John Patitucci: One More Angel (1997)

Though One More Angel demonstrates bass-master John Patitucci's skills both as a composer and artist, in allowing others to contribute in both ways, Patitucci demonstrates a rare modesty that combines well with his musical role as a strong but subtle support rather than an overbearing titular lead. Featuring Impulse! artist Michael Brecker on tenor sax and Patitucci's wife Sachi on cello, in addition to pianist Alan Pasqua, tenor sax Chris Potter (who fills the role well in Brecker's absence), and drummer Paul Motian, Angel mixes noir-y slink and mournful silk to express sadness and strength through repetitive themes and flowing orchestrations. ~ Matthew Robinson, All Music Guide ”

Tracklist
01 - Quasimodo
02 - Arrival
03 - One The Hudson
04 - Sachi's Eyes
05 - San Michele
06 - One More Angel
07 - Romance
08 - Snowbound
09 - Notre Dame (Cathedral)
10 - Beloved
Personnel
Paul Motian - Drums
Alan Pasqua - Piano
Chris Potter - Sax (Tenor)
Steve Tavaglione - Sax (Soprano)
Thomas Patitucci - Guitar (Acoustic)
John Beasley - Synthesizer, Piano
Michael Brecker - Sax (Tenor)
John Patitucci - Guitar (Bass), Piccolo, Producer, Bass (Acoustic)
Sachi Patitucci - Cellor
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Paul Motian: Lost in a Dream (2010)

Once in a while, a jazz recording seems to announce itself as a "classic" from the first moment. Lost In A Dream is one such album. It documents the birth of a great new project, captured live at New York's celebrated Village Vanguard, with repertoire emphasizing Paul Motian's wonderful ballad writing. New Motian tunes are juxtaposed with older ones, and a free exploration of Irving Berlin's "Be Careful It's My Heart" completes a program distinguished by gloriously supple playing from all three participants who are in tune at a high level. Or, as the New York Times noted, reviewing the concerts from which this album was drawn: "The accumulated wisdom within the band was clear." Master drummer Motian (born 1931) is heard here with two much younger musicians: saxophonist Potter (born 1971, and with whom he shares already a long playing history), and pianist Moran (born 1975, with whom he had worked only once previously, in the context of a gig with violinist Jenny Scheinman in 2006). Motian noted Moran's particular idiosyncrasies and waited for the right context to deploy them, - he was especially taken with Moran's strong and active left hand figures which, in a trio context, could dispense with the necessity for a bassist. There is a cragginess in Jason Moran's piano playing that testifies to deep roots in Thelonious Monk, a quality that Motian - who played with Monk in the 1950s - was bound to identify with. Motian has a Monkish sense of stubborn independence: he remains the most unpredictable of drummers. In the flowing ballads of Lost In A Dream, Motian is as much a sound painter as a time-keeper. There is a lot of space in the music, used brilliantly by all three players. Chris Potter, long recognised as the one of the most outstanding saxophonists of his generation, delivers an extraordinarily inspired performance in the trio, playing with great emotional conviction. Each of the three musicians has a dedicated following. Moran's listenership has been expanded recently through much roadwork with Charles Lloyd's quartet (Lloyd's critically-hailed Rabo De Nube was Moran's ECM debut).

Tracklist:
01. Mode VI (5:09)
02. Casino (8:05)
03. Lost In A Dream (6:39)
04. Blue Midnight (6:09)
05. Be Careful It’s My Heart (2:58)
06. Birdsong (6:52)
07. Ten (4:30)
08. Drum Music (6:07)
09. Abacus (4:26)
10. Cathedral Song (6:29)
Personnel:
Chris Potter – tenor saxophone
Jason Moran – piano
Paul Motian – drums
Lost in a Dream
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Enrico Pieranunzi: Fellini Jazz (2003)

Italian pianist, composer, and arranger Enrico Pieranunzi has done something delightful and enlightening on Fellini Jazz: he has gathered together some of the brightest lights in American jazz -- all of whom who have a serious affinity for European music -- and formed a quintet for creatively interpreting theme music from the director's films. While most of the themes here were composed by Nino Rota, there are two original pieces that extrapolate from various melodic and harmonic schema in Rota's work. All of the music here, with the exception of the themes from Amarcord and City of Women (the latter composed by Luis Bacalov), comes from Fellini's films of the 1950s. There is a reason for this. The musical element in Rota's scores from these films was, at the very least, informed by the spirit of jazz. Using the great American musicians who came of age during the great Yankee discovery of Fellini's movies is a brilliant touch, as they become "actors" themselves in this musical drama. Not being Italian, and not being regular players of Rota's scores, they look at Pieranunzi's adaptations with a non-literal, gauzy, nearly surrealist view. And while some would argue that Pieranunzi is not on the same level musically with his collaborators as a pianist, and perhaps someone like Brad Mehldau or Fred Hersch might have been a better choice, they'd be wrong. Pieranunzi -- specifically because he brings the great Italian jazz tradition, with its deep reliance on lyricism and harmonic interplay, to the mix -- is the only player who could have pulled off the gig. This is a beautifully, movingly wrought album that is indeed a jazz date first, but one that is also not so far removed from the music of Fellini's cinema because of its reliance on impression, subtlety, grace, warm humor, and, of course, elegance. Two sets of liner notes accompany the set, one by Pieranunzi about the session and one from Ira Gitler about the films and Pieranunzi. Fantastic and breathtaking. ~ Thom Jurek

Tracklist

01. I Vitelloni;

02. Il Bidone,
03. Il Bidone;
04. La Citta Delle Donne;
05. Amarcord;
06. Cabiria’s Dream;
07. La Dolce Vita;
08. La Dolce Vita;
09. La Strada;
10. Le Notti Di Cabiria;
11. Fellini’s Waltz.
Personel:
Kenny Wheeler - Trumpet, Flugelhorn;
Chris Potter - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone;
Enrico Pieranunzi - Piano;
Charlie Haden - Bass;
Paul Motian - Drums.
Fellini Jazz
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