TROY ROBERTS – Tales & Tones
Inner Circle Music INCM 066CD
Troy Roberts (tenor and soprano saxophones) Silvano Monasterios (piano) Robert Hurst (acoustic bass) Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts (drums)
Recorded at Sanctuary Studios, Easton, PA, March 4th & 5th 2016.
Troy Roberts is an Australian saxophonist who is making waves on the other side of the Pacific Ocean where there is a healthy demand for his formidable talent. As well as being a regular member of the Jeff `Tain` Watts Quartet he has recently been recruited as a member of organist Joey DeFrancesco’s latest group, `The People` in addition to performing as a sideman with stellar names like Christian McBride, Dave Douglas and John Scofield to name but a small selection. It goes without saying that you don’t get to play with musicians of that calibre unless you’re pretty damn good and in this recording – his seventh for Inner Circle- he demonstrates exactly why he has attracted so much interest and is on the cusp of achieving big name status in his own right.
Like Branford Marsalis, with whom I detect affinities, Roberts is muscular and probing on tenor, lyrical and agile on soprano, possessing a fertile musical imagination when it comes to crafting original material and interpreting standards. Six of the nine pieces on this disc are his, ranging from buoyant neo-bop assertions to themes of minor key sobriety which he develops and extends through shifts in mood and tempo. Of the remaining tunes, there are rejigged versions of `Bernie’s Tune` and `Take The A Train` embellished with witty asides and to complete the playlist a beautiful aria for soprano sax with Neapolitan overtones entitled `Rivera Mountain`: a satisfyingly varied programme which bears witness to both Roberts’ originality and his appreciation of the jazz legacy.
With Jeff `Tain` Watts on drums and Robert Hurst on bass – both star turns and former Marsalis men- this has got to be a quality production and Venezuelan born pianist Monasterios does nothing to diminish the overall tone blending sweeping romanticism with propulsive drive in a conversation between virtuosi that all makes for a tale worth telling.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Inner Circle Music INCM 066CD
Troy Roberts (tenor and soprano saxophones) Silvano Monasterios (piano) Robert Hurst (acoustic bass) Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts (drums)
Recorded at Sanctuary Studios, Easton, PA, March 4th & 5th 2016.
Troy Roberts is an Australian saxophonist who is making waves on the other side of the Pacific Ocean where there is a healthy demand for his formidable talent. As well as being a regular member of the Jeff `Tain` Watts Quartet he has recently been recruited as a member of organist Joey DeFrancesco’s latest group, `The People` in addition to performing as a sideman with stellar names like Christian McBride, Dave Douglas and John Scofield to name but a small selection. It goes without saying that you don’t get to play with musicians of that calibre unless you’re pretty damn good and in this recording – his seventh for Inner Circle- he demonstrates exactly why he has attracted so much interest and is on the cusp of achieving big name status in his own right.
Like Branford Marsalis, with whom I detect affinities, Roberts is muscular and probing on tenor, lyrical and agile on soprano, possessing a fertile musical imagination when it comes to crafting original material and interpreting standards. Six of the nine pieces on this disc are his, ranging from buoyant neo-bop assertions to themes of minor key sobriety which he develops and extends through shifts in mood and tempo. Of the remaining tunes, there are rejigged versions of `Bernie’s Tune` and `Take The A Train` embellished with witty asides and to complete the playlist a beautiful aria for soprano sax with Neapolitan overtones entitled `Rivera Mountain`: a satisfyingly varied programme which bears witness to both Roberts’ originality and his appreciation of the jazz legacy.
With Jeff `Tain` Watts on drums and Robert Hurst on bass – both star turns and former Marsalis men- this has got to be a quality production and Venezuelan born pianist Monasterios does nothing to diminish the overall tone blending sweeping romanticism with propulsive drive in a conversation between virtuosi that all makes for a tale worth telling.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
