Posi-Tone's Swingtet Celebrates the Label's Thirtieth Year with Style on "In Jazz We Trust"

Posi-Tone Swingtet In Jazz We Trust: Posi-Tone Records

For those who enjoy straight ahead jazz with no excuses, Posi Tone Records has always delivered in an uncompromising fashion since the inception of the label in 1995. On February 28, 2025, co-owners Producer Marc Free and Engineer Nick O'Toole, released their celebration of the label's thirty-year milestone with a fantastic album, Posi-Tone Swingtet's In God Jazz We that highlights their mission and celebrates the music with a star studded ten man band. The album  features many of the label's stalwart musicians including pianist Art Hirahara, trumpet/flugelhorn master Alex Sipiagin, trombonist/educator Michael Dease, tenor saxophonist Diego Rivera, alto saxophonist/flutist Patrick Cornelius, bass ace Boris Kozlov and the powerful drummer Rudy Royston.

The music, all but one of the selections composed by the musicians themselves, is a testament to just how symbiotic these musicians have developed as a group. It  reinforces just how in-tune Free and O'Toole are when they assemble and record a group like this, usually providing the right environment and encouragement to create and capture on tape a magical musical experience. 

In Jazz We Trust is no different. Few albums come out of the box with such unified, in synch excitement, proficiency and enthusiasm. The opener is titled "Invocation" and is composed by drummer Rudy Royston. Royston, one of the eras most sought after drummers, can often be seen on Pos-Tone projects. He also can be seen collaborating frequently with guitar ace Bill Frisell, saxophonist JD Allen and trumpeter Dave Douglas to name just a few. On we are treated to the brilliant rhythm section of Royston and bassist extraordinaire Boris Kozlov, who also anchors the Charles Mingus Big Band. Trumpet phenom Alex Sipiagin produces a soaring trumpet solo that shows grace and fluidity, and we hear pianist Art Hirahara adding inventive accompaniment.

The trombonist Steve Davis, a one time Posi-Tone artist, is the composer of "Free Time" and is provides some nice space for tenorist Diego Rivera to shine. Michael Dease's trombone work here is a joy- facile, fluid and creative- and we hear some beautiful interaction between Dease and Kozlov that is telepathic. 

One of my favorites is the quick paced swinger "Mal's Totem" written by Rivera. Kozlov and Royston push the rhythm beautifully, as Rivera's tenor is at his most creative here.

Kozlov's "Below the Line" finds the versatile Hirahara on Fender Rhodes lending an airy feel to this one.  The music has a moody feel to it and Dease navigates the terrain with measured style. Royston opens it up with some increased pace and syncopation and Kozlov's probing bass also adds to the mix before the tune returns to opening refrain.

Sipiagin's "Mirror" is a gorgeous ballad that features some killing trumpet work by Alex bringing new heights to the tune's pathos. Patrick Cornelius' alto cascades his lines with sensitivity to the theme.

Dease's  "Simmer," a tune that builds tension with Kozlov's repeating bass lines as it unfolds. Sipiagin's warm flugelhorn is another delight, as Kozlov's bass probes, percolates, and he raises the temperature to the higher ground. Dease's trombone work is just so bubbly, joyous, and inventive. Rivera and Cornelius trade lines in a smoking exchange of ideas. What really stands out is the horn sections and how tight and unified they sound. Bravo, just is pure beauty and Royston's drums just boil like a roiling cauldron. It doesn't get much better than this.

Art Hirahara's "Stepped Out" has a cosmopolitan feel. Cornelius offers a swinging alto solo as Kozlov and Royston carry the beat like a fine time piece. Hirahara plays some of his most uplifting piano here and Kozlov has plucky bass solo before the horns return to the opening lines.

The album continues with the staccato opening of Dease's "Don't Look Back Behind You" with Royston, Kozlov and Hirahara playing the lines in synch. The horn section repeats the liens in unison before Hirahira and the rhythm section take it off to the races. Dease adds a smoking trombone solo to this swinger, man can this guy play! You can't help but tap your feet and Royston's explosive drum work and solo here is incendiary as the horn section brings it to a definitive exclamation point.

Cornelius brings his tango-like "Le Rendez-vous Final" where he plays flute. The group create the dance-like feel with Kozlov's bass setting the pace with Royston's astute trap work. Hirahara's piano work is quite expressive with a European feel to it. 

The album closes with the swinger Misha Tsiganov's "Changing Times."  Its a treat to hear this section make such great music and you can feel the way each soloist adds his own touches to this romp. Rivera, Dease, Cornelius, Sipagin and Hirahara  all take their turns in succession and you can feel these guys are having fun. The set ends with some explosive drum work at the coda from Royston as the section adds there own exclamations. 

In Jazz We Trust is just pure delight, a true tribute to the label's thirtieth anniversary. I have not heard many release this year that swing as hard or deliver with such imbedded joy then this one. One can only hope Free and O'Toole can somehow manage to corral these guys once more time to create some more of this magic.

Art Hirahara: "Good Company" Creates Beauty in an Unconventional Way

 

Art Hirahara: Good Company: PosiTone 

Art Hirahara is making his mark as a rising star on the piano. This Bay Area raised musician attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music and received his degree in Electronic and Computer Music. He continued his education at the California Institute of Arts where he was mentored by the late bassist Charlie Haden, the pianist David Roitstein, and the progressive trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith amongst others. As a leader and sideman Hirahara has worked with a list of impressive artist including trombonist Michael Dease, bassists Boris Kozlov and Linda May Han Ho , drummers Rudy Royston and Akira Tana, saxophonists Donny McCaslin and  Don Braden, trumpeters Josh Lawrence and Alex Sipiagin  and vocalist Stacey Kent to name just a few.

Hirahara's relationship with the record label Posi Tone, now in its thirteenth year,  started with his first recording with them, Noble Path, from 2011. If you track this musician's musical output since then, you are witnessing the personal growth of Hirahara, as the pianist's playing blossoms with ever increasingly more expansive expression, additional mastery of nuanced subtlety and space, and a continued sense of confidence that comes with maturity.

On the latest release, Good Company, Hirahara continues to explore the possibilities of how three tonally different musicians can interact creating their own palette of colors and textures to great effect. This piano trio is both bass less and drum less and it still manages to create some remarkably beautiful and creative music. This trio includes the jazz/blues guitarist Paul Bollenback, known for his tasty work with late B3 master Joey DeFrancesco, and backing up tenor titan Stanley Turrentine and the trumpeter/flugelhornist Ron Horton who has worked extensively with the bassist Ben Allison, the saxophonist Michael Blake and the late pianist Frank Kimbrough. With no traditional rhythm section, these three musicians find a common ground of expression on a series of thirteen diverse compositions that make up this recording, four from Hirahara, three from Bollenback, three from Horton, and one each from Thelonious Monk, Andrew Hill and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Art Hirahara : (Photo credit unknown)

The opener, Bollenback's swaying ballad "Shambolic," is just gorgeous and opens with some piquant guitar lines, deft piano accompaniment and a sensitive piano solo, and some empathetic Art Farmer inspired flugelhorn lines that just grabs you. Bollenback's guitar work is a marvel of understatement.

Andrew Hill's "Laverne" is an angular piece that shows how this trio can navigate a chicanery with aplomb and class. Hirahara skillfully holds the bass less group together with his left hand during Bollenback's solo and the guitarist does the same when its comes to Hirahara's turn to improvise on the melody. Horton's horn floats above the music like a free bird in flight above the fray, always still keeping tabs of the action. Impressive interplay, indeed.

Paul Bollenback:(photo credit unknown)

The contemplative Monk tune "Ugly Beauty" is given a ethereal opening by Hirahara's haunting piano lines, accentuated by Horton's slurred trumpet lines that hang in the air like a cumulus cloud, with Bollenback's oscillating guitar notes  underscore making this reconstructed opening memorable. These guys are hard wired into each other and it shows. Hirahara's piano is melodic and expressive but never overstated, and just so unselfishly supportive of the music that it allows his two bandmates to shine. A rendition of Monk's classic that is true to the composer's intent while still finding its own creative way into being one of our favorite renditions.

Ron Horton (photo credit unknown)

There is a pop feel to Horton's "Sinatra Breeze" that brings some lightheartedness to this music. Hirahara carries the bouncy rhythm and the three contribute to the melodic stroll of this one. Paul Bollenback's "Psalm" is a short hymn that finds the trio creating a somber reverence and his "Songline" is like a dance that promises hope and joy. Horton's trumpet leads the declaration, Hirahara opens it up with an inspired solo that raises the energy level, and Bollenback's guitar offers multiple ideas from various guitar traditions. 

"The Shadowist" is the first of Hirahara's compositions we hear on the album. The three follow the complex lines that ascend and descend in unpredictable patterns. The pianist finds his like-minded band mates are able to negotiate this musical puzzle with aplomb, first in sync and later in counterpoint to each other. As the rhythmic drive becomes more identifiable, the three artists find their own way to making individual contributions to the music.

Hirahara's "SoHo Down" is the pianist's attempt to create his own urban inspired hoe down.  A free expression to a traditional, folk inspired jig-like dance music piece. 

Jobim's "As Praias Desertas,"  which translates from the Portuguese into "the beaches deserted now" is a bossa nova. The trio plays this Brazilian inspired romantic song with sensitivity and skill. Led by Horton's plaintive and fluid flugelhorn, Bollenback's honey-toned hollow bodied guitar lines and Hirahara's beautiful piano work, this one is like a mini-vacation.

The rapid "Everywhere, All At Once,"  and shifting "Drop and Drag" two other Hirahara compositions, unite this empathetic trio with athletic music that challenges and inspires these guys. Horton's expressive ballad "Full Moon Over Lisbon" is a must hear and the Americana inspired "Home" another Horton composition, proves these guys continue to find common ground in each others musical visions and finish this emotive and imaginative album. Art Hirahara's Good Company is well worth a listen.