{"id":7978,"date":"2016-11-19T23:15:14","date_gmt":"2016-11-20T07:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=7978"},"modified":"2016-11-20T09:04:37","modified_gmt":"2016-11-20T17:04:37","slug":"recent-listening-phil-norman-tentet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2016\/11\/recent-listening-phil-norman-tentet\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Phil Norman Tentet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phil Norman<\/strong> Tentet, Then & Now<\/a> (MAMA Records)<\/p>\n

This album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tune list could create an expectation that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in for just another trip down\"phil-norman-cover\" the memory lane of modern jazz classics. No, Norman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ensemble combines gifted players and arrangers with fresh approaches to familiar music.<\/p>\n

Geoff Stradling adds a bridge section in his arrangement of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Johnny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Theme,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the Tonight Show\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/em> introductory and closing music. This may be more of a show business classic than a jazz classic, but he expands the piece\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s musical content and, therefore, its possibilities for improvisation. In their solos, trumpeter Ron Stout, alto saxophonist Rusty Higgins and guitarist Larry Koonse take advantage of the meaty harmonies, with Stout\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fluidity increasing as he moves through the changes. Stradling inserts a mildly disruptive \u00e2\u20ac\u0153shave and a haircut six bits\u00e2\u20ac\u009d fillip near the end, possibly in tribute to Johnny Carson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s humor—or Tonight Show<\/em> bandleader Doc Severinsen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.<\/p>\n

From \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Take Five\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Poinciana\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Line For Lyons\u00e2\u20ac\u009d through a dozen classic compositions, the arrangers evoke the original recordings while personalizing them with new instrumental textures and, in some cases, rhythmic departures. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt that in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lullaby of Birdland\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the George Shearing Quintet you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hearing in the first chorus. Then, arranger Scott Whitfield expands the ensemble to set up solos by pianist Christian Jacob, Higgins on alto, Whitfield on trombone, guitarist Koonse, and Brad Dutz on vibes. Whitfield closes with what he calls \u00e2\u20ac\u0153George\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcshout chorus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and tags the piece with his own shout chorus that incorporates the contrast of a three-chord piano tag, summoning thoughts of Count Basie. <\/p>\n

In \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Concorde,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Joey Sellers arranges one of John Lewis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most evocative Modern Jazz Quartet compositions. His use of the inner harmonic tensions of the piece inspires splendid solos from Jacob, Dutz, bassist Kevin Axt, Stout, Higgins on flute and Roger Neumann on bass clarinet. The bass clarinet gives the ensemble color, fiber and intriguing movement in the lines Sellers wrote for Neumann.<\/p>\n

Neumann arranged \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Line For Lyons,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a staple of Gerry Mulligan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s early 1950s quartet with trumpeter Chet Baker. He harmonized Mulligan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Baker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original solos with additional horns before providing space for new solos by Neumann on baritone sax and Stout on trumpet. It is one of the most affecting tracks on the album. <\/p>\n

Stout and his frequent trumpet colleague Carl Saunders have exemplary solos on Dizzy Gillespie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Manteca\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and team up for a closing statement that would have earned smiles from Gillespie if he had heard it. Saunders is fleet, lyrical and rangy in his solo on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Poinciana,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d arranged by Jacob to reflect but not imitate the famous Ahmad Jamal version. Higgins and Koonse also solo. <\/p>\n

There is a wide variety of textures in Jacob\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrangement of Paul Desmond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Take Five,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with Rusty Higgins including in his first solo an approximation of one of Desmond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trips into the stratosphere of the alto saxophone and in his second an inkling of Desmond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s humor. Jacob begins and ends the arrangement with echoes of the Dave Brubeck Quartet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s celebrated recording of the piece. <\/p>\n

The other pieces are Whitfield\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrangement of Benny Golson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Killer Joe;\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kim Richmond\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chart on Miles Davis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153So What; Francisco Torres\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Chano Pozo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Dizzy Gillespie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Soul Sauce\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (made famous by Cal Tjader); and Jacob\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s of Vince Guaraldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Linus & Lucy.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n

The Phil Norman Tentet is in fact an eleventet, if there is such a word. Norman plays tenor saxophone and clarinet. His only solo here is on tenor sax in Henry Mancini\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theme from The Pink Panther,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which has the baritone sax of the arranger, Neumann, in interplay (emphasis on \u00e2\u20ac\u0153play\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) with Norman. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great fun. <\/p>\n

Personnel: Phil Norman, tenor sax, clarinet, leader; Carl Saunders, Ron Stout, trumpet; Scott Whitfield, trombone; Rusty Higgins, alto and soprano sax, flute; Roger Neumann, baritone sax, bass clarinet, flute; Christian Jacob, piano; Larry Koonse, guitar; Kevin Axt, bass; Dick Weller, drums; Brad Dutz, percussion, vibes.<\/p>\n

A note for those who like information about what they’re hearing. The program booklet for this album goes against the record industry trend toward vacuousness. It includes biographies of the composers, bios and photos of the musicians, and notes by the arrangers about how and why they wrote their charts. It also has solo credits for the twelve tracks. Hooray for MAMA. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phil Norman Tentet, Then & Now (MAMA Records) This album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tune list could create an expectation that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in for just another trip down the memory lane of modern jazz classics. No, Norman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ensemble combines gifted players and arrangers with fresh approaches to familiar music. Geoff Stradling adds a bridge section in his arrangement of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7978","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}