What made those classic albums so deeply satisfying was the common thread of the sound of masterfully inventive artists in their prime - wonderful musical portraits of great musicians in midst of the joy of spontaneous creation. Unfortunately recordings of that caliber come along much less frequently these days for a lot of reasons. This album, however, is a happy exception and you have in your hands the results of a great day in the Ecopark studios in the city of Hamburg, Germany in the summer of 2012.
A band with a two trombone front line is not very common in Jazz though there have been a number of noteworthy precedents, the most famous being the legendary Jay Jay Johnson and Kai Winding recordings that many Jazz fans will remember. This CD is not an imitation of those popular albums of 60 years ago - it clearly stands on its own featuring two of the finest trombonists today telling contemporary stories anchored in the roots and traditions of Jazz and modern american music.
Jerry Tilitz and Joe Gallardo are two american trombonists that come from opposite corners of the USA. Jerry was born in New York City and studied with Jazz luminaries pianist Lennie Tristano and the influential trombonist Curtis Fuller. He taught Jazz theory and analysis at Queensboro College and trombone at The Rotterdam Conservatory and has been awarded a grant for composition and performance from the prestigious U.S. National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Tilitz has hosted his own radio program in Germany called An American In Hamburg and written for Jazz Journal International and performed with the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Horace Parlan, Tom Harrell, Hank Jones, Roy Eldridge, Tete Montoliu, Benny Bailey, The Johnny Colon Orchestra, Jim McNeely, and Arnie Lawrence just to drop a name or ten.
Joe Gallardo on the other hand was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and chose the trombone as second instrument after the piano. He studied composition and music education and was a member of the Luis Alcaraz and Stan Kenton orchestras. Joe worked for Nelson Riddle, Peggy Lee, and Sammy Davis before joining Mongo Santamaria in 1974 and writing the title piece of the Grammy-winning album „Amanecer“. Joe also has played with Mel Lewis, Kai Winding, Benny Bailey and several other jazz and latin artists. He recorded several albums as a sideman and leader and was a member of Peter Herbolzheimer‘s „Rhythm Combination and Brass”. Jerry met Joe when the latter began his tenure as lead trombonist of the NDR Big Band in Hamburg and became professor for jazz trombone at Hamburg‘s "Hochschule für Musik und Theater“. Shortly afterwards Jerry invited Joe to join his four trombone band "Raging Bones“ and they have performed together many times since then in various groups.
On this recording date the trombonists team up with some very fine musicians indeed. Pianist Paul Kirby is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland and lived and worked in NYC while receiving his Masters degree from Rutgers University and he currently teaches Jazz Piano at the University of Seoul in North Korea. Bassist Martin Zenker was born in Munich and studied in the United States and has worked with folks like Jimmy Cobb, Billy Hart, Lee Konitz in addition to leading his own groups. Detroit native Rick Hollander moved to Munich in the 1980s and has played with artists such as Woody Shaw, Robin Eubanks, Rufus Reid and Roy Hargrove.
The opening track of Jerry Tilitz Meets Joe Gallardo is an exciting arrangement of the classic Charlie Parker composition "Yardbird Suite". After an impressive introduction Jerry takes the first solo, Joe takes the second and Paul weighs in with a fine piano chorus. The second piece, "Never Go Back", is a mambo styled conversation between Joe, Rick and Jerry that is impossible to listen to sitting down if you have the least inclination to move your feet.
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote "Do It The Hard Way" for the Broadway musical "Pal Joey" which was then made into a Hollywood movie starring Frank Sinatra. The tune was notably recorded by Chet Baker but this track features a smooth vocal performance from Jerry and his swinging trombone. After an engaging piano turn there is an opportunity to hear some masterful bass soloing from Martin and some fine brush work from Rick Hollander.
Generations of Jazz musicians can attest to the fact that Cole Porter‘s "Love For Sale" has lost little of its luster over the years. Jerry's arrangement of this standard gives Joe the green light to soar beautifully between latin and swing rhythms while Jerry follows with a hard charging solo before handing off to Paul and Rick who make the most out of their turns at bat.
"I May Be Wrong" is one of my favorite tracks on the album. A Joe Gallardo arrangement of the Sullivan/Ruskin tune suits this band especially well. Paul's short, tasteful piano introduction is followed by a lovely two trombone statement of the theme. Here it is especially evident that both trombonists have their own individual and distinctive sounds and listening to them play, each with their own personal voice, was for me impressive proof of their trombone mastery. This track includes another fine piano and bass solo before Joe and Paul trade four bars with Rick. Very nicely done all around indeed.
"Relax, It‘s Max" was written and arranged by Jerry as an uptempo contrafact of the Jazz standard "Its You Or No One" that was originally a ballad written for Doris Day. Everyone gets a chance to sound off on this uptempo version and the musicians' obvious pleasure of soloing over familiar chord changes is palpable. "Eliah‘s Song" is something else again - a light and playful waltz from Jerry complete with the touching lyrics he penned with his young son Eliah in mind. Paul plays a delicate introduction to Jerry's vocal before Martin and Rick join in to bring this sweet offering to conclusion. Kirby once again demonstrates excellent comping and solo skills building to Jerry‘s closing vocal and the piece ends with Jerry trading eight bar phrases on the trombone with Paul.
To listen to "Down South" is to feel the scorching heat of a hot midday sun south of the border via Joe's languid plunger work and Jerry's Fado singer imitation on the trombone. I recommend you enjoy this selection with a cool drink in hand and a smile on your face. And speaking of hot climates Jerry recorded his Brazilian flavored "Suitcase Samba" with Herb Geller some years ago on the now defunct Dutch label Limetree label LP entitled "Trombone Tangents" (MLP 0025). This time around the composition features solo efforts from Jerry, Paul and Martin.
The last selection on this album is a bonus track called "Nancy‘s Galerie" which Jerry wrote to promote the friday night jam sessions which are still ongoing as of this writing in Nancy 's Dammtor Bahnhof (Dammtor train station) art gallery in Hamburg. Jerry takes a funky solo after his... interesting... vocal and then the party really begins!
I hope I've persuaded you to check this album out. I want to thank all the musicians on this CD for what I consider to be one of the best Jazz trombone recordings in the last few years. As for you dear reader, I betting you'll enjoy this great music from the summer of 2012 when Jerry Tilitz met Joe Gallardo in the company of a trio of extraordinary musicians.
Nils Nöhden
www.rec-now.de
http://jerrytilitz.com/