Guitarist Thom Rotella's "Side Hustle" A Magical Dynamic

Thom Rotella: Side Hustle: High Note Records

I have to admit, I am a sucker for good  jazz organ trio music. There is something so soulful about this music. The organ can strike you in a deeply visceral way that seems to be hard wired into your nervous system and to my way of thinking the guitar is perhaps the most perfect instrumental foil in this setting. It goes back to hearing the great matchings that we, the listeners, have been treated to over the years. 

Organist Pat Bianchi, in an article from Jazz Guitar Today from 2020, offered some dream or "matches made in heaven,"  combinations that stood out to him, "...focusing on the dynamic  between the guitarist and the organist."   Bianchi chose ten combos that did it for him. They include an eclectic group in no particular order: Grant Green/Larry Young, Joey DeFrancesco/Paul Bollenback, Melvin Rhymes/Wes Montgomery, Jack McDuff/George Benson, Don Patterson/Pat Martino, Jan Hammer/John Abercrombie, Larry Goldings/Peter Bernstein, Jimmy Smith/Kenny Burrell, Dr. Lonnie Smith/Jonathan Kreisberg, and Charles Earland/Melvin Sparks. As you can see there are many incendiary possibilities when you match two like-minded musical spirits. Of course there are many other combinations that could easily be considered in this same category. Bianchi's work with Pat Martino and Paul Bollenback come to mind, as does Dave Stryker's work with Jared Gold, Brian Charette's work with Ben Monder and Larry Young's fusion work with John McLaughlin.

Recently, I discovered another matching that seems to possess that same magical dynamic that can exist between the guitarist and the organist, Thom Rotella's latest release Side Hustle, on High Note Records. Despite the fact that the group Rotella takes into the studio is more expansive than the trio format, this tasty gem, matches  LA based guitarist Rotella with Columbus, Ohio based Bobby Floyd. Through eleven of the twelve compositions on this satisfying outing, Rotella and Floyd find an almost telepathic sense of how to play together in such a way that they seem to anticipate each others moves.

Rotella originally hails from Niagara Falls from a musical family where he took lessons from a local teacher, John Morell, who by chance previously taught studio guitar legend Tommy Tedesco. With Wes Montgomery and Tedesco as inspirations, Rotella eventually honed his skills and attended Berklee where he was taught by, amongst others, vibraphonist legend Gary Burton. By the early seventies, Rotella made his way into Los Angeles where he started becoming a regular in studio sessions. Eventually, he met Tedesco who showed his fellow Niagara native the ropes about that side of the music business. Rotella's talent eventually made him too a first call studio guitar artist on the LA music scene.

Bobby Floyd (photo credit unknown)

Organist and Ohio native Bobby Floyd, a new name to me, started playing piano at the age of two. From 1984-85, Floyd played piano and organ in Ray Charles' Band across Europe and US until he left when his daughter was born. Floyd took over the piano chairs for both the Columbus (Ohio) Jazz Orchestra in 2004 and  the Count Basie Orchestra in 2012 besides manning his own organ/piano trios.

Besides the obvious simpatico Rotella and Floyd have on this album, the music is propelled by drummer legend Roy McCurdy's unfailing groove, the percussive nuance of Lenny Castro and is accentuated by the inventive horn men, Eric Alexander on tenor and Jeremy Pelt on trumpet.

Catchy "Who Dat?" is a tasty Rotella composition that showcases the guitarist's mellow octave playing, a direct lineage to Wes Montgomery. Floyd's soulful organ solo captures this musician's ability to evoke heart-felt expression. Don't forget McCurdy's roiling addition at the coda. There's something here for everyone from an easy swinging "Love for Sale" that will have you tapping your feet and feelin' so good, to Rotella's bossa-like "Pick Pocket" which features some infectious percussion by Castro and blues tinged work by Rotella and Floyd.

Lenny Castro (photo credit unknown)

"Side Hustle" is the title Rotella composition that carries references from both Kenny Barron ("Voyage") and Wayne Shorter ("Speak No Evil"). This quick paced song offers an appearance by the talented tenor man Eric Alexander, who adds another effective voice to the mix of Floyd and Rotella. Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind" has a respectful, gospel-like organ intro from Floyd before Rotella takes the slow-burner into a blues-based journey that is sensitive and  precise. Floyd's organ replies in return with some scorching lines that announces the gospel lesson is over and the blues has arrived.

The album continues with two Rotella compositions. The angular "Not So as the three soloists feed off each other's ideas. The moody, loose feeling "Mr. Moontanda," features the trio, and offers some of Rotella's more adventurous solo explorations. This one simmers with an understated confidence. A quiet gem, Floyd is also inspired to expand on his solo by the noirish feel of this one.       

Marvin Gaye's "Don't Mess With Mister T." is a 70's soul based acknowledgment of tenor titan Stanley Turrentine's influence on the music. Castro's percussion and McCurdy's nuanced drum work set the breezy feel. Rotella gets a chance to release his own side of guitar soulfulness on this one and boy does he feel it here. Jeremy Pelt's muted trumpet and Floyd's modulating organ just compliment this smoky piece to perfection. Soulful blues that doesn't quit.

Roy McCurdy (photo by Leon James)

As if we needed a rejuvenating reminder of McCurdy's legendary shuffle, "Roy's Groove" give the album a joyous adjourn into pure groove. Rotella and Floyd are invigorated here and you can't help but feel that dance is in the air.

Tadd Dameron's "On A Misty Night" has a slow-paced vibe that has an inherent swing to it. Rotella's guitar is so breezy and loose here, effortless. Floyd always finds a way to come at his solo at a different angle that surprises but never strays too far. When these guys play in unison, you feel like they have been playing together for years.

The classic "Alone Together" always seems to make it to many guitarists' rotation. With a unique repeating, staccato-like entre line before these guys get into the familiar melody at a swinging pace, the trio also takes a decidedly different way of treating the arrangement along the way. There is a lot of inventiveness at display here, making this classic both modern and a vehicle for expansion. Floyd offers the first solo, accentuating the changes and making this a cooker at what is an accelerated pace, before Rotella gets his turn to offer his own angular solo . McCurdy's groove over Floyd's bass lines is the armature on which these guys operate and man do they feel it here.

The closing composition is a creative matching of two songs, Jaco Pastorius' "Three Views of a Secret" and Charles Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat." This arrangement is just soooo good it's hard to imagine why these two songs were never matched before. The opening has an eerie, ethereal feel with Rotella's airy, moaning guitar lines-reminiscent, to me, of some of John Abercrombie's work-being overdubbed by his own gently strummed chords. Jeremy Pelt's muted trumpet enters here, just perfect, like a Siren's hypnotic voice drawing you into to the expanse of the unknown.  Castro's percussion sets the pace with some modulating organ by Greg Karukas and drum work by Kendall Kaye. The organ slowly rises the intensity of the proceedings before handing it off to Rotella. Rotella's guitar pierces the air with some slow, piquant lines that build the tension with a master's grace and with a blues inspired bite that is unmistakable. Just beautiful. The music returns to the clouds with Rotella's guitar before the group play the progressively fading coda in unison, Pelt's urgent, muted trumpet in conversation with Rotella's wispy guitar. Side Hustle  will be on your repeat play cycle for some time. It's just that good to listen to.

Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt's # Jive Culture: Hipness meets Maturity

Jeremy Pelt photo by Sally Pritchard

When a new album comes out from an artist that you have listened to and appreciated, it is always a moment of anticipation when you play the first cut and see if it holds up to your expectations. I have been a fan of Jeremy Pelt’s playing for quite some time and when the opening notes of the lead off song “Baswald’s Place,” from Pelt's latest # Jive Cuture, hit my ears I knew I was in for a treat.  Pelt has a beautiful tone and his attack is precise and piquant. The interplay with the superbly swinging Billy Drummond on drums is a lesson in synchronous dynamism and of course the ever present foundation of the swing is laid down to perfection by the inimitable Ron Carter on bass.

Jeremy Pelt's #Jive Culture High Note # HCD7285

It is the opportunity to play with the great bassist Carter that made this date all the more special for Pelt. The mutual respect these two have is on brilliant display on Carter’s “Einbahnstrasse” a down home blues that features a potent solo by Carter and some lyrically responsive trumpet playing by Pelt. The song is the perfect vehicle for the group to simply strut its ability to swing.

On Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing,” Pelt’s beautifully Chet Baker-like solo floats on Drummond’s steady cymbal-driven beat and Carter’s full bodied, roaming bass lines. Pianist Danny Grissett comps to perfection behind Pelt before taking a gorgeous solo where he elegantly ventures off into his own extrapolation of the melody. It seems that the inclusion of the venerable Carter into the group has elevated the maturity level of all the players on this date, as they each play within the song to great effect.

The Dave Grusin/ Allan Bergman ballad “A Love Like Ours” is perhaps the piece de re.sis.tance of the entire album. This achingly beautiful song features Pelt’s lone voice at his most lyrically emotive, with the band playing behind him in a brilliant display of subtle complimentary playing at its finest. It doesn’t get much better than this.

As if to demarcate a change in approach, Drummond’s solo rolling drums open the second part of this album for almost two minutes before the group gets into the main theme of Pelt’s composition “The Haunting.” Pelt’s trumpet wanders around the core of the melody, often modulating the level of intensity with his horn as the band plays on. Carter is particularly active in his playing, peppering the loose swing provided by Drummond with a variety of accented notes and bends. Grissett plays an equally elusive solo.

The deceptively cadenced “Rhapsody” features a syncopated rhythmic vamp that Drummond and Carter produce in conjunction with the ethereal sounds of Grissett on Fender Rhodes. Pelt uses this throbbing groove to establish a floating, tension-building trumpet solo that escalates the drama in the song. Through a series of increasingly urgent sounds, Pelt creats the illusion of entering into the unknown until the song fades out into oblivion at the coda.

Opening with an unaccompanied solo piano introduction by Grissett that sets the alluring mood of “Akua,” is a slow, sauntering ballad, whose repeating vamp imprints in your brain long after you leave it. The film noir-like theme features Pelt’s poignantly muted trumpet and Grissett’s pensive piano work. Carter’s walking bass meanders with creative two-step in-fills that add to the feel of this sultry song.

The final song of the cd is another Pelt original titled “Desire,” an upbeat, loosely structured romp where the rhythm is turbulently played by Drummond creating a sense of unease. that is punctuated by Carter’s roving bass. Grissett and Pelt are both featured playing on the repeating vamp which is the armature around which they base their improvisational ideas. Grissett ventures off into unpredictable grounds on his solo before returning to the theme. Pelt is equally off to the wilderness with his probing trumpet only occasionally touching on the theme in some remote way before magically resolving back to it before the finale.

With #Jive Culture Jeremy Pelt has achieved that rare plateau where hipness meets maturity in one totally satisfying album.

Costumes Are Mandatory : Ethan Iverson with Lee Konitz, Larry Grenadier and Jorge Rossy

Ethan Iverson's Costumes Are Mandatory HCD 7249

With a shriveled and charred pumpkin face on the cover (photo by Julie Worden) one might find the cover art of Costumes Are Mandatory  holds a subliminal message. A worn out and used up octogenarian going through the paces of just another record gig. Ha! Dispel all such notions. This record  finds the eighty-five year old alto-saxophonist Lee Konitz playing in top form with his signature dry-ice tone and his measured economy of notes that somehow speaks volumes. The taciturn Mr. Konitz speaks with his horn only when necessary and when he does one should be inclined to sit up and listen or risk missing fleeting brilliance. Here, the hearty Konitz,  is joined by a stellar cast assembled by Ethan Iverson, of Bad Plus fame on piano.  Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums, the formidable original rhythm section of Brad Mehldau's trio, round out the bill.

The record was the brainchild of Mr. Iverson and includes two Konitz originals, some standards and some of Mr. Iverson's original compositions.The album is book ended by two versions of Mr. Iverson's "Blueberry Ice Cream."  Mr. Grenadier anchors this twelve bar blues with his full walking bass line over which, according to Mr. Iverson's liner notes, a reluctant Mr. Konitz plays his abstract, sparse blue lines to great effect and total enjoyment. On Mr. Konitz's "It's You,"  Mr. Iverson overdubs piano in an introductory nod to Lennie Tristano, Mr. Konitz's mentor. By his own admission, Iverson plays the piece in a Monk-like fashion. Konitz plays with a mute floating above a walking bass line by Grenadier and rambunctious interactive drum work by Rossy, something Tristano, who hated active drummers, would have undoubtedly scorned. Iverson and Konitz trace each others lines in a nice piece of synchronous interactive playing.  On Konitz "317 East 32nd Street,"  the Tristano-style is most evident in Iverson's playing. Iverson claims Konitz begrudgingly plays this one, albeit gracefully. After so many repeat performances over the years perhaps he has found it difficult to say anything more?

The highlights of the album are the ballads, played with such minimalism as to be beautiful in their unabashed, almost stark nakedness. On "Try a Little Tenderness" Mr. Iverson's piano is probing, ruminative and abstract while still retaining some thread to the melody. Mr. Konitz again uses a mute on his horn creating a nostalgically shrouded sound. On Bob Haggart's "What's New," Iverson creates an angular lead-in for Konitz to enter the song with his own oblique approach to the melody. His brut champagne-like notes linger over the deliciously languid lines of this superb rhythm section, creating a marvel of concise, liquid inventiveness. The piece de resistance is the beautifully imagined duet of "Body and Soul" with Larry Grenadier's full-bodied bass playing the perfect foil to Lee Konitz's meandering alto. Grenadier's work is simply superb; a warm and round display of virtuosity and precision tone. Mr. Konitz's roaming sound is at it's most delicate, allowing room for Mr. Grenadier's work to shine through. The last ballad is "My Old Flame" which features the eighty-five year old Mr. Konitz on a vocal scat that is quite unnerving. Following Mr. Grenadier's bass lines, Mr. Iverson's twangy piano string plucking and Mr. Rossy's  consortium of  muffled drum effects, in comes Mr. Konitz "do do do we"  high pitched scat. Gratefully he picks up his horn and renders a heartfelt solo that dances around the melody in his own inimitable way. Mr. Iverson and Mr. Grenadier both play sincere, poignant solos before Mr Konitz comes in again for a brief reprise.

Mr. Iverson and the trio, sans Mr. Konitz, are featured in much of the remainder of the album. On the Vincent Rose song "Blueberry Hill" a song made famous by Fats Domino in 1956, Mr. Iverson shows his creative juices are flowing, successfully deconstructing the rock and roll standby into a vehicle of musical abstraction and I might say surprising beauty.  The Lennie Tristano/Paul Bley influence shines through on Mr. Iverson's  "A Distant Bell"  which is a note filled semi-free piece that couldn't be further from Mr. Konitz's style. "Bats" is Mr. Iverson's metronomic homage to the abstract pianist Lennie Tristano. The style is walking piano bass lines with  floating drum rhythms by Mr. Rossy that seem to take the lead. "Mr. Bumi" is a homage to Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi which has Mr. Grenadier, who plays arco here, trading lines with Mr. Iverson in an counter-intuitive exchange. "My New Lovers All Seem So Tame"  finds Mr. Iverson plucking the strings of his piano in harpsichord-like manner; a strange song originally intended to be an intro to the following song "My Old Flame" which seems oddly out of place.

All in all  Costumes Are Mandatory is a wonderful body of music that more than makes up for some of its rough spots by offering moments of unvarnished beauty from a marvelously supple group of musicians and magical playing by Mr. Konitz, a living legend of his craft.

I could only find the short snippet above of Mr. Konitz with Mr, Iverson, Mr. Grenadier and Mr. Rossy, but here is a classic version of Lee doing "Body and Sou"l: from  Another Shade of Blue with pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Charlie Haden from 1999.