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
Track Listing:
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)
Performers:
Terell Stafford - trumpet
Michael Dease - trombone
Jordan VanHemert - alto saxophone
Helen Sung - piano
Rodney Whitaker - bass
Lewis Nash - drums
Production Info:
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
