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