The New York collective celebrates 10 years of chemistry-building while paying homage to their mentors, who include Geri Allen, Henry Grimes, Fred Hersch, Rodney Jones & Billy Hart.
Since meeting through the New York City jazz scene a decade ago, pianist Russell Kranes, bassist Sam Weber, guitarist Alex Levine, and drummer Jay Sawyer have performed together for thousands of hours across a multitude of musical contexts, developing chemistry and a deep collective musical identity. With their debut recording Anchor Points, they deliver a mix of originals and standards in two iterations of the group - through a trio set of piano/bass/guitar, a nod to the trios of Oscar Peterson and Nat King Cole, as well as the instrumentation that initially brought them together, and the quartet, where Jay Sawyer adds his jubilant swing. Besides capturing and celebrating years of musical camaraderie and connection, the quartet pays homage to the masters and builds upon their profound tradition.
Track Listing:
1 Feint 5:57 (Weber)
2 Vivo Sonhando 6:38 (A. C. Jobim, arr. Kranes)
3 Anchor Points 7:42 (Levine)
4 Old Folks 5:31 (Robison & Hill, arr. Levine)
5 Two Sleepy People 5:58 (Carmichael & Loesser, arr. Levine)
6 I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) 6:15 (Ahlert & Turk, arr. Levine)
7 Everybody Else But You 6:28 (Kranes)
8 And So It Goes 7:06 (Billy Joel, arr. Weber)
Performers:
Russell Kranes - piano
Alex Levine - guitar
Sam Weber - bass
Jay Sawyer - drums (1,3,4,7)
Production Info:
Produced by Russell Kranes, Alex Levine, Sam Weber, Jay Sawyer
Recorded & mixed by Bennett Paster
at Benny's Wash & Dry, Brooklyn, NY
Recorded on February 18-19, 2022
Mastered by Eivind Opsvik
at Greenwood Underground
Photos by JC Cancedda Photography
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Anchor Points
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
The co-op quartet of Russell Kranes/p, Alex Levine/g, Sam Weber/b and Jay Sawyer/dr deliver mellow madness to a mix of standards and an original here and there. Sawyer sits out for a bit to let Levine and Weber get into a delicate mood on "I'll Get By", with the latter stretch out a bit, and for the former to give an aria on a fragrant "Two Sleepy ...
WTJU-FM (Russell Perry)
This New York collective performs a set of three originals and five covers as both a classic piano – guitar – bass trio (Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole) and as a quartet with drums. George Harris wrote on Jazz Weekly, "[In a drummerless trio, guitarist Alex] Levine and [bassist Sam] Weber get into a delicate mood on I'll Get By, with the latter ...
All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)
4-STARS No leader is given on Anchor Points, simply the names of the four musicians who comprise the group on its debut recording. This is truly a co-op enterprise by jazz artists who have been performing together for a number of years in and around the New York City area.
The studio session is divided roughly in half, with four numbers by a qu ...
Radio Sant Vicenc (Barcelona) (Miquel Tuset Mallol)
This is a very delicate project, for the compositions, but also for the fact that of the 8 tracks, 4 are played by piano, guitar and double bass trio. And also by the fact that five of the tracks go to ballad tempo or similar. And that's the track 8 "And So It Goes" (Billy Joel, arranged by Weber), the 4th "Old Folks" (Robison & Hill, arranged by L ...