Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads 2 (Ovation 0V-05-GA)
If there actually are any contemporaries of mine out there, readers who recall the popular music landscape before rock got hold of it, they may respond to this release, as I did, with a hello and a welcoming smile, because although it doesn’t quite replicate that cosy, well-crafted pre-Second Punic War sound, it does make a half-decent fist of reimagining a bunch of those tunes they were dancing to when you and I were young, Maggie. On the other hand it is what it says on the tin – the clue is the word “Latin” – so if you are fragile and blanch at the thought of Moonlight In Vermont presented as a samba, perhaps you should look away now, before I go on.
Apparently, pianist Gino Amato was the driving force behind the concept – and if there was indeed, a Latin Crossroads 1, I for one would like to hear it. Essentially Mr. Amato has done little more than assemble a conventional big band, supplement it with a handful of soloists and eight vocalists plus a group who perform a capella, and turn them loose on some standards of yesteryear – I Love Paris, Tangerine, No Moon At All, When I Fall In Love, Someone To Watch Over Me – each given a makeover and a fresh coat of paint that contrives to preserve the original skeleton even as it applies new flesh to old bones. If you listen closely you may recognise the odd tribute to cha-cha-cha, and close harmony groups like The Hi-Los and Four Freshmen, but above all you’ll actually hear every word of every lyric, enunciated clearly rather than mumbled to the point of indistinguishability. If it does nothing else it will introduce the work of craftsmen to a new generation in an easy-to-digest manner, and there can’t be too many albums that begin with Paul Simon and end with Rimsky-Korsakov. Well worth a spin on any turntable. Prominent names among the ensemble or as guest soloists include Doug Beaver, Bob Franceschini, Joe Locke, Lou Marini, Aaron Heick and Janis Siegel.
UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1: Double Or Nothing (VR 1031)
UNLV is an abbreviation of University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which is another way of saying that this is an orchestra comprised of music students rather than professional musicians, but if I hadn’t told you that I’m ready to bet the farm you’d never have guessed, because the standard is as high as anything on those shellac 78s from the big band era, 1935-1955.
With a dozen or so bands to pick from I was reminded of nothing so much as the band fronted by Stan Kenton in the mid-40s, around the time Pete Rugolo became the principal arranger, or, to put it another way, the time the Kenton outfit was recording things like Eager Beaver, Artistry In Rhythm, etc. This is a seriously big big band with well over 20 personnel, 12 of which – Kyle Mettke, Aries Harper (t), Gio Lacala, Dylan Musso, Kirby Galbraith (tb), Jason Knuckles, Renzon Maballo (ts), Chris Ellis (as), Tristan Selzler (p), Mateo Hurtado de Mendoza, Tommy Igoe and Andres Montero (d) are featured soloists.
The tunes are by a blend of “names” – Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Strayhorn, Bronislaw Kaper – and originals by band members, and frankly, such is the standard that there is little to choose between Dizzy Gillespie’s Things To Come, and Tristan Sezler’s Oktoberdance. With youngsters like these, seemingly content to immerse themselves in the craftsmanship of days gone, by the future of jazz may well be assured.
