A stalwart in today's jazz environment, drummer George Schuller has garnered a good list of credits over the last 15 years or so. Back in the '80s, and more infrequently in the '90s, he was the helmsman of "Orange than Blue," a band of varying personnel that lay in a grey zone somewhere between a mini-band and a mid-size combo. More recently, he turned towards a pianoless quartet, the Schulldogs, producing two recordings, the second of which (hellbent) was issued, like 'round 'bout now, by Playscape. In this one, he goes for a somewhat larger aggregation, a quintet for the most part, albeit augmented on a couple of tracks by plectrist Pete McCann, reedist Matt Darriau and accordionist Sonny Barbato. If this disc's title might remind you of something, or someone like the Prince of Darkness himself, you'd be right on the money. Not only are a few of the Master's tunes covered here ("Sidecar," "Circle in the Round" and "Filles de Kiliminjaro") but the other tracks also carry a feel of Miles Davis' late '60's transitional period.
While the music on this side takes its cue from that particular aesthetic, it shouldn't be seen as an ersatz of the original. One original touch here is the use of vibraphone rather than electric piano. Tom Beckham's instrument captures much of that old Fender Rhodes sound in the ensemble parts, yet his mellifluous soloing adds a different dimension to the proceedings. Tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin bears much of the Wayne Shorter influence, especially in his dry sound and oblique-like phrasing, but there are some definite Lovano shadings, too, especially when he reaches in the altissimo register. As for the trumpet part, it lay in very good hands thanks to Ingrid Jensen, a solid modern mainstream jazzer who gives no inclination at all of trying to cop anything from Miles. Bassist Dave Ambrosio, lastly, fills out the background and even if he does his chores in workmanlike fashion, he's not exactly Ron Carter in his prime.
Overall, it would be fair to say that this disc trods a musical path already well travelled by others. Indeed, Dave Douglas (a former sideman of Orange than Blue) comes to mind, and even his own release of three years ago, The Infinite, which enabled him to launch his current quintet with electric piano. Schuller adds some novel colorings here, most notably in East European dirge of "Circle," complete with the accordion bellowing away underneath Darriau's dreamy-sounding ethnic woodwind, the kaval. Of the eight tracks spread over this 65 minute-side, five are penned by the leader, and of these "Miles Later" dovetails without pause into "Having Big Fun", two titles that would make the Miles Davis references more than clear even without the typical drum backbeats inherent to the fusion period of the seventies. The session has a kind of loose togetherness to it, and their professionalism certainly shows in how they bring it all together. As such, it is more of a group effort than one where distinctive individual voices emerge, but kudos go to McCaslin for making a couple of more forceful statements, one on the aforementioned "Fun" and "Blackamoor." And finally, this just in: as of this writing, Schuller will be issuing another disc soon, this one to be released on the Chicago-based 482 Music. Entitled "Jigsaw", this octet date sports a stellar cast of players, most notably Mark Feldman, Howard Johnson and Tony Malaby. So please, stay tuned.
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