There is this
old joke that goes like this: One musician asks another, “Do you read
music?” The other replies, “Not enough to hurt my playing.”
With a master’s
degree in Jazz studies Evan Cobb lays this old adage to rest. Not only is he
well educated in Jazz he also teaches college. On this album Falling Up professor Cobb schools us in the subject of how to make
a great Jazz CD.
Evan Cobb leads the monthly jam
sessions at the Nashville Jazz Workshop and many of these songs were born from
his preparations for that.
There is a great lineup of musicians on this album: Matt
White (trumpet), Bruce Dudley (piano), Jonathan Wires (bass), Joshua Hunt (drums)
& special guest Jeff Coffin (tenor saxophone).
My favorite track on Falling
Up is “Tip Tap Toe”. It starts with a nice piano roll into some Bossa Nova
style comping, in come the drums and the
upright bass walking all over the planet. After the mood is laid out, the sax
and trumpet duet begins. They play some catchy riffs in harmony and then branch
off into some amazing solos. First sax, then
piano, trumpet, bass and then back into the main riff and clean finish.
“Eastern Bell Feel” has a great start with sparse cymbal,
upright bass and left hand piano in half time. The trumpet and sax come in
playing a lick that I would hesitate to call melodic and yet, it is in its own
outside way. The piece kicks into full tempo and sounds like your traditional
Jazz song with walking bass and catchy melody. The piece switches in and out of
the two styles with various solos over the top, ending with quick stabs by the
rhythm section, littered with sax and trumpet runs in-between and finally a
drum roll and a crash cymbal to end.
I won’t question a college professor’s misspelling of “modernism”;
because “Mahdernism” seems to be the way you spell exquisite in Jazz speak. This number
starts with a tenor sax/baritone sax duet followed by some great piano doubled
by the bass. It sounds like the perfect back drop to a spy movie. Cobb mixes it
up a bit and then starts the solos. First we hear from the piano which is a
pretty straight forward bebop style solo, followed by tenor sax, baritone sax,
then the tenor and baritone trade of riffs, and then start playing over each
other. Madness ensues when the trumpet decides to weigh in to the already
cacophonous fight between the baritone and tenor saxophones. The horns hit
their peak, trail off and then things get really quiet with an upright bass
solo. The drummer plays behind him quietly hitting rim shots and cymbals. All the instruments come back in to play the
original theme, change it up a few times and end with a nice sting.
Falling Up combines classic bebop style Jazz with more modern Avant Garde style solos. The tone that Cobb’s get with his sax is very rich and soothing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes Be-bop style Jazz.
4.5/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: Tip Tap Toe, Eastern Bell Feel, Mahdernism
Kirk Bullough
Tracks:
1.
Tip Tap Toe
2. None.Half.All
3.
Eastern Bell Feel
4.
The Cosmonaut
5. In
Ran Roy
6.
Mahdernism
7.
Crescent City Ditty
8.
Don't Hold Your Breath
|
Artists: Evan Cobb
Title: Falling Up
Genre: Jazz
Label: CDBY
Website: http://www.evancobbjazz.com
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