1
. Top Shelf
2. Sweet Pumpkin
3. Aussieology
4. Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues
5. Moonlight in Vermont
6. Tiny Capers
7. The Best Thing for You
8. Spontaneous Combustion
9. By Myself
10. My Romance
11. Whisper Not
12. East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)
13. A Parisian Thoroughfare
Warren Vaché - Cornet, vocals
John Allred - Trombone
Tardo Hammer - Piano
Nicki Parrott - Bass
Leroy Williams - Drums
The dictionary defines "top shelf" as "of a high quality" and that certainly applies to this outing by the Warren Vaché-John Allred Quintet. Gratified by the playing on their previous release for Arbors - Jubilation - Vaché and Allred looked to continue their symbiosis, but wanted a different musical premise. Consequently there is a bebop flavour to this release, which is a swinger from start to finish. With an unusual cornet/trombone front line, supported by a rhythm section that as a group and separately pushes and prods the horns, the overall effect is brilliant.
This thirteen-tune project charges out of the gate with four terrific pieces led by Blue Mitchell's title track Top Shelf, then Ronnell Bright's Sweet Pumpkin, followed by bassist Nicki Parrott's Aussieology which is a riff on Charlie Parker's Ornithology, and then one of Monk's lesser known and played offerings Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues .In each case the softer tone of Vaché's cornet meshes beautifully with Allred's trombone whether they are playing in unison or under/over each other. Tardo Hammer's piano delivers unwavering support with adroit comping and solos which add a marvellous texture to the quintet.
The ballad Moonlight In Vermont is a showcase for the subtle and sensitive trombone of John Allred. Coming as he does from a musical family with father Bill a highly regarded trombonist, it is not surprising John is such a gifted player. What is startling is that he is so under-appreciated and generally under-recorded in relation to many of his contemporaries. A couple of jazz greats provide the framework for some creative improvisation by Vaché and Allred, starting with the Clifford Brown tune Tiny Capers which takes the pair into an interplay mode and then a Cannonball Adderley piece Spontaneous Combustion which is a blues head offering that gives the quintet room to stretch out. Vaché then makes the most of the Rodgers & Hart standard My Romance which confirms his place as an identifiable and adroit jazz player. Of the remaining tracks, the Benny Golson warhorse Whisper Not, which has been covered by almost every jazz group, is played with sizzle and flair that belies its age. Also there is a delightful rendition of East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) with bassist Nicki Parrott as a featured vocalist. She has a light but interesting voice and gives a very discerning reading to the tune (the liner notes incorrectly attribute the vocal to Warren Vaché but the label confirms it is Parrott).
This disc is almost certainly one of the best new issues of 2010 and deserves wide recognition.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Arbors Jazz ARCD 19399
