Bozo Mark's (slightly late - sorry!) Hot Picks In The CD Player For March/April

1. All You Need Is Love

The Canadian Brass

RCA

Not one, but two new and very cool Beatles tribute albums this time (see next pick)! Wow! I hadn't heard about this one, but it was reviewed alongside The REVOLVER Suite in Beatlefan magazine (we got a very nice review, thank you very much, and you can catch an excerpt in our review file section elsewhere on the site), and so I picked it up. All arrangements are by Christopher Dedrick, and they are quite tasty. He never strays too far from the original versions of the songs, but the two trumpets, French horn, trombone, and tuba take these tunes to another place. There are some fantasia-like intros to four of the selections that are mysteriously appropriate - without evoking anything remotely Beatlesque, Dedrick manages to write some preludes that George Martin would have been proud of. Some nice piccolo trumpet work, including a puckish quote from the Brandenburg Concertos (which is where Paul originally heard the instrument when they were working on "Penny Lane.") Highly recommended. (Also see the Fab Four Tribute Album page)

2. Meets The Beatles

John Pizzarelli

RCA

RCA is on a Beatles covers kick! Cool. I saw this at the KBEM Jazzfest in a basket of goodies for auction, picked it up the next day. I had never heard him play before, although I was aware of him. Has he always sung? He sings every tune on this disc except "Eleanor Rigby", and he has a very pleasing unpolished jazz voice, sort of a cross between Chet Baker and Paul McCartney. Perhaps not coincidentally, of the twelve tunes on this disc, all but two are McCartney compositions. Arrangements are by Don Sebesky, and they are fabulous. Some of the numbers are big band treatments, very Basiesque. Some are small group with strings, and a couple are Dixie/Hot Jazz renditions. Lots of good soloing, and Pizzarelli and Sebesky manage the impressive accomplishment of making most of these sound like they were written as jazz tunes in the first place. Likewise very highly recommended. (Also see the Fab Four Tribute Album page)

3. Bringin' It Home

Brother Jack McDuff

Concord

We had the immense pleasure of catching two McDuff sets at the KBEM Jazzfest, a rare performance on piano. (Apparently, he walked into the room and said, "Where's the Hammond B-3?" and the promoter replied, "Oh, didn't anybody tell you...?") It was delightful, just him and bassist Jay Young, carrying on some of the most whimsical, sly, and entertaining musical conversations I have ever had the pleasure to hear. Went and picked up this, his latest, the next day, and it's great. His standard lineup of Hammond, tenor sax, and guitar, with old stablemates George Benson and Red Holloway spending some time sitting in, Mark Whitfield dropping by for a couple tunes, and his longtime current band The Heating System filling out the bill. Some standards, some originals, some blues - all stone cold funky. Dig it.

4. By Arrangement

Jim Hall

Telarc

How 'bout Jim Hall these days? In the last couple years, he's expanded his job titles, and now in addition to being an ace guitarist he's a fine composer and quite talented arranger. This disc concentrates on the latter, and as on his earlier, Grammy-winning Textures he utilizes brass and string groups in addition to the regular jazz setups, plus a couple of appearances by the New York Voices. Special appearances by Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, and Greg Osby help make this a very special recording indeed. Whether you like guitar, good soloing, or inventive arranging, this is one to check out.

5. Supralingua

Mickey Hart/Planet Drum

Ryko

Mickey Hart's stuff can be erratic. Sometimes, on his earlier drum features discs, there've been too much drums with little melody to hold interest. His last album Mystery Box was cool, but more of a traditional pop album. So this is a treat, very African, lots of percussion and drums, certainly, but with quite a bit of singing, chanting, and sampling to make it accessible to those of us who want more than just the rhythm. To my ears, it's his most successful foray into world music yet.