Lenny Sendersky, Tony Romano, Desert Flower

If I am a little late posting on this one, I apologize to the artists. It's not because the album today is less worthy. I've been pummeled with promos so much that my on-deck stacks have been in need of serious pruning. This one slipped into limbo as a result. Nonetheless this is solid.

I speak of course of the co-led Lenny Sendersky-Tony Romano group and their album Desert Flower (LeTo). Lenny plays alto and soprano, Tony is on acoustic classical guitar. They gather together a hip congregation of heavies in Steve LaSpina on upright bass, and Matt Kane at the drums. Then they add some guests of note for two cuts each--the inimitable Randy Brecker on trumpet, vibes vet Joe Locke and singer Cleve Douglass.

The main attraction are the co-leaders. Each supplies four originals and they are tuneful, harmonically active ones that set the table well for soloing. A standard, "Nature Boy" is there. And then there's a not-so-well-known Duke Ellington number, "My Fathers Island." The very out-front, original vocals of Cleve Douglass makes this song come very much alive. I'd play it if I had a radio show.

Lenny gives us a gorgeous tone and he has good ideas. Tony has a very well-schooled mainstream bossa-to-postbop versatility that comes through in artistic ways. He is someone to hear, surely.

The band cooks, solos are sparkling, and in the end one feels satisfied that good jazz has happened.

Nice one!

The Matthew Finck-Jonathan Ball Project, It's Not That Far

Matthew Finck, guitarist in the afterimage of Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino and beyond, in chording and lining, a monster of sorts...Jonathan Ball, a saxman (mostly tenor) of excellent tone and soul, hip and well in advance of a copycat mode. They collaborate to excellent advantage on the Matthew Finck-Jonathan Ball Project. Their album is called It's Not That Far (self-released).

It brings together the prodigious tuneweaving and playing of Jonathan and Matthew, adds trumpet-flugel master Randy Brecker for three cuts, and backs it all up with a very swinging rhythm section of Jay Anderson and Adam Nussbaum, bass and drums.

What is cool is how they channel the hard bop tradition to a contemporary world. This is real-deal driving jazz. Finck is a heavy and Ball stays with him all the way. The band and the tunes are something you appreciate more and more as you listen--or I did at least. If you are a guitarist Finck is going to kill you on all kinds of levels. But it isn't "just" a guitarist's album--it's for the music, it's for all the cats here and what they do. Ball makes me smile when he plays. Because he has the interesting notes and the hip sound. He and Jonathan are a matched set.

More! Encore!

Jake Hertzog, Throwback

Jake Hertzog plays an infectious, brash kind of jazz-rock on his album Throwback (Zoho 201314). It's jazz-rock that takes on electric and acoustic components naturally, with style. The ensemble is excellent, with Jake on electric guitar, Randy Brecker on trumpet and flugel, Harvie S on bass and Victor Jones on drums and electric drums.

The material is original Hertzogian and has rock-jazz melodiousness and changes or riff chord rock things. Both modes work well for high-voltage burning and some quieter balladisms.

Randy sounds excellent as always but seems to rise to this music--not surprising because he came up and thrived in this sort of zone. Harvie S and Victor Jones kick it like crazy.

And Jake Hertzog comes across as a very versatile player who can chord it with real grace or solofire in ways that burn but originally, not like somebody else really.

It's a lot of good music to be heard. And Jake has a vision that comes across. The fire of rock, the finesse of jazz. Good going.