Simon Oslender, Steve Gadd, Will Lee: All That Matters (Leopard 31453)
Steve Gadd witnessed and sat in with legendary organist Jack McDuff at an early age, so it’s been satisfying in recent years to see the now 79-year-old drummer gravitating back towards his early love of 60s Hammond-heavy R&B- most notably with the popular Blicher Hemmer Gadd trio, which formed 10 years ago.
The music made by the groove-based B3 and sax-led BHG pays homage to the 60s era, soul and the influence of New Orleans. This group, led by young German organist Simon Oslender and featuring Gadd, calls on such inspirations but with a more expansive lineup points also to influences such as the J.Bs, Stax, smooth jazz and – most noticeably on standout cuts like Cruisin’, On A Roll and gospellish groover All That Matters – Stuff, with which Gadd played in the 1970s and 80s.
Oslender’s choice of personnel for this, his third recording date as leader, is a masterstroke. Joining Gadd is another consummate session giant in electric bassist Will Lee, along with German guitarist Bruno Müller, alto saxophonist Jakob Manz and, lending an emotive solo to floaty ballad Leaving Paradise, guest trombonist from Sweden, Nils Landren.
Produced by the Grammy-winning Joachim Becker, this mostly one-take session from Germany in 2023 opens with the uplifting In Good Hands. It’s punchy, with a funky, fatback groove, sludgy organ and offbeat horn stabs that bring to mind James Brown’s I Feel Good. Given the appointed rhythm section and presence of axe-meister Müller in particular, tunes like this, Say it Again and the aforementioned title cut spotlight some earthy funk playing from all.
But the record is a mixed one, stylistically. Donkey is a spacious, laid-back blues with organ spilt into the cracks of a slow groove upon which Oslender builds a warm, rippling solo and Müller does some stinging, wah-effected fretwork. A touching tribute to Randy and Michael Brecker, Two Brothers (As One) is another brush-swishing ballad with Manz at his most soulful, while Close Call seesaws between a Latin-vibed head played in unison on Rhodes and bass guitar and some straightahead swing. It’s a highlight in this ever strong set and climaxes with an explosive break around stabs from Gadd.
For many, Gadd will be the main draw here but he’s at home in good company, playing music close to his heart with his long-time wingman Lee and some of the best young lions around.
Joe Webb: Hamstrings And Hurricanes (Edition EDN1248)
If, like this writer, you are relatively new to pianist Joe Webb – having only maybe heard bits from his Latin-vibed album Summer Chill or read somewhere that he’s as mad about Britpop as he is bebop – the title of one of his new album tracks, Curve Ball, may well throw you exactly that.
The curiously christened Hamstrings And Hurricanes is an all-swinging set that hears Welsh-born Webb and his long-serving sidemen (double bassist Will Sach and drummer Sam Jesson) deliver a raw set of originals mostly immersed in the blues. From opener Beth Yn Galw and a single-note piano figure that threatens to jump into Ellington’s C Jam Blues, we hear Webb in Monk mode, his lines florid, broken or rolling around a playful melody, loose swing-cymbal patterns and a busy walking line. Pushing the tempo, P.I.P plays as sprightly before a short barroom-style blueser 28-50 cuts to the beautifully airy waltz ballad 100 Years Of Bill & Lil.
Atop Webb’s bed of delicately planted chord work, Sach’s soft, buttery bass motifs and some scratchy brush work are the calm before the storm, abruptly flipping into a crescendoing drum solo and another track – Some Jesson – solely spotlighting Jesson. Whether alone on slow and spacious selections such as Squeeze Me and (the Satie meets Cole Porteresque) Breuddwyd Cariad, or expressing his deep love for the New Orleans trad style on the lightly accompanied title track, Webb promotes himself as a consummate stride player.
Supposedly inspired by Oasis’s Shakermaker, the gifted pianist’s blending of lush sweeping statements and classical-flavoured melody lines over a soft bass and backbeat groove form the stunning Hiraeth. It closes this almost song-cyclic run of improvised sketches and seals the deal to stand as one of my albums of the year. Webb is one to watch.
King Llama: Fata Implexis (TTrain Records)
Fast out of the traps with a solo from drummer Luis Briones that brings to mind 70s era Billy Cobham, the odd-metered and melodically gymnastic Lora Ky opens the second album from King Llama with eight minutes that instantly merit applause. The Los Angeles-based group, led by Briones and the equally arresting guitarist and composer Ryan T. Bailey, serves up a dizzy concoction of progressive rock, jazz, funk and blues (often within one track) and musically recalls (amongst many) Mahavishnu, Zappa, Wayne Kranz, 80s Weather Report and Oz Noy.
From the knotty Lora Ky, a more muscular, blues-driven Bus Stop brings more of Bailey’s twisted riffing underpinned by a hard-stomping drum groove, slap bass and some choppier fretwork from second guitarist, Billy Paulsen. While the interplay between the band is strong, and they fearlessly flesh out and build on already potent melodic parts, no track stays in one place for long. Over its 11 minutes, the brilliant Sir Issac, for example, flips from an odd-time upbeat drum pattern, busy with hard-hitting conga and cowbell, to a mellow passage dusted with flamenco-style fingerpicking and a rotary-effected electric guitar solo that wouldn’t sound out of place on an old Santana elpee.
Much should be said for master bassist Anthony Crawford too, whose playing really lifts this whole album. He’s most appreciable on highlight Hamilton, where his smooth and squelchy Jacoësque lines lift or play off funky keyboard runs, country-style licks or Briones’ busy, ever-explosive beats and breaks.
After a proggy and more keyboard lit Level Z, the album closes with the mellow, almost ambient Vita Et Mors, featuring the guest fretless playing of Percy Jones, bassist with Brand X. It’s a parting piece that left this writer wanting more and feeling somewhat unsurprised to learn this disc was recorded by none other than producer and engineer Dennis Mackay, the man whose credits include Brand X, Stanley Clarke and Return to Forever’s Romantic Warrior.
2024 favourites
From the late release, last December, of Simon Spillett’s Big Band tribute to Tubby Hayes, Dear Tubby H (which was on heavy rotation through to March at least), I went into 2024 to enjoy the highly funky and hip-hop influenced Mustard n’ Onions by Texan outfit Ghost-Note, a beautiful trio set from Scott Colley, Edward Simon and Brian Blade, Three Visitors, Kenny Barron’s new quartet on his stunning Beyond This Place, and the eventual release of an old set from pianist Michel Petrucciani, Jazz Club Montmarte 1988, featuring bassist Gary Peacock and the late, great Roy Haynes on drums.
Mad about trad, I also adored the authentic vibe of New Orleans blaring out of Tuba Skinny’s Hot Town, and then just before the year was out the wonderful Wave Theory from Australian composer and violinist Tamil Rogeon which, promoting a Latin influence nearly as strong as Roy Hargrove’s highly spirited Grande-Terre, more broadly brought to mind 70s electric-era Herbie Hancock.