Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The SF Jazz Collective mixes the lineup a little bit and tackles Thelonious Monk on these CD's. Dave Douglas is in the trumpet chair, and he definitely brings a different feel than Nicholas Payton - he's less bluesy, more angular. The first CD has 12 Thelonious Monk songs, and then six of the eight Collectivists write the 8 songs on the second CD. The CD opens with "Brilliant Corners", and the band is tight. It has little of the awkwardness on Monk's original. For all I know, though, some of the octet have been playing the song their whole jazz lives. "Epistrophy" is a Monk chestnut handled with swing and spiced with good solos. "Crespuscule With Nellie" is played straight throughout. "Criss Cross", "Bye-Ya", and "I Mean You" are all strong. "I Mean You" stretches out a little bit. On previous SF Jazz CD's the songs often went 8-12 minutes. They consciously decided to keep the lengths a little closer to Monk's original versions. "Ugly Beauty" is the first in a series of less-familiar Monk songs to end the CD. "Ugly Beauty" and "Reflections" are my least favorite of the Monk half of the CD. "Oska T" is especially strong. "Homin' In" is bright and bouncy, and "Bright Mississippi" ends the first disc on a good note.
Joshua Redman and Bobby Hutcherson don't have songs on the originals disc. Rather, Dave Douglas has three songs, which make up the "San Francisco Suite". "Haast Pass", written by Matt Penman, is a good modern-sounding mid-tempo tune. Miguel Zenon contributes "Life At The End Of The Tunnel", which has a fine melody but especially strong soloing. "Lion's Gate" is by Renee Rosnes, and it's also a sharp tune. Andre Hayward's "Peace Offering" is a slower song, and it has a nice melody, but one strike against it is that it reminds me of a TV theme song. I don't know which one - I imagine I'd have to hear "Lion's Gate" and the TV song back-to-back, which will never happen. The Dave Douglas suite consists of three songs, each about six minutes long. "Alcatraz" is the best part, it has the most memorable melody, and an edgy feel. "Ameoba" is more diffuse, then "Assisi" ties things up nicely. Eric Harland's "Union" has the hottest moment on the CD where the horns are playing a dense polyrhythmic part and the drums drop out entirely.
You can definitely say the SF Jazz Collective did it again. I strongly recommend these CD's. This is the best of 2007.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Live 2007 - 4th Anuual Concert Tour - Original Compositions & Works By Thelonius Monk
Disc 1: Works by Thelonious Monk 1. Brilliant Corners (5:56) - arranged by Renee Rosnes2. Epistrophy (5:38) - arranged by Miguel Zenon3. Crepuscule with Nellie (4:38) - arranged by Matt Penman4. Criss Cross (4:21) - arranged by Dave Douglas5. Bye-Ya (3:29) - arranged by Joshua Redman6. I Mean You (8:02) - arranged by Eric Harland7. Ugly Beauty (5:09) - arranged by Joshua Redman8. San Francisco Holiday/Worry Later (3:59) - arranged by Miguel Zenon9. Osaka T (7:00) arranged by Renee Rosnes10. Reflections (4:45) arranged by Dave Douglas11. Hornin' In (5:33) arranged by Dave Douglas12. Bright Mississippi (5:02) arranged by Matt Penman1. Haast Pass (14:08) - Matt Penman (Penperson Publishing, ASCAP)2. Life at the End of the Tunnel (10:31) - Miguel Zenon (Mazenon Music, BMI)3. Lion's Gate (9:59) - Renee Rosnes (Native Colors Music, BMI)4. Peace Offering (9:22) - Andre Hayward (Drebone Music, ASCAP)San Francisco Suite - Dave Douglas (Noenmity Music, BMI)5. Alcatraz (6:09)6. Amoeba (6:52) 7. Assisi (6:09)8. Union - Eric Harland (Dusean Publishing, SESAC)Limited edition of 3000
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