CD Review: Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project "Kites and Strings"

 

Pianist, Composer, Arranger and Accordionist Ben Rosenblum has just released his debut CD of the Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project, "Kites and Strings".  The CD playlist covers a special group of composers and music from Leonard Bernstein to Neil Young to Ben Rosenblum originals.  It also includes a great group of relatively new and brilliant Jazz musicians including Trumpeter Wayne Tucker, Guitarist Rafael Rosa, Reed man Jasper Dutz, Bassist Marty Jaffe and Drummer Ben Zweig.  One of the main reasons this CD caught my musical attention was the diverse influences that Rosenblum has joined together in the playlist.  Rosenblum's creative fingerprints can be felt on every aspect of this CD.  The music is new, fresh, beautiful and yet listener friendly.

Rosenblum has established a national profile for himself as a bandleader performing at over 100 gigs annually.  He has experimented with all forms of music and it's easy to pick up the New York Jazz feel embedded in "Kites and Strings".  Rosenblum was brought up in New York and earned a BA from Columbia University while also studying piano at Juilliard in a joint degree program. Rosenblum shared this about his educational experiences "I needed to hear about getting my left hand together and being rhythmically solid,  how to lead a piano trio, the importance of listening to certain recordings.  I'm surrounded with great young musicians who are never shy about telling me if they hear something different".  It's one thing for a musician to experiment with a wide spectrum of musical compositions and style but to be able to join these compositions and styles into one playlist is a rare and treasured event.

This CD is loaded with beautiful music.  Trying to pick two tracks for my readers to listen to was no easy task.  The first tune I have selected is a Rosenblum original titled "Cedar Place".  The composer has this to say about it "a hat tip to the inestimable pianist/composer Cedar Walton. The propulsive bass line and one-chord vamp section bring to mind the deceptively simple elegance and forceful swing of Walton's standard Bolivia."   The Second tune I have attached is wonderful Neil Young composition "Philadelphia" played as a Jazz Ballad.  Music doesn't any more beautiful than this!

Playlist:

1. Cedar Place

2. Kites and Strings

3. Halfway to Wonderland

4. Motif from Brahms (Op. 98)

5. Fight or Flight

6. Somewhere

7. Philadelphia

8. Bright Above Us

9. Laughing on the Inside

10. Izpoved

Players:

Ben Rosenblum- Piano (except 4,6) Accordion

Wayne Tucker-Trumpet

Jasper Dutz- Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet

Rafael Rosa- Guitar

Marty Jaffe- Bass

Ben Zweig- Drums, Percussion (5) Conductor (10)

Jake Chapman- Vibraphone (2,8)

Sam Chess- Trombone (7,8)

Jeremy Corren- Piano (4,6)

                                                                  "Cedar Place"

                                                                           "Philadelphia"

CD Review: John Pizzarelli "Double Exposure"

                                                               

John Pizzarelli has a terrific new CD that was born out of John's creative musical talents. For those of you familiar with John's performances, you know he always creates his own particular paths to music.  Never satisfied with simply covering a great standard, John looks for new and creative ways to bring some of himself to the tune and something new to the listener. This approach is not without risk but pushing the musical envelope is what John Pizzarelli is all about. For this CD, John wanted to find a way to present some great old standards and some great old rock and roll tunes. While John has always been faithful to the "Great American Songbook", he also has a love of the great songs of the rock and roll area. However, there is no way would John would be interested in cutting a new CD of simple covers of these songs.  John came up with the idea of combining two songs or different sounds from different times together.

We had the pleasure of hearing John perform some of the songs on his new CD in January at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Ca. The songs were simply outstanding. The first song John performed and also the first song on the CD was a combination of the Lennon/McCartney song "I Feel Fine" with the Lee Morgan classic "Sidewinder".  Hard to visualize what this final song would sound like but it was just outstanding.  John refers to the final product as "Lennon and McCartney meet Lee Morgan".  Next, John did an arrangement of Tom Watts' "Drunk On The Moon" combined with the great Billy Stayhorn tune "Lush Life". Next, Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" was given an influence of "Shine On Harvest Moon" producing a new musical gem.

There are 13 songs on this CD and each and every one has a story fully developed on the liner notes. I have to describe one additional song on the CD that was simply breathtaking.  The James Taylor song "Traffic Jam" was rebuilt with the influence of Joe Henderson's "The Kicker". John's  wife, the talented Jessica Molaskey wrote some terrific new lyrics and added her voice. John's description of this tune was "James Taylor and Joe Henderson as seen through the eyes of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross thanks to Jessica Molaskey's wonderful lyrics".

John Pizzarelli has been working hard for years on his trade with much success. His guitar performances have always been top notch, but now his singing and his creative arranging abilities have brought him into a special class of outstanding musicians. This is a CD that needs to be in your collection.

List of Songs:

"I Feel Fine"/ "Sidewinder"
"Harvest Moon"
"Traffic Jam"/ "The Kicker"
"Ruby Baby"
"Alison"
"Rosalinda's Eyes"
"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"
"Drunk On The Moon" "Lush Life"
"Walk Between The Raindrops"
"Free Man In Paris"
"Take A Lot Of Pictures"
"I Can Let Go Now"
"Diamond Girl"