All told, this is a consistently good effort, providing solid grooves that are edgy enough to avoid the "smooth jazz" tag, but contemporary enough to pull in listeners outside of the straight jazz crowd. Certified Organic became available on July 22.
Antonio Ciacca Quintet Rush Life
This CD is what the Director of Programming for jazz at the Lincoln Center has been doing in his spare time lately. German-born, Italian-raised pianist Antonio Ciacca has played with or studied under an exhausting list of jazz notables: Art Farmer, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman, Kenny Barron, Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jaki Byard, Steve Lacy, etc., etc. After heading three releases with overseas labels, Ciacca is finally making his proper American debut with the domestic label Motema Music.
The music contained within this CD doesn't break any new ground for jazz, but it's an urbane blend of Oscar Peterson and Art Blakey, with a touch of Euro-jazz sensibilities thrown in. Antonio's five-piece band is filled out with Kengo Nakamura on bass, Rodney Green on drums, Stacy Dillard on tenor sax and Joe Magnerelli on trumpet.
The nine selections contain mostly Ciacca's advanced compositions supplemented by three covers. "The Great Squazin" lightly swings much in the same way Chick Corea's "Tones For Jone's Bones" does. "Chippewa" includes a lengthy middle section that borrows from "Cherokee." Magnerelli puts in a choice trumpet solo on the sophisticated bop of "Flat 5 Flat," and is highlighted even more on the old, forlorn standard "I Remember Clifford." Meanwhile, Dillard's tender tenor is featured on "Rush Life." Throughout it all, Ciacca's highly nuanced playing serves to uplift his unit, not upstage them.
The Rush Life CD is planned for a October 30 release, but is already available in digital form at Motema Records' website.
"Quickies" are mini-record reviews of new or upcoming releases, or "new to me." Some albums are just that much more fun to listen to than to write about.
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