New review in from New York City Jazz Record Phil Freeman - January 2015 Things of that Particular Nature Duane Eubanks Quintet (Sunnyside) Trumpeter Duane Eubanks, younger brother of trombonist Robin and guitarist Kevin, hasn’t made an album as a leader in well over a decade. For this one, he’s assembled an impressive band: tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton, keyboardist Marc Cary, bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Eric McPherson. Vibraphonist Steve Nelson guests on two tracks. The compositions are all Eubanks originals, save a version of Mulgrew Miller’s “Holding Hands”; the trumpeter served in the pianist’s band for years, beginning in the ‘80s. The first track, “Purple, Blue and Red”, was originally recorded on drummer Jeff Williams’ 2001 album Another Time while the closing cut, “Slew Footed”, is a reworking of a piece from Eubanks’ last disc under his own name, 1999’s Second Take. Nearly all the compositions are strongly focused on melody and structured like songs rather than formal or technical exercises. The sole exception is the stuttering, funky “Dance With Aleta”. It would be easy for a singer to deliver lyrics on almost any track here. This is an ideal setting for a player like Eubanks, whose solos tend toward the lyrical and have a vibrant energy, particularly on ballads. In some ways, his playing— and the overall sound of the group—recalls Woody Shaw’s albums of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s: highlevel music with a muscular, contagious energy. Everyone he’s hired to back him is on his level: Burton blows hard, but never goes all the way out into honking and splattering; Cary’s touch on the piano is as deft as it is strong; Douglas and McPherson swing hard, but are just as capable of turning a ballad into a softly wafting mood piece. Things of that Particular Nature isn’t a revelation—nobody here’s trying to reinvent the wheel. But with its focus on melody and its relative concision (6 of its 10 tracks are under five minutes long; three of them are under four), it offers great pleasure to most any jazz fan. For more information, visit sunnysiderecords. This project is at Smalls Jan.29th
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 22:46:46 +0000
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