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.

Taking the higher path "Upstream" by Alex Sipiagin

ALEX SIPIAGIN'S UPSTREAM:  Posi-Tone PR-219

The Russian trumpeter Alex Sipiagin releases a new album titled Upstream, on May 7th and this fine offering is propulsive, modernly melodic, and superbly played.

Sipiagin contributes five impressive compositions for this record and his bandmates add three others along with one gorgeous Wayne Shorter ballad for good measure. Posi-Tone producer Marc Free continues to reveal an uncanny talent to identify distinctive players and match them up with like-minded musicians to great success. On Upstream, Sipiagin is joined by pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston and together these guys can elevate your heart rate with excitement, dazzle your mind with their taste or pull at your heartstrings with poignancy.  

Trumpet legend Randy Brecker said "...there is a full spectrum of many moods and emotions on this great album..." "...one of his best many excellent albums."

This album is simply a joy, and if you're like me, it will be on auto replay on your both headphones and your iPhone.

Alex Sipiagin is one of those first-call trumpet players that if you do not recognize his name, you have certainly heard his work before. Since his arrival from his native Russia in 1991, Sipiagin’s distinctive, precise and melodic sensibilities have been heard in the orchestra’s trumpet sections for Gil Evans, Swiss Composer George Gruntz’s Concert Jazz Band, bassist Dave Holland’s Octet and Big Bands, Michael Brecker’s award-winning Quindectet and Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side Orchestras. Alex has been a member of the great Mingus Big Band since 1996, and I last saw him in that great band almost two years ago at the Jazz Standard.

Despite being often seen as a first-call orchestra trumpet section voice, Alex has worked extensively as a leader, with seventeen other releases since 1998. He is a founding member of the group Opus 5, which includes Seamus Blake (s), David Kikoski (p), Boris Kozlov (b) and Donald Edwards(dr).

The title Upstream refers to Alex’s desire to maintain “intensity and desire” in his artistic life. Consequently, he likes to go against the current and swim upstream of the fray. This album is Sipiagin’s artistic representation of that never-ending search. 

The opener “Call” is the artist’s expression of an overflow of emotions that sometimes just happens as if by a force of nature outside of your control. An explosion of expression as Sipiagin’s trumpet is like a clarion call that bubbles with emotive and powerful bursts. The group responds with equal energy and well-controlled sympathetic kineticism. 

The pianist Art Hirahara’s beautiful “Echo Canyon” allows the listener’s elevated pulse to take a breath for a moment. The music has a more pensive feel, with Sipiagin using the warmer sound of Flugelhorn to great effect, playing out front of his bandmate’s sensitive accompaniment. Hirahara’s piano solo is splendid and Sipiagin reaches some gorgeous high register notes that just soar. 

Alex’s “Sight” has a switchback, complex pattern that is brilliantly executed by this formidable rhythm section. Hirahara plays on what sounds like a Rhodes piano and offers an airy solo. Sipiagin’s trumpet is focused, precise, and always melodic. Sipiagin’s compositions musically inspire and are advanced both harmonically and melodically and yet executed with aplomb and taste. 

Another of the leader’s compositions is the scorching “SipaTham” which is an acronym of the first letters of Alex and his wife Mellissa Tham’s last names. There is a volcanic eruption of expression in these songs. Like “Sight”, “SipaTham” were both created when artistic creativity was being quarantined from all normal outside world activity by the pandemic. Sipiagin successfully used the time to compose and it shows how his energy was being redirected into this amazing music. His bandmates undoubtedly felt that being able to tap into this music’s energy would be cathartic for them when this was finally recorded, and it shows. Alex’s playing is on fire, and the group is on a mission. Hirahara and Kozlov are in beautiful sync and Rudy Royston’s drum work is particularly propulsive and takes you to a new level of involvement. This one is special.

Boris Kozlov is a top-notch bassist who I have had the privilege of seeing play in several different settings. Here Alex takes Boris’ composition “Magic Square” on a fusion take that features Hirahara’s searching Rhodes, Kozlov’s electric bass, and Sipiagin’s tart muted trumpet. Royston’s drum work is spectacular and erupts with a flurry of syncopation that overflows like an overheated cauldron.

Sipiagin’s “Rain” is a sensitive ballad that was inspired by waiting for a loved one to be released from a hospital while it was relentlessly raining. It is these moments, being unprepared and being subjected to live’s uncertainties, that can provide inspiration. Sipiagin’s trumpet is played beautifully on this and you can feel his release of angst, the sincerity in his expression of thanks, and the mastery of his command that allows him to gorgeously express those feelings.

“Shura” is another Kozlov composition that is played in 6/8 as requested by Alex and was written in humor and named for the trumpeter by his nickname. I can’t get enough of Alex’s facility and clear tone. Many people play the trumpet well, but few with such authority and joy. Royston’s drums fill up the song copiously, especially at the coda, and Kozlov and Hirahara accompany brilliantly.

Wayne Shorter’s “Miyako” is a gorgeous ballad and Sipiagin’s flugelhorn simply needs to be heard to be appreciated. Kozlov’s bass solo is fluid and eloquent. Royston’s cymbal and tom work are impressive. 

The title song “Upstream” returns to the energy level previously offered in the  Sipiagin compositions covered earlier n this album. According to the artist’s notes, some of the melodies in “Upstream” were inspired by a Russian folk song. The folk song was in turn inspired by a painting by Ilya Repin titled “Barge Haulers on the Volga,” which depicts exhausted workers depleted by the strenuous work and the heat of the sun. 

"Upstream" is a quick-moving song featuring Sipiagin’s declarative trumpet, Hirahara’s melodic Rhodes, Kozlov’s probing bass, and Royston’s roiling drum work. The heat rises-the energy level is driven into overdrive activity-lead by Sipiagin’s piercing high register work. Royston’s drum solo is like a whirlwind of percussion inventiveness and worth the price of admission.

https://soundcloud.com/posi-tone-records/sight-022321-master-24-01

Janis Siegel and friends at the Side Door in Old Lyme, CT

Janis Siegel at the Side Door

A relatively new jazz club has quietly carved a place out for itself in the otherwise shrinking world of jazz music venues. The Side Door Jazz Club is located a stone’s throw from Interstate 95 off exit 70 at 85 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, CT.  It is part of the Old Lyme Inn, a beautifully restored bed, breakfast and restaurant that was originally built as a family homestead in 1856.

Left in relative disrepair, the Inn was purchased and renovated by Owners Ken and Chris Kitchings in 2011. Ken, a lifelong jazz fan who had been previously involved bringing artists to the Garde Theater in New London, CT., decided that an unused “side door” space would be the perfect spot for a jazz club. Seeing his vision through, the Side Door Jazz Club was opened in May of 2013. Since then Ken and his booking manager Jan Mullen have brought some amazing top-tier talent to their strategically located club along the Connecticut shoreline. It surely doesn't hurt that the club is almost equidistant for musicians who are traveling along the Boston to New York corridor, two major jazz hubs.  The  the club is comfortable and well appointed, the vibe is welcoming with reasonable acoustics and a generous stage and Ken’s exuberance is infectious. I don’t doubt that many performers find the venue a welcome respite.

On Friday night January 10, 2014 Janis Siegel played two sets of music, much of it from her latest album Nightsongs: A Late Night Interlude, her tenth solo release. Janis’s emotive voice, somewhere between a mezzo-soprano and a contaltro, has been heard for the last thirty-two years as the part of the Grammy Award winning group Manhattan Transfer. Her recent cd is her first self-produced album and is a great collaboration with the pianist/arranger John diMartino, a first call artist who has great sensitivity working with vocalists. The songs include selections include Billy Strayhorn “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing,”  Rogers & Hart's “Lover,” Brenda Russell, Will Kennedy and Russell Ferrante’s “Love and Paris Rain” along with a song  penned by Bob Belden with lyrics by Siegel herself “Sweet September Rain.”  

On this evening, during the first set, she was joined by her pianist/arranger diMartino and the bass player, the talented Boris Kozlov, who also is part of the pianist's working trio.

The set started off with Ms. Siegel, a Brooklyn born chanteuse, appropriately singing the campy Lorraine Feather song “I Know the Way to Brooklyn.”  The song initiated the crowd to brief but potent solos by both Mr. di Martino and Mr. Kozlov. Ms. Siegel can navigate through multiple genre’s, from cabaret to bossa to torch to scat with ease and agility, and on Friday night before a receptive crowd she did just that.

Before the start of the second song, Ms. Siegel introduced the Brazilian percussionist/vocalist Nanny Assis, who joined her and the band for most of the first set. Mr. Assis, originally from Bahia, Brazil and now a CT native,  can make a panderio ( a small, round-shaped hand drum with jingles native to Brazil) sound like a full drum kit. His presence lent the proceedings a genuine rhythmic element that was infectious.

John di MArtino, Boris Kozlov, Janis Siegel and Nanny Assis

Ms. Siegel introduced Ann Hampton Callaway’s “Slow,” a lilting, breezy bossa  with Mr. Assis on congas. The song captivated the crowd with Ms. Siegel’s sensuous vocals deftly accompanied by Mr.  diMartino’s delicate piano fills and Mr. Kozlov’s warm bass lines. Ms. Siegel introduced the next tune, another bossa-infected treatment of the Rogers & Hart song “Lover.” Ms. Siegel sang with Mr. Assis, who was now on panderio. The two seemed to have fun with the music. Playing off each other in a joyful interaction that worked off the intimacy of the lyrics. They demonstrated a stage simpatico that had the audience smiling approvingly.

Following the Brazilian theme, Ms. Siegel commissioned Mr. Assis to sing a duo on the sultry Jobim tune “If You Never Come to Me.”  Mr. Assis has a soft, unassuming tenor that perfectly complements Ms. Siegel’s tawny mezz-soprano. The two showed a vocal and stage chemistry that was palpable and they charmed the audience with their subtle harmonies and moving interplay. Ms. Siegel is a competent scat artist and she used it to great effect as Mr. Assis sang softly in Portuguese.

The next song of the set was of personal significance to Ms. Siegel.  She related that she wrote the lyrics with her boyfriend Harry Levine to a cinematic instrumental by Bob Belden, that begged for words. The title “Sweet September Rain,” a slow ballad, featured Ms. Siegel, in a slightly higher register, poignantly describing memories of a past love affair. Mr. diMartino’s solo was particularly moving and Mr. Kozlov’s arco-bass at the coda was sublime.

Ms. Siegel offered a vocal version of the funk jazz, Lee Morgan composition “The Sidewinder,” with lyrics written by Jon Hendricks to describe a philandering gigolo.  With a distinctive ostinato bass line played expertly by Mr. Kozlov, the song had Ms. Siegel demonstrating her vocalese technique. She followed the serpentine tune expertly in a display of vocal gymnastics that was quite impressive. Mr. diMartino’s funky piano lines conjured up images of the late Bobby Timmons. The first set concluded with a Cuban Bolero inspired tune and a Stephen Sondheim composition showing the depth and range of Ms. Siegel’s repertoire.

Ms. Siegel continues to prove that she is in the upper echelon of vocal performers and at the Side Door she was in top form. Her fine band was completely in sync with her music. Happily the Side Door Jazz Club is a welcome addition to the CT jazz scene.

John di Martino's Trio "Turnaround": A Master Accompanist Shines in the Spotlight

John di Martino photo by Ralph A. Miriello  2013

The composer/pianist John di Martino has a reputation among vocalists in the know. The word is if you have a project and want to do something special, get this guy to arrange and play on your record. His well-deserved reputation for being the consummate accompanist/arranger comes from a deep and abiding love and respect for the lyric of a good song.  A superb technician, John’s training with two pianists Jimmie Amadie and  Lennie Tristano, and later briefly with the saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, gave him a deep rooted sense of  time, space and the judicious use of notes. But it was listening to vocalists that his mother would play for him as a youngster in Philadelphia that made him deeply sensitive to the lyrics and the emotional impact they could have on a song. Tristanto would make di Martino sing the solo parts of great horn players to learn phrasing, the key to emotional content. It was a lesson that stuck .

John took his talent and his love of lyric and found work in the then thriving Atlantic City casino scene of the nineteen eighties, where his trio became the house band for the now defunct Golden Nugget. He found himself playing behind a myriad of performers from Billy Eckstine to Keely Smith, sometimes backing the vaudevillian shtick of a comedian like Milton Berle or comping for R & B singer Chico DeBarge. Through it all he cultured a journeyman’s attitude, learning by necessity to play various kinds of music as the situation demanded. Instead of coping an attitude, judging  the music for its lack of complexity or creativity, he made it his practice to extract different values from each musical experience no matter how mundane. His love of Latin and Afro-Cuban music and his ability to absorb its rhythmic nuances landed him extended gigs in the bands of percussionist Ray Barretto and later the drummer Bobby Sanabria.  As the word spread about this unassuming pianist who could deftly make any singer sound better, di Martino became a sought after partner by vocalists, especially jazz vocalists. He has worked with Billy Eckstine, Jon Hendricks, Janice Segal, Giacomo Gates, Freddy Cole, Gloria Lynne  and Grady Tate to name a few. So it was with great curiosity that I decided to listen and review one of John’s recent works, this time as a leader on Turnaround  his recent cd  from 2012.

John di Martino Trio Turnaround KD10017

Turnaround is a piano trio album consisting of thirteen songs, mostly under-recorded gems that John believes are fertile material for further exploration. The trio is as tight and interactive as there is in jazz, with bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Alvin Atkinson providing superbly intuitive accompaniment and support.  For a musician who is often found on the sidelines of somebody else's project, John’s out front playing on Turnaround  is a revelation.

On the title tune, Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround,” di Martino  plays the staccato theme with a touch of McCoy Tyner percussiveness and a fluidity that is impressive . Despite the Blues roots of this song, John  creates an outpouring of ideas that never cease to surprise and often stirs in the listener an emotional response. Atkinson’s gentle stick and rim work is sublime and Kozlov’s plump bass lines suspend in the air like billowy cumulus clouds hanging on a blue horizon creating a cohesive sound.

On the neglected , depression- era Jay Gorney composition, “Brother Can You Spare A Dime” John and his trio set off on a loosey- goosey jaunt reminiscent of the brilliant Hampton Hawes trio of the mid-nineteen fifties. The trio of Hampton Hawes on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and Chuck Thompson on drums, could make the music flow with an unvarnished honesty and supple  buoyancy that was unmatched creating magic. The carefree, inhibition to swing that Kozolv, Atkinson and di Martino demonstrate here is not easily achieved. The interactivity of this group is impressive, they create their own kind of magic. Boris Koslov’s walking bass lines echo some of Red Mitchell’s work and Atkinson’s brushes subtly maintain that steady, unerring swing with deceptive ease .Like Hawes, Di Martino’s playing emits an air of joyfulness that is genuine.

Mr. di Martino has a library of unheralded songs that he likes to draw from and one such piece is the soulful    “The Sun Died” from the Ray Charles repertoire. This bittersweet shuffle is made all the more poignant by Koslov’s mournful bass lines and John’s piquant keyboard work. The album features two Billy Strayhorn tunes. On “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing ” Mr. di Martino transforms Strayhorn’s lament to a more uplifting tale with his use of Brazilian rhythms. John’s washboard-liker ostinato piano lines in the lower register are perfectly counterpointed by Atkinson’s regimentally cadenced snare and cymbal work.  The song sways its way in a genteel dance of sorts, as Mr. di Martino’s rhythmic piano lines pitter-patter across the melody line. Eventually Mr. Atkinson is given a chance to stir things up with a brief but potent string of poly rhythms ending in a abrupt climax.

Another unearthed lost gem is “Moon and Sand.” John ‘s sensitive playing exemplifies  the beauty of this tender ballad.  Di Martino and Kozlov have a special chemistry playing off each other’s ideas, made possible by John’s knack for inspired arrangements. You can hear snippets of different vaguely familiar songs in John’s playing, the man is steeped in the history.  He meanders through  lines of a song each time  like he is rediscovering anew.

On Eddie Harris’s “Cold Duck Time” John captures the flavor of Harris’ funky style, with touches of the Ramsey Lewis sound surfacing in his playing. This is just plain get-down fun and has you nodding your head to the beat.  What becomes apparent is the versatility of John’s playing. He is a chameleon of sorts who has the ability to adapt to a variety of styles while retaining his own voice, but at its core his music possess an underlying sense of enjoyment, the man revels in playing music.

John taps into the Richard Rodgers songbook with “If I Loved You” and “Falling in Love With You”  giving both song's tender treatments. He also does a  stirringly l inventive turn on the movie theme to “Black Orpheus.”

The more contemporary Stevie Wonder composition titled “I Can’t Help It,” is turned sideways by arranging the song using a Latin rumba rhythm.  The composition features a fleet bass solo by Kozlov and the soft touch of Atkinson on toms and snare.

John di Martino and Bassist Ed Howard
photo by Ralph A. Miriello  2013

The album ends with other Strayhorn tune “Passion Flower” played as a somber dirge with Atkinson’s muffled toms recreating an Ellington-era sound. Di Martino’s piano is particularly romantic in its approach and. Kozlov’s arco bass solo is achingly evocative. “Sweet Pea” would approve.

With Turnaround, The John di Martino Trio establishes itself as a force to be reckoned with and John’s stature  as a superb pianist and arranger is further cemented  adding to his already confirmed credentials as one of the business’ best accompanist.