Lineage- Mike DiRubbo's "Way Out Northwest"

 

Mike DiRubbo-Way Out Northwest- Cellar Music

The alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo has been in the New York metro area honing his skill and obtaining important real-life experience for years. He is a product of the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT and was mentored by the great altoist Jackie McLean among others. McLean’s influence on the student’s sound is understandable, but DiRubbo’s alto sound is darker, less sharp-toned, more low register-based and just as stealthily honed as a slashing razor blade as his mentor's.  His alto saxophone has been heard on recordings by trombonist Steve Davis, pianists Larry Willis and Harold Mabern, and trumpeter Jim Rotondi, not to mention several albums as a leader.

His latest release, Way Out Northwest was released in July by Cory Weeds’ Cellar Label. The altoist first met producer Weeds after the two came in contact at a concert in New York back in 2006. The album Mike DiRubbo Quartet featuring Harold Mabern -New York Accent -Live at the Kitano was recorded and released shortly after. Importantly, Weeds and DiRubbo stayed in touch.  “Timing is Everything” -coincidently the title of one of DiRubbo’s compositions on the album- and so when Mike contacted Cory, the timing was indeed everything!

DiRubbo came to record with eight compositions. Two compositions were by mentors –“Song for My Queen” by South African pianist and one-time Hartt educator Hotep Idris Galeta, and trombonist Steve Davis’s “A Star to Chick” -plus six DiRubbo originals.

Mike suggested a change of venue from his NYC area and decided to record this album in Vancouver, British Columbia with an all-Canadian rhythm section.  The built-in cohesion and intuitive skills that pianist Tilden Webb, bassist Jodi Poznick and drummer Jesse Cahill brought to the recording as a seasoned trio was the magic sauce that made this session such a treat for both DiRubbo and producer Weeds.

The title and opening cut “Way Out Northwest” establish the hard bop drive that will be the prominent feature of this album. DiRubbo’s alto is strong, vibrant and hovers in the lower register. The theme is set and the rhythm section plays with a familiarity and comfort level that provides a floating carpet upon which DiRubbo’s saxophone sails. Tilden ‘s piano accompaniment is light and fluid. Poznick’s punctuating bass and Cahill’s roiling drum work offer the saxophonist a sympathetic one-two rhythmic punch that allows the altoist’s to showcase his probing style.

Mike DiRubbo (photo credit unknown)

The album follows with  “Striking Distance, “a modal piece that opens with a repeated line that sets the tension. DiRubbo’s alto is liquid and he adds short bursts of emotionally charged lines that raise the temperature. Cahill is given a short but potent feature that shows real kineticism.

“Song for My Queen” is a composition from one of DIRubbo’s Hartt School instructors, South African pianist Hotep Idris Galeta, who often played with Jackie McClean. The music was first recorded on the pianist’s album The Prophet from 1972 and integrates South African musical inspirations with modern jazz. There is a sweeping sense of swing mixed with reverence and Mike’s alto plays the melody with a clarion-like approach.  

“Jimbo” is a DiRubbo dedication to the trumpet player Jim Rotondi, who passed in 2024 ,and was one of the veteran players that saw the promise in the altoist. Rotondi joined DiRubbo on the front line of the altoist’s first album Keep Steppin’ from 2001. This easy, undulating melody is one of the most fetching on the album. Pozniak’s bass offers a plucky melodic solo of note.  DiRubbo’s alto is warmer, free-flowing, more tonally closer to the great Phil Woods on this one. You can feel the emotional connection that the altoist had to the lyrical trumpet player, and it makes for some enjoyable listening.

The album continues with the fine, moody “Late August.” DiRubbo’s lower register inclinations are perfectly suited for this one. He wails with emotion and delivers bursts of harmonically rich lines that never seem to be desperate. Tilden’s piano has a searching solo that fits the mood. This one leaves a lasting impression that DiRubbo is an altoist that something to say.

Tilden Webb, Jesse Cahill & Jodi Proznick (photo credit unknown)

The Steve Davis composition “A Star for Chick” could easily be a homage to the late pianist Chick Corea. Latin-inspired, the music has a driving bass line by Poznick and some propulsive drum work by Cahill. Tilden’s piano solo work is powerful. DiRubbo’s horn shears the air with some of his most sharply driven lines. His alto pierces the atmosphere with a take no prisoner’s appeal and Cahill’s drum work at the coda adds his own percussive notation.

“Timing is Everything” is a sauntering melody that could be DiRubbo’s comment on how this gig came about. There is a feel that DiRubbo is leisurely walking down a street when he eventually gets stopped and things change. The nonchalantly played alto has an easy listening swing, but this is no elevator music. There is an inherent dark tone to DiRubbo’s horn. Maybe things sometimes don’t go the way we had hoped, but his alto is serious and yet it never seems to forget to hold the promise of hope. Things change.

The final composition is DiRubbo’s homage to the pianist Harold Mabern titled “One for Mabes.” DiRubbo recalls that his first trip to Vancouver, BC was with Mabern. “I’m blessed to have spent so much time around him.” Opening with a repeating melodic line, “One for Mabs” is an energetic piece that seems to allow the band to percolate on a high level. DiRubbo plays with enhanced passion and piercing purpose. Cahill’s polyrhythmic drum feature cooks. DiRubbo’s alto is forceful and played with a reverence that is palpable and moving at the coda. 

If there is one theme throughout this album it is the concept of lineage. The world of jazz is often made up of brief encounters and lasting impressions between teachers, places, and between fellow musicians on the stage. DiRubbo found his relationships with McClean, Davis, Willis, Mabern, Rotondi and Galeta all to be memorable and important enough in his development to acknowledge them on this wonderful album Way Out Northwest.