Human Spirit

A younger Hammond practitioner is present in Gary Versace on 'Human Spirit'. Trumpeter Thomas Marriott apparently has been a busy beaver of late. His release 'Constraints and Liberations' (with Versace on piano) was covered last issue (Apr/May/June 2011, p.225) and he and Taylor were both on 'Flash Point' (same issue, p.126) by Randy Halberstadt, both under the Origin company auspices. Where those two issues utilized a piano, this one is fueled by organ (as stated above) and thankfully Versace is providing his own bass lines. Check out his percussive solo on the trio opener "You Don't Know What Love Is," taken at an unusual pace. And lend an ear to his minor-keyed comping on "Yakima." Altoist Mark Taylor has a dry tone with bulbous notes that sometimes make me think of what Hank Mobley might have sounded like if he had played some alto, lived a little longer, and freed himself up some. As Cadence scribes David Kane and Don Lerman intimated in their respective reviews, Marriott, although an original now, came out of Miles and there is a definite Milesian vibe here whether on his "Hiding in Public," the phrasing of the flugeled Duke soundtrack obscurity, of the funky and still fresh final selection (originally titled "Felon Brun" on Filled De Kilimanjaro). Another worthy addition to his over half-dozen Origin catalog.