STEVEN FEIFKE BIG BAND - Kinetic
Outside In Music: OIM2112
Steven Feifke (piano, conductor, compositions, arrangements and orchestrations);
Andrew Gould ( alto and soprano saxes) Alexa Tarantino ( alto sax and flute) Alex LoRe ( alto sax) Lucas Pino ( tenor sax, clarinet and flute) Sam Dillon( tenor sax , clarinet and flute) Andrew Gutauskas ( baritone sax, bass clarinet) Max Darchė, John Lake, Benny Benack III, Gabriel King Medd (trumpet and flugelhorn) Robert Edwards, Jeffery Miller, Armando Vergara (trombone) Jennifer Wharton ( bass trombone) Alex Wintz (guitar) Dan Chmielinski ( bass) Ulysses Owens Jnr, Bryan Carter, Jimmy Macbride, Joe Peri ( variously on drums) Veronica Swift (vocals)
Recorded in NYC, January 8th-7th , 2019
Forged in the white hot crucible of the New York jazz club scene Feifke’s seventeen-piece ensemble makes its debut on disc with all the energy and drive of a powerful machine, propelling the listener on a breath-taking journey that takes in all the exciting conventions of big band jazz and adds a few surprises in the process. It is clear from the confident, assertive way in which they tackle the pianist leader’s innovative compositions and arrangements that their monthly night club residency has brought them together in a working relationship that translates into flawless section work and point perfect rapport creating the perfect setting for some hypertensive, composure rattling solos.
Though the first three numbers have the potential to induce palpitations it’s not all slash and burn. The sax section all double on woodwinds and flutes which are used within the arrangements to introduce a variety of textures to the pounding riffs and climactic tutti whilst the leader’s rippling piano ventilates the heavier sounds that emerge from the orchestral melee.
Most of the pieces are Feifke originals and he offers a satisfyingly varied selection of burners, modal exotics and hip swinging funk to which he adds a novel interpretation of Horace Silver’s classic, `Nica’s Dream`. However, the big surprise of the set comes in the form of two vocals performed by Veronica Swift, who happens to be the daughter of the late Hod O’Brian, the Chicago based pianist who worked with Warne Marsh amongst others. She has a super voice and sells a song with all the passion and torchy attitude of a Broadway diva. Her two numbers are Sammy Cahn’s `Until The Real Thing Comes Along` and Lerner and Loewe’s `On The Street Where You Live` and they provide a welcome diversion from the pile driving instrumental performances that surround her contribution. Both tunes feature excellent solos particularly the latter which employ trombone and baritone sax and a slightly menacing orchestral motif that is suggestive of the intentions of a stalker rather than a suitor.
The disc ends on a soothing note with a smoochy tenor ballad from Sam Dillon which is clothed in lush woodwind harmonies and brass chorales beautifully captured in a crystal clear recording that reveals all the subtleties of Feifke’s arrangements, resulting in a programme of music that will delight all who thrill to the energetic sound of peak performance big band jazz.
Review by Euan Dixon
Outside In Music: OIM2112
Steven Feifke (piano, conductor, compositions, arrangements and orchestrations);
Andrew Gould ( alto and soprano saxes) Alexa Tarantino ( alto sax and flute) Alex LoRe ( alto sax) Lucas Pino ( tenor sax, clarinet and flute) Sam Dillon( tenor sax , clarinet and flute) Andrew Gutauskas ( baritone sax, bass clarinet) Max Darchė, John Lake, Benny Benack III, Gabriel King Medd (trumpet and flugelhorn) Robert Edwards, Jeffery Miller, Armando Vergara (trombone) Jennifer Wharton ( bass trombone) Alex Wintz (guitar) Dan Chmielinski ( bass) Ulysses Owens Jnr, Bryan Carter, Jimmy Macbride, Joe Peri ( variously on drums) Veronica Swift (vocals)
Recorded in NYC, January 8th-7th , 2019
Forged in the white hot crucible of the New York jazz club scene Feifke’s seventeen-piece ensemble makes its debut on disc with all the energy and drive of a powerful machine, propelling the listener on a breath-taking journey that takes in all the exciting conventions of big band jazz and adds a few surprises in the process. It is clear from the confident, assertive way in which they tackle the pianist leader’s innovative compositions and arrangements that their monthly night club residency has brought them together in a working relationship that translates into flawless section work and point perfect rapport creating the perfect setting for some hypertensive, composure rattling solos.
Though the first three numbers have the potential to induce palpitations it’s not all slash and burn. The sax section all double on woodwinds and flutes which are used within the arrangements to introduce a variety of textures to the pounding riffs and climactic tutti whilst the leader’s rippling piano ventilates the heavier sounds that emerge from the orchestral melee.
Most of the pieces are Feifke originals and he offers a satisfyingly varied selection of burners, modal exotics and hip swinging funk to which he adds a novel interpretation of Horace Silver’s classic, `Nica’s Dream`. However, the big surprise of the set comes in the form of two vocals performed by Veronica Swift, who happens to be the daughter of the late Hod O’Brian, the Chicago based pianist who worked with Warne Marsh amongst others. She has a super voice and sells a song with all the passion and torchy attitude of a Broadway diva. Her two numbers are Sammy Cahn’s `Until The Real Thing Comes Along` and Lerner and Loewe’s `On The Street Where You Live` and they provide a welcome diversion from the pile driving instrumental performances that surround her contribution. Both tunes feature excellent solos particularly the latter which employ trombone and baritone sax and a slightly menacing orchestral motif that is suggestive of the intentions of a stalker rather than a suitor.
The disc ends on a soothing note with a smoochy tenor ballad from Sam Dillon which is clothed in lush woodwind harmonies and brass chorales beautifully captured in a crystal clear recording that reveals all the subtleties of Feifke’s arrangements, resulting in a programme of music that will delight all who thrill to the energetic sound of peak performance big band jazz.
Review by Euan Dixon
