Mason Razavi, Quartet Plus

Guitarist, composer, arranger Mason Razavi has it all going. He is a player of the guitar of great finesse and taste, not to mention solid technique. He plays a semi-hollow with minimal amplification at times, getting an almost classical tone but not precisely; other times he ups the volume a tad for that equally classic mainstream jazz sound. Either way he plays rather wonderfully well.

Then he writes some fine tunes and arranges them with excellent sensibilities.

You get all this on his album Quartet Plus (First Orbit Sounds 222). The title puts it to you: you get half the album with his lively quartet; the other half adds five horns for a bigger sound. The quartet includes some very nice playing from Bennett Roth-Newell on piano and keys, Dan Robbins on upright and electric bass, and Cody Rhodes on drums. These are very capable associates who negotiate the compositional nuances of the Razavi originals, swing and funk along as one would hope for, and solo when called upon with style and skill. Listen to Dan Robbins for example on "From Thoughts to Words" and you'll hear some excellent bass work.

Then the larger band pieces come through with great part writing and a flourish.

Most of all there is the showcase of Razavi as guitar enchanter, a player who picks his notes wisely and comes through with the classicism of Benson, Burrell, maybe Hall, a subtle way but soulful too when he chooses and the music fits it. There's a little boppishness and lots of postbop.

It's a fine album on every count. Mason Razavi is serious! Seriously good. Seriously talented.

Ratko Zjaca, Croatian Guitarist

Another guitarist you may not know by name: one Ratko Zjaca, a Croatian practitioner of the plectral arts. For his album Continental Talk (In & Out 07588) he assembles a worthy gathering of Randy Brecker on trumpet, Stanislav Mitrovic on tenor and soprano, John Patitucci on acoustic bass, and drummer stalwart Steve Gadd. They congregate around the microphones for a nice set of Zjaca originals, modern jazz of the straight-ahead sort. The songs and their changes go from simple blowing tunes to more sophisticated items, melodically and sometimes harmonically speaking.

Everyone sounds quite good. Ratko can play a ravishing, changes-based solo with mellow chordal voicings and lines of good provinence. Or he can crank out bluesy pentatonic sorts of things, especially on the rock tinged numbers. They can get into a rather advanced rhythmic and harmonic world, as in "Inner Ears." But when it comes to the soloing Ratko sticks mostly to the soulful post-Benson lines with a few odd ravishing chords here and there.

Mr. Zjaca is a fine guitarist, surely. The twelve numbers on this set give ample evidence. It is a most pleasant listen. Sometimes even more than that. Thank you Ratko.

Adam Schroeder Bops the Baritone

In the right hands the baritone sax has an assertive quality, a percussiveness, and a richly timbred lower presence that is unique. With the sound comes responsibility. You play it, you have to drag the cumbersome, lumberous case from gig to gig. When Sonny Stitt was asked why he gave up the baritone in the '50s, he replied "I got tired of lugging the thing around."

Thankfully there are those who are still willing to do that. Adam Schroeder is one of them. Judging from the evidence of his CD A Handful of Stars (Capri 74103-2) we can be happy that he does. If the spectral shades of Serge Chaloff and Pepper Adams were capable of checking out this disk, they would be too. Not that he directly clones their playing style. But there's a muscular robustness and a hard-swinging bop orientation he shares with them. Stars showcases a fine quartet: Schroeder with drummer Jeff Hamilton (who mainstreamers will no doubt know from his various efforts in the fold), bassist John Clayton, and guitarist Graham Dechter. More on the latter in a minute.

This is good blowing and hard swinging. There is a mix of standards and bopping originals. It's an album that could have been made many years ago, but that is no drawback if you love the style. Of course, the other side of the coin is that this is not music on the cutting-edge. You understand that. I need not say it. (Since I did though, I'll leave it in the paragraph anyway.)

Schroeder is in great form; Dechter plays nicely wrought chordal and single note lines that show his roots and dexterous imagination. He makes a great foil for the baritone artistry of the leader. The whole session swings nicely. It's something to get the toes tapping and the body and soul grooving. Baritone fans will be especially pleased, for Adam Schroeder can play it!

Bassist Harvie S and His "Cocolamus Bridge" Recording

Today marks posting number 401. That means that between this and my two other sites, plus Cadence, I've reviewed well over 1000 CDs in the last couple of years. Am I tired? It's Monday morning; otherwise, not tired.

Acoustic bassist Harvie S has been doing a marathon of his own. He can claim more than 350 CDs that he has been a part of, as bassist, as co-leader, as leader. Of course there's always a reason for such things. He can play! And he can play with all kinds of people, whether it be Kenny Barron, James Brown, or Jane Ira Bloom.

And when he gets a chance to play his own music, it means that that much more of his playing prowess is out front, as are his writing and leadership abilities. Cocolamus Bridge (Blue Bamboo 014), his latest, gives you all of that. The sextet assembled for this date has range and some drive. Guitarist Chris Cortez plays jazz guitar with a capital /J/. He's the sort that can give out with some nice lines seemingly whenever called upon to do so. Tenor-soprano Woody Witt is another one that plays the current mainstream style with flair. Jose Miguel Yamal gives you some impeccable Latin piano. Joel Fulgham and James Metcalfe, drums and percussion, particularly get popping on the Latin numbers as well. There's a decent assortment of Latin originals, some fine showcases for Harvie's bass soloing (most notably on the opening traditional folk song "Eili Gheal Chiuin"), and an interesting bass and soprano version of Wayne Shorter's "Night Dreamer."

This is an album acoustic bass aficionados will enjoy for the nuances of Harvie S's versatile approach. Those who dig Latin jazz of a cooking sort yet with a somewhat cool edge at times will also get with this one.