TOMMASO STARACE QUINTET - Eleuthra All That Jazz
Tracks:
1. Never Stop
2. Colibri
3. Blues for Eleuthera
4. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
5. Yellow Tune
6. Parisian Thoroughfare
7. Julie
8. Cocodimama
Featuring:
Tomasso Starace (alto & soprano saxophones)
Massimo Colombo (Fender Rhodes)
Adrian D'Aguilar (bass)
Kevin Dean (drums)
Lamont Gibson (trumpet)
£14.99 inc p&p
Review:
As busy as always, altoist Tommaso Starace, has just seen the release of two albums on the Music Center imprint. With both albums featuring Starace with different personnel and instrumentation, the only constant being the quality of the music produced.
First up is the quintet offering, Eleuthra All That Jazz, a smart and tightly played set from Starace and his cohorts that is firmly entrenched in the hard bop idiom. Somewhat of a departure from his previous releases that have always had a theme or concept behind them, this is much more straight ahead, and is none the worse for it.
The quintet play with a sprightly jaunt that is further lightened and lifted by the use of the Fender Rhodes piano. Playing a handful of originals by Tommaso and pianist, Massimo Colombo, with a couple of standards for good measure, the quintet display a joy in playing together that is both relaxing and engagingly urgent when called for. The Latin feel of 'Cocodimama' is a real delight with an effervescent solo from the leader on alto that is matched with equal exuberance by Lamont Gibson on trumpet. 'Yellow Tune', written by Colombo is an altogether tougher proposition, driven along nicely by the rhythm section. The pianist gets in first with an authoritative solo, that sit nicely with the neatly arranged and played ensemble passages.
Of the two standards, Bud Powell's 'Parisian Thoroughfare' gets a sprightly run through with concise solos from from Lamont Gibson's trumpet and the leader, this time on soprano saxophone, which Starace also wields magnificently on Strayhorn's 'A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing' without being overly sentimental.
As busy as always, altoist Tommaso Starace, has just seen the release of two albums on the Music Center imprint. With both albums featuring Starace with different personnel and instrumentation, the only constant being the quality of the music produced.
First up is the quintet offering, Eleuthra All That Jazz, a smart and tightly played set from Starace and his cohorts that is firmly entrenched in the hard bop idiom. Somewhat of a departure from his previous releases that have always had a theme or concept behind them, this is much more straight ahead, and is none the worse for it.
The quintet play with a sprightly jaunt that is further lightened and lifted by the use of the Fender Rhodes piano. Playing a handful of originals by Tommaso and pianist, Massimo Colombo, with a couple of standards for good measure, the quintet display a joy in playing together that is both relaxing and engagingly urgent when called for. The Latin feel of 'Cocodimama' is a real delight with an effervescent solo from the leader on alto that is matched with equal exuberance by Lamont Gibson on trumpet. 'Yellow Tune', written by Colombo is an altogether tougher proposition, driven along nicely by the rhythm section. The pianist gets in first with an authoritative solo, that sit nicely with the neatly arranged and played ensemble passages.
Of the two standards, Bud Powell's 'Parisian Thoroughfare' gets a sprightly run through with concise solos from from Lamont Gibson's trumpet and the leader, this time on soprano saxophone, which Starace also wields magnificently on Strayhorn's 'A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing' without being overly sentimental.
