McClenty Hunter Jr.'s The Groove Hunter

What do you want to know about this McClenty Hunter Jr. fellow? That he's been a big part of the New York City jazz scene over the last decade? That he's one of those contemporary jazz drummers who's also a composer and arranger, which sounds rarer than it actually is? That talented jazz guitarist Dave Stryker took McClenty under his wing and taught him a few things about production and decided that this new CD, The Groove Hunter, would introduce an original, exciting new force to the world of jazz?

I'm sure all of that is true, or at least partially true. All I can tell you is that I stuck this in my CD player, pressed play and immediately said "wow." Hunter, who has played in Stryker's trio for the last eight years, has put out a classic jazz album. By classic I mean old-fashioned, something Rudy Van Gelder might have recorded fifty years ago. That's surprising since Stryker is a thoroughly modern jazz performer. He can do classic as well, but he's more comfortable in his own space playing a mean and edgy electric guitar in order to create a jazz that's just a few doors down from the blues. But The Groove Hunter is different. Perhaps it'll remind you of Cannonball Adderley's Something Else, all soft and lyrical in its inspiration. Perhaps Stacy Dillard's up-front sax will remind you of Coltrane or Wayne Shorter. The point is, this is the kind of jazz that sounds like it was discovered in a vault somewhere. It has the Blue Note sound coming out of its pores.

I know--this is Hunter's album and not Stryker's, and that's why it sounds so different than Stryker's last few albums. Hunter seems to be a traditionalist, which is what draws this music out from the past. He covers Shorter's "The Big Push," Coltrane's "Countdown" and Herbie Nichols' "Blue Chopsticks" with a proper degree of reverence and even trots out a beautiful version of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl" that might have been covered by one of the great jazz ensembles of yore. He blends in a few of his own compositions in a smooth, surreptitious way that makes it all flow. He does all the right things, and best of all he's the drummer. That means he's keeping time, providing the momentum and letting his cohorts --Dillard, pianist Eric Reed, bassist Corcoran Holt, trumpeter Eddie Henderson and a few special guests including Stryker--take their turn in the spotlight.

Listening casually, you might assume that McClenty's playing the sax, or the piano. That's how generous he is with that spotlight. But scoot forward and listen to his percussion. He's soft, he's dynamic, he's the musical center even when he's hanging back. In fact, Hunter is known for the exquisite way he handles the brushes, with shuffle grooves that have deep layers of decay. Fortunately, the recording is wonderful and captures all these details in a sweet, open way. And when Hunter starts letting it rip, your heart will start pounding. This is an exciting album, full of beauty as well as fire; it's old-fashioned in the best way imaginable.

Dave Stryker's Eight Track II on CD

Dave Stryker's Eight Track II sounds sort of like Paul Schaffer's band on the Letterman Show--not the CBS Orchestra but the smaller ensemble that played back in the NBC days. I'm not saying that as any sort of diss. It's just that ten seconds into the first cut, an ebullient yet smooth cover of the Isley Brothers' "Harvest for the World," you'll easily imagine Paul hovering over his keyboards, head bobbing in rhythm, while the other three or four musicians on that little side stage play with oodles of their trademark confidence and professionalism. Part of this vibe comes from heavy doses of Jared Gold's Hammond B-3, but a surprising amount comes from the addition of Steve Nelson's vibraphone which serves the same role as Paul's second and third set of keyboards.

Eight Track II, in other words, isn't moody and soulful like Kind of Blue. It's bubbly, energetic and whimsical, the kind of music you might hear at one of those big fancy parties where everyone is dressed to the nines and yet not afraid to work up a sweat on the dance floor. From the title you'll quickly figure out that this is a follow-up--Stryker's first entry back in 2014 picked up on a novel idea to cover pop classics of the '70s with a jazz trio plus vibraphone. (Bass duties are covered by the B-3 pedals.) On the second pass, Stryker and his guitar expand the repertoire with very intriguing choices, everything from Prince's "When Doves Cry" to Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" to even Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." It would seem like a gimmick if Stryker and his band didn't have the chops to carry it off.

Here's the funny thing about this album--those Schaffer parallels are strong in the beginning but they start to melt away about halfway through. The band's take on John Barry's theme from Midnight Cowboy would probably sound a little too reflective coming back from a commercial break, but from there it seems that McClenty Hunter's drums take over and build momentum through the end of the album. The result is somewhat schizophrenic--the familiar themes are introduced in the beginning of each tune and you nod your head affirmatively and think, oh now they're doing The Zombies of Stevie Wonder or The Temptations and then the solos start and those novel feelings get swallowed up in a fury of skillful improvisation.

The fantastic sound quality will also win you over. I'm especially fond of Hunter's crisp and explosive drumming throughout the album, and there's nothing quite as thrilling as the decay from a vibraphone captured with accuracy. In fact, a lot of these jazz CDs I've been getting lately are following that pattern. From the next room I'm relatively unmoved by what sounds like mainstream modern jazz but then I move in closer and start discovering hidden depths, especially when it comes to how well these CDs are recorded. Eight Track II is a perfect example of this--I smirked through the first listen, fixating on the Schaffer similarities, but repeated listenings really won me over.