Featured Artist: 3play +

CD Title: American Waltz

Year: 2009

Record Label: ZiggleZaggle Music

Style: Progressive

Musicians:

George Garzone (tenor sax), Mick Goodrick (guitar), joining 3play+ Phil Grenadier (trumpet), Josh Rosen (piano), Lello Molinari (bass), Marcello Pellitteri (drums)

Review:

The core trio augments it’s mode of delivery with prominent New England artists, guitarist Mick Goodrick and tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi.  And what a shrewdly balanced program it is.  Here, compositional foundations come first, where the soloists’ intriguing improvisational workouts offer innumerable perspectives and tonal shades.

They mix it up rather effectively throughout amid down homey jazz grooves, intense free-bop, complex rhythmic passages and a prismatic overtone that hovers atop the overall presentation.  On “Be A Battery,” the band conveys shades of Ornette Coleman while executing a layered vibe, sparked with fiery solos by Bergonzi and trumpeter Phil Grenadier.  Moreover, the artists use depth and space as a vantage point.

There’s a captivating fusion of high-octane jazz interplay in concert with subtle surprises and variances of pitch, accented by interweaving unison choruses.  Yet the magnum opus is the final piece “Bulletrain,” which is executed like a suite, composed of linear phrasings and pianist Josh Rosen’s ethereal synth-based implementations.  The musicians also engage in avant-jazz movements while making sense out of chaos.  It’s a captivating assortment of rapidly-paced, free improvisation launched atop bustling currents and loosely organized motifs.  However, they contrast the excitement with an easygoing stride in spots.  Sure enough, there’s a lot going on via these comprehensive pieces that warrant repeated spins.  A top pick for 2009, it is!

Record Label Website: http://www.zigglezagglemusic.com/

Listen or Buy: CD Baby

Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita

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