Guitarist Peter Bernstein Stays Loose and Relaxed with
All Star Quartet on Smoke Sessions Records
Debut, Let Loose - Available May 6
Album Release Celebration Tuesday, May 3
Through Sunday, May 8 at Village Vanguard
"...a believer in clarity and the essence of a song..."
-
The New York Times
Guitarist Peter Bernstein is justly renowned as an
interpreter of other people's music. His unerring, relaxed swing, his
stunning gift for crafting and developing sophisticated melodies, the
un-showy but absorbing narrative arc of his solos, the just plain
rightness of his in-the-moment choices -- all of these account for his
well-established status as one of the most in-demand musicians on the
New York jazz scene.
Let Loose, Bernstein's debut release for Smoke Sessions Records,
shifts the focus to Bernstein the composer. Five of the album's nine
tracks stem from the guitarist's pen, each of them fulfilling the
essential criterion that he sets forth for a worthwhile composition:
"The tune has to be fun to play." It's a mantra that Bernstein has
rehearsed regularly at the club that gives the label its name -- even
before it had that name. He's been a regular at Smoke since the days
when it was Augie's, and continues to be a regular presence on its
stage.
Due out May 6, Let Loose
features a quartet of artists who are equally well versed in tradition
and innovation, who can breathe ecstatic life into these pieces while
simultaneously anchoring them with deep roots. Bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart
are longtime collaborators stretching back nearly three decades to
their time together with Bernstein at William Paterson College. Gerald Clayton
is the newcomer to the fold but brings along a reputation as one of the
most respected pianists of his generation. The quartet found their
opportunity to flesh out a sound on one of the most revered stages in
all of jazz during a weeklong stint at the Village Vanguard, where they
quickly forged their collective voice.
The spirit of the session is pithily captured in the title of the album: Let Loose,
another case of simplicity masking complexity. The surface meaning
suggests an unbridling of passion, an opening of the floodgates of
expression that definitely characterizes the playing of all four members
of the quartet. But there's also the suggestion of the need to allow
oneself to be loose, free, open to whatever may come -- a guiding
principle on the stage as well as off.
"That's the only
way to get through life," Bernstein says, "to be loose and relaxed, to
let things happen. The only way to truly improvise is to deal with the
situation at hand and do your best with what's in front of you."
That
attitude may help to explain why Bernstein can surface in so many
vastly different contexts, always retaining his profoundly individual
voice while fitting so ideally into whatever situation he finds himself.
From his earliest experiences with saxophone giant Lou Donaldson,
Bernstein has gone on to work with countless legends, including Sonny
Rollins, Lee Konitz, and Jimmy Cobb, forming a particularly lasting and
significant bond with organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith. At the same time,
he's worked with a broadly diverse swath of his peers, including Brad
Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Eric Alexander, and a two-year
stint with Diana Krall.
The ability to shift so
effortlessly from one style to the next has made him in many listeners'
minds the epitome of the New York musician, and it's a quality he shares
with his band mates. Clayton is a second-generation jazz star, the son
of bassist John Clayton and nephew of saxophonist Jeff Clayton. He's
become an integral member of their Clayton Brothers band and also spent
time on the road and in the studio with Diana Krall; in addition to
leading his own bands he's worked with Roy Hargrove, Ambrose Akinmusire,
and Charles Lloyd; he was recently tapped to represent the Monterey
Jazz Festival as part of an all-star touring ensemble alongside Nicholas
Payton, Ravi Coltrane, and Raul Midón.
Weiss has formed
rhythm section partnerships with an eclectic roster of drummers, from Al
Foster to Brian Blade to Billy Drummond, and anchored bands led by Brad
Mehldau, Eddie Henderson, and Marc Copland. The ever-versatile Stewart
has worked with everyone from John Scofield to Maceo Parker to Jim Hall,
placing his own stamp on the music whether it's swinging or funky or
modernist.
Let Loose is
centered on four new originals written by Bernstein that both seemed of a
piece and complementary to one another. The pairing of Bobby Hutcherson
and McCoy Tyner wasn't far from Bernstein's mind when he wrote the
title track, and traces of the two legends' barbed soulfulness are
evident throughout. Bernstein's solo rides its roiling momentum with
bold, stinging lines, followed by Clayton's sharp-elbowed harmonic
convolutions.
Translated from Spanish, "Resplendor" means
shine, brightness, glimmer. The obvious English analogue would be
"resplendent," and it's an apt description of this warm, sun-dappled
ballad with its hint of Latin accent. Bernstein opens "Hidden Pockets"
with a lyrical statement cushioned by Clayton's cloud-like
accompaniment. The title comes from a line in "Only You," a love poem by
the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. Once the band enters, the tune
shifts from the contemplative to the ecstatic, reflecting the consuming
passion of the source material.
The last of the four new
pieces is "Lullaby for B," a gently lilting tune inspired by Bernstein's
young son Bruno. The final original is "Cupcake," a reworking of
Bernstein's tune "Carrot Cake" with, as the title implies, the sweetness
turned up. It's got a joyously funky swagger that allows Bernstein to
show off his tasteful blues licks and spotlights Stewarts ability to
elaborate and ornament a deceptively simple groove.
The
album is filled out with four well chosen but far from obvious covers.
Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrés' swooning "Tres Palabras" is best known
for Nat "King" Cole's lush rendition, though Bernstein's interest can be
traced once again to Bobby Hutcherson, who recorded it on his 1999
album Skyline. Woody Shaw's "Sweet Love of Mine" uncoils at a slow,
scintillating burn, while "Blue Gardenia," familiar from Dinah
Washington's beloved version, is a gorgeous ballad featuring Bernstein's
precisely articulated lyricism and a dose of wry Ellingtonia folded
into Clayton's solo. The album closes with Kurt Weill's "This Is New,"
its briskly played melody sparking a barrage from Stewart that picks up
on the acute-angle percussiveness of Clayton's solo.
"Let Loose" was recorded live in New York at Sear Sound's Studio A
on a Neve 8038 custom console at 96KHz/24bit and mixed to ½" analog tape
using a Studer mastering deck. Available in audiophile HD format.
Peter Bernstein · Let Loose
Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: May 6, 2016
For more information on Peter Bernstein, please visit PeterBernsteinMusic.com
For more information on Smoke Sessions Records,
please visit SmokeSessionsRecords.com
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