Jerry Bergonzi: Nearly Blue

Tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi has been playing with organist Renato Chicco for decades, and with drummer Andrea Michelutti nearly as long. The three first appeared as a unit on 2016's Spotlight On Standards. They’re back with Nearly Blue, a collection of mostly standards with a few Bergonzi originals in the mix. Ask a horn player about the perfect rhythm section, and you’ll likely get a variant of Bergonzi’s answer: “I look for a rhythm section that makes me sound good.” Chicco and Michelutti are just right for Bergonzi’s gruff lyricism, and over time the three have developed a deep rapport. The saxophonist picked some excellent tunes for this session, kicking the proceedings off with a spirited rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s It Might As Well Be Spring, a favorite of improvisers since its debut in the 1945 film State Fair. John Coltrane’s Countdown is up next, a bit surprising in this context, particularly when it’s performed as slowly as it is here. Taking the tune at this medium pace allows Bergonzi to, in his words, “avoid playing vertically and focus on the horizontal.” With their ability to swing hard at any tempo, standards like On Green Dolphin Street and Nice Work If You Can Get It are artfully reconfigured and adapted to play to the trio’s strengths. I don’t want to neglect Bergonzi’s attractive originals. He offers the seductive Tectonic Plates with its uncommon harmonies, Nearly Blue, an extended blues that gives the CD its title, and the light bossa feel of While You Were Out, written when a music student failed to appear for a lesson. If I was forced to single out one track, it would be the trio’s sensuous exploration of the Fischer-Laine vehicle We’ll Be Together Again. But this is 65 minutes of jazz with abiding appeal. Definitely recommended.
Savant SCD 2180; Jerry Bergonzi (ts) Renato Chicco (B-3 org) Andrea Michelutti (d); Udine, Italy, March 22, 2019; It Might as Well Be Spring/ Countdown/ How About You?/ Tectonic Plates/ Nearly Blue/ On Green Dolphin Street/ We’ll Be Together Again/ While You Were Out/ Nice Work If You Can Get It/ Laura; 64:50. www.jazzdepot.com

Bobby Previte, Jamie Saft & Nels Cline: Music From the Early 21st Century

When Bobby Previte, Jamie Saft & Nels Cline get together to make a load of noise, they might as well call themselves the Three Provocateurs. On Music From the Early 21st Century, free-wheeling guitarist Cline, triple-threat keyboardist Saft, and the happily pounding Previte on drums waste no time stirring things up. Drawn from a quick tour of very small (100-200 seats) off-the-beaten-track Northeastern venues in the spring of 2019, this generous helping of free improvisations is a total gas from start to finish. Predictably unpredictable, the trio’s sound combines hard-rocking grooves, funky organ swells and synth flares, and crazed guitar fills plus the occasional shout of encouragement. Track times range from 3:39 for the gentle Totes to 14:04 for the mysterious and intense Occession. The prevalence of fade-outs on the disc makes me think that many of these tracks were excerpted from lengthier improvisations. Saft did the mix, and co-produced the CD with Previte, and together, they did a fine job of selecting, editing and sequencing the tracks to create a dynamic listening experience. Happily recommended.
RareNoise RNR0115 (CD & LP); Nels Cline (el g, effects) Jamie Saft (Hammond org, Fender Rhodes el p, MiniMoog) Bobby Previte (d); Beacon, NY, Hudson, NY, Milheim, PA, & NYC, May 9-12, 2019; Photobomb/ Paywall/ Parkour/ The Extreme Present/ Totes/ Occession/ The New Weird/ Machine Learning/ Woke/ Flash Mob; 76:37. www.rarenoiserecords.com