The craft is tight, the feeling is refreshing, the sound is quick and precise, and the gestalt brings the individual voices of the musicians into group form.
With an all-star, monumentally swinging band in tow, saxophonist Jordan VanHemert returns to his roots on Deep in the Soil, setting aside his usual tenor saxophone for the alto, and revisiting the sounds and life-force of Charlie Parker, whose music first shaped his playing. With his partners on the front-line—trumpeter Terell Stafford and trombonist/co-producer Michael Dease—and the fleet rhythm section of Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash, VanHemert explodes with a set of modern jazz originals, composed by himself, Dease, Stafford, Jimmy Heath and Sharel Cassity, along with an effervescent arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Superwoman."
"Creative, grounded, and strikingly passionate."
Jazz Sensibilities
1 Call to Order 6:16 (Sharel Cassity)
2 Sound for Sore Ears 5:11 (Jimmy Heath, arr. VanHemert)
3 Hard Times 6:07 (Paul Mitchell, arr. Chris Glassman)
4 Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same 7:42 (VanHemert)
5 Superwoman 5:25 (Stevie Wonder, arr. VanHemert)
6 Autumn Song 7:13 (VanHemert)
7 ST in the House 5:11 (Dease)
8 Blues for JT 6:23 (Stafford)
Terell Stafford - trumpet
Michael Dease - trombone
Jordan VanHemert - alto saxophone
Helen Sung - piano
Rodney Whitaker - bass
Lewis Nash - drums
Produced by Michael Dease & Jordan VanHemert
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Corey DeRushia
at Troubadour Recording Studios, East Lansing, MI
Recorded May 2023
Production Assistant: Andrew Kim
Cover photos by SWAK Photography
Band photo by Chris Hovan
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
Alto saxist Jordan VanHemert bops hard with a team of Terell Stafford/tp, Michel Dease/tb, Helen Sung/p, Rodney Whitaker/b and Lewis Nash/dr on his fun and festive release. Van Hemert's alto is confident and assertive, not unlike Cannonball Adderley, as on the swaggering gospel grooved "Hard Times" that has him going toe to toe with Stafford, and b ...
Liner Notes (C. Andrew Hovan)
Born in Korea and raised in Michigan, Jordan VanHemert counts himself among those youngsters that got involved in his school music program by starting out on the alto saxophone. Also like many of his fellow saxophonists, VanHemert eventually moved away from the smaller horn to devote his full energies to the tenor sax, an instrument emblematic of t ...
Couleurs Jazz (France) (Jean-Michel Schlosser)
Jordan VanHemert, multi-ring blower, usually on tenor, substitutes alto here (he also plays soprano, clarinet and flute), and appears as a sextet with, it has to be said, a line-up of exceptional class.
Our Korean-American saxophonist has already performed alongside Dmitri Matheny, Geri Allen and Rodney Whitaker, and this latest release marks hi ...
All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)
Energy and enthusiasm fairly leap from the speakers—or headphones—on Sharel Cassity's daring "Call to Order," the opening number on Korean-born saxophonist Jordan VanHemert's fifth album as leader, Deep in the Soil. Alas, that same ardor doesn't reappear until track seven (of eight), trombonist Michael Dease's boppish "ST in the House." In betw ...
Jazz'N'More (Switzerland) (Michael van Gee)
5-STARS Saxophonist Jordan VanHemert has hired an all-star band for his album. This includes the outstanding trumpeter Terell Stafford, the exquisite trombonist Michael Dease and the fantastic rhythm section with Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker and Lewis Nash. The sextet plays at the highest level and adds highlights to the eight compositions. The fir ...