. `Somewhere` acquires a strolling gait and a wistful airiness which summons up images of cloudscapes and horizons whilst `Cool` incorporates an another Monkish vamp and a solo in a faintly eastern mode. Two tunes that Bill Evans made his own are given a markedly different treatment here, `Lonely Town` has an urbane city slicker feel with a reference to the New York motif hidden in the coda and the usually poignant `Some Other Time` rides on a robust 5/4 tempo with a touch of Lat-Am swagger.
In effecting these transformations, the part played by Hamilton and Okegwo is, of course, critical. Hamilton, who is also co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, contributes mightily to the success of the project, his brush work is reliably crisp and concentrated whilst his mastery of the cymbals creates exquisite sonic effects that add dimensions to the trio sound. Okegwo is similarly gifted, his ever present warm pulse maintaining momentum and delineating contrapuntal lines of counter melody. Both get an opportunity for an extended display of their proficiencies in a version of `It’s Love`, that is svelte and sophisticated in its harmonic contrasts. Malinverni winds up the set with his original composition, `A Night on the Town` which runs the familiar sol do sol do motif of the Bernstein signature piece through various harmonic treatments to create an intriguing variation on the original completing a delightful disc that celebrates a body of wonderful music that that justly belongs amongst the list of 20th century classics.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
