Gene Bertoncini 1+1 = 2 BluePort Jazz CD Review Now Live on Positive Feedback Online

My review of Gene Bertoncini's splendid 1+1=2 CD for BluePort Jazz, first published right here, is now available on the Positive Feedback Online website at http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue61/Bertoncini.htm. Jim Merod of BluePort was very pleased with the review and requested that it be reprinted there. Thanks, Jim, and keep making those fantastic recordings!

The John Hicks Trio's Sunshower on CD

John Hicks' style of playing the piano is unusual. It's almost as if his wrists can rotate 360 degrees so his fingers can fly over the keys like paint rollers. The notes alternate between a beautiful flow and a halting, truncated churn, and this varying cadence sounds natural and almost animalistic in the way it seems so random and graceful at the same time. On his trio's new album, Sunshower, Hicks pays tribute to several of his favorite jazz pianists such as Bill Evans, Sonny Clark, Kenny Barron and Billy Strayhorn in front of an intimate live audience at the Adobe House just south of San Francisco. While he is able to invoke the spirit of these musicians through these tributes, he maintains his own sense of independence throughout. He's truly a unique and gifted musician.

Sunshower is another release on BluePort Jazz, a fantastic label from Jim Merod that uses minimalist recording techniques to achieve a live, natural sound. I've already reviewed a couple of CDs from BluePort in the last few weeks (which you can find here and here), so you can learn more about Jim and his label from those. Here, I want to concentrate on the music, which is just as sublime as it is on the other titles. You get a lot of it, too: these seven tracks last approximately an hour and twenty minutes, with the shortest song, the final "Strayhorn Melody," clocking in at seven and a half minutes. I'm not commenting on quantity over quality here--I'm just underlining the fact that the trio (which includes Roy McCurdy on drums and Bob Magnusson on bass) takes its sweet time developing the themes of these songs, digging deep and with passion.

It's hypnotic, as a collection of beautiful jazz ballads should be. That means--and I hope I don't get in trouble from Jim Merod for saying this--that I was constantly nodding off toward the end of many of these cuts, only to regroup and focus as each song came to its end. If it helps, I do the same thing every time I listen to Kind of Blue or Someday My Prince Will Come. It's simple enough, that this is dreamy, gorgeous music that makes you feel relaxed, and it's so well-recorded that you'll be thoroughly embraced by its warmth. Couple this lyricism with Hicks' churning, undulating and hesitant piano style and you'll feel like you're on a boat, bobbing up and down on the ocean. Nighty night.

The centerpiece of the album, the 18-minute title track, may be the only time you sit up straight and listen intently. Listen to how McCurdy's drums as they become more and more manic, and the cymbals become agitated and jumpy. This track is surprising in the way it builds and maintains suspense, like a good movie. On the next track, a 12-minute long medley of "Say It (Over & Over Again)" and "My Funny Valentine," really shows off the trademark Hicks sound. Playing solo for the first few minutes, Hicks will astound you with the way he can roll those magic fingers across the ivory like no one else you've heard, even as he's trying to evoke memories of other pianists.

Like every other BluePort Jazz CD I've reviewed, this one sounds magnificent. It's quite remarkable that each one of these CDs sounds so different in terms of music, from Gene Bertoncini's quiet and captivating guitar in 2+2=1 to the ambitious and dynamic merging of Billie Holliday and Dinah Washington in the Anthony Smith Quartet's The Lady & the Queen. At the same time, there's a confident calm that underlies all of them, a commitment to the sound of a live performance. I can't wait to hear more.

Gene Bertoncini's 2+2=1 on BluePort Jazz CD

Gene Bertoncini is one of the rare jazz guitarists who favor emotion over technique; his style perfectly illustrates how the body of a performer can physically connect to the body of his instrument and produce a unique sound. In my personal life I'm literally surrounded by guitarists, both amateur and professional, and so many of them favor speed and precision over a truly distinctive sound. I've always been one to champion a signature, a certain timbre that defines an artist, and Bertoncini excels at this. On his new BluePort Jazz CD, 2+2=1, he performs a variety of standards from such composers as Ennio Morricone, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Duke Ellington and more, and the combination of flesh, wood and nylon sounds like no one else on this planet.

Bertoncini is a generous enough musician, however, to share the stage with a couple of worthy colleagues--hence the album's subtitle of "a solo and two duos." While the first four tracks are Gene alone, the next five are augmented by fellow guitarist Mandell Lowe. Lowe provides an amplified counterpoint to Bertoncini's pure acoustic sound, and these middle tracks are revelatory in the way they show the different ways in which an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar occupy space--especially when played side by side. On the final three tracks, bassist Bob Magnusson joins in and is placed almost directly behind Bertoncini in a way that reinforces the former's guitar playing in a seamless manner.

This is the third CD I've reviewed from Jim Merod and his wonderful BluePort Jazz label, and again it qualifies wholeheartedly as a reference disc and exemplifies how the CD format is far from dead. Partnered with Len Miller of Soundstring Cable Technology, graphic designer Sharon Thompson and audio vanguard Steve McCormack (yes, that Steve McCormack), Jim has made a jazz guitar recording for the ages, one that is full of life and motion. Unlike many intimate audiophile recordings, this one is full of living, breathing artifacts from the recording that indicate the fact that actual human beings made it. Musicians breathe and move as they play, and those who are observing are far from motionless statues. (The final sections of this album were recorded live at a concert at Soka University.)

Merod also knows better than to hide the fact that these recordings were made in a variety of different venues and times. Collected throughout the latter part of 2008, Merod experimented with microphone placement to reflect each song and performer. As a result, 2+2=1 never sounds like one of those storied late night sessions that were captured in one take with all of the mistakes and diversions preserved. Rather, this is a meticulous chronicle of a performer who is known as a perfectionist--albeit one filled with emotion and humane sense of interpretation. This is highly recommended for all enthusiasts of intimate jazz recordings and audiophiles who are looking for the ultimate reference for acoustic jazz guitar.

You can purchase all of the BluePort Jazz titles here.

The Anthony Smith Quartet Plays "The Lady & the Queen" on CD

Another absolute gem from recording engineer Jim Merod and the BluePort jazz label, this CD and its accompanying DVD is an ambitious piece of music, accompanied by a "theatrical master text" that pays tribute to two of jazz's greatest songstresses--Dinah Washington and Billie Holliday. Based upon two 2009 performances that were originally played at the Lyceum Theatre in San Diego, Smith and his cohorts engage in a dynamic, seat-of-the-pants performance that capture both the similarities and differences between these two women.

These legends were both known for their enormous strength and conviction during their careers. While Lady Blue was known for enduring and ultimately succumbing to the tragedies that marked her career, Dinah was an authoritative, passionate singer who took charge and ruled her roost, which is how she earned her regal moniker. These contrasts are employed to create a performance which is full of opposites; tenderness is juxtaposed with pure and almost ecstatic energy that adds an emotional subtext that is uncommon in modern jazz.

Like the Fekete-Kovacs Quintet title I reviewed a few days ago, this CD also arrived courtesy of Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio. Dan is friends with Jim Merod and he wanted me to have another taste of the excellent sound quality that is quickly becoming a trademark of the BluePort releases. While the sound quality of this disc is nothing short of extraordinary, special mention must be made of the way the Richard Seller's percussion is recorded. His cymbals, in particular, have so much immediacy and presence that it's difficult to close your eyes and NOT pretend he isn't in the room. The sound of Doug Walker's bass is also smooth and warm and full and sounds almost like it was transported from another era. Smith's piano and Peter August's sax are up-front and cohesive; these lead instruments create a unified whole to the performance, even during the many solos.

This recording may be the first time I've seen cables so prominently credited in a production. Silversmith Audio Group, which is famous for its high-end cables, sponsored and produced this title, and the goal was to "capture the complete musical experience" by utilizing "the least amount of the finest equipment available" which also included T.H.E. Omni mics for the piano and bass and AKG 3000 cardioids for the drum and sax. No mixing boards or signal processors were used, and everything was fed into an Edirol R4 at 24/96. That's why this recording sounds so effortless and natural.

After hearing these two recordings from BluePort, all I can think about is how well they'll play at future trade shows. Since we're showing off CD players at these shows, I've found myself challenged to come up with little silver discs in my collection that can compete with the latest recordings that employ the latest digital advances. (I have plenty of LPs that can wow a crowd, in other words.) Now I can bring the latest CDs from BluePort and prompt listeners to ask, "What is that? Where can I buy it?" Highly recommended.