City Life: Music of Gregg Hill

A double disc of absolute substance is the one given to us by trombonist Michael Dease, born in 1982, a native of Augusta, Georgia, as well as his main mentor from Georgia, his colleague Wycliffe Gordon, older by a generation, a sort of institution in the field. Even Dease for several years can be considered as a true eminence of the instrument, although his name, in spite of the continuous placements in the DownBeat, won five times, is not very well known on our shores, perhaps for a career so far all lived overseas also as a highly appreciated teacher, as evidenced by the dozens of master classes at the University of North Texas, Scranton University, University Iowa, Florida State College, Broward College, in addition to his role as Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned Michigan State University.

The seventeenth work as leader of Dease is also the most ambitious, the trombonist presents himself with two sets with two different groups in action, the first in trio, in the uncommon trombone - bass (Linda May-Han-Oh) - drums (Jeff "Tain" Watts) format and the second in quintet, with publication for Origin in Seattle, where Dease arrives after a long history of titles released for Posi-tone.

The album was produced by the composer Gregg Hill, a very prolific pen and companion of the trombonist, who has been dedicated to his compositions for a long time, we have in fact reached the third episode (!) dedicated to his music, here are presented 12 songs (out of 19) distributed between the two sets inspired by the vibrant life of New York, its sounds and its seething, with the hustle and bustle and poetry that we on the outskirts of the Empire know very well, that deep down we delude ourselves into thinking we know the Big Apple and consider NY a little "ours" with a thousand quotation marks, while we wait for the tractor to maneuver in the morning fog of the Po Valley, with the car radio shooting this "City Life" at full volume. Let's explore the complex relationship between composer and performer by quoting from a recent interview with Michael Dease:

"Gregg has a quirky sense of humor and is a person with a dual nature. He is very shy and introspective, but he also enjoys traveling to New Orleans and is not afraid to meet new people. He has a vast jazz repertoire; He knows many composers, songs and records, starting from the beginning, and specializes in the music of the 60s and 70s, when he was approaching this genre. I believe Gregg was a saxophonist, and as his life evolved, he began playing the piano and writing chords and melodies. So, in his music, I hear many of the main influences: simple and strong rhythmic motifs, influenced by Thelonious Monk. I love hearing his use of the bass ostinato and his unique chord choices. I feel it drawing on all the great composers and artists we are used to. Probably the best thing I could do with this project was: it gave me carte blanche to arrange everything. So, I was able to take his scores and find a meeting point between Gregg's concept and mine as a bandleader and atmosphere creator. "

The first trio album without a harmonic instrument deserves a more careful listening because the trio moves on raw and energetic directives of great charm and able to completely capture the attention, it is a proof of those without a net that refer to glorious feats, such as "Way Out West" by Sonny Rollins, but without investing too much in virtuosity, there is adherence to the theme, intuition, listening and reaction between the three who develop Gregg Hill's compositions, such as the cantabile "Willow Walks In" or the intricate "Catalyst" innervating them with personal solutions, free and dancing forms, sounds of anodyne beauty, with a, in our opinion, fantastic Linda May Han Oh, with her intense lyricism acting as a pivot to a trio that moves equally and offers many surprises, unusual solutions etc.

The second set completely changes the atmosphere, the kaleidoscopic colors of the city light up, the city grinds its time, the addition of Nicole Glover on tenor sax and Geoffrey Keezer on piano allow to set in motion a "classic" quintet of formidable power that expertly alternates blues, ballads and bop of great quality. You can perceive a strong dose of humor in Hill's scores and the monstrous technique put at their service by the band makes them take off like a rocket, there is empathy and involvement, Dease and Glover literally sparkle in "Skittles", a fun up-tempo, and we also point out a song that goes beyond Gregg Hill's songbook, namely the brilliant version of "Blues For Herb" written by the late Emily Remler, a New Yorker born and bred in New York, guitarist who died prematurely and absolutely needs to be recovered, in case her name is missing from your listening.

The soul of the metropolis throbs and from afar sends warm glows, jazz despite the thousand transformations taking place for decades has an absolute need of NYC, a beacon and inexhaustible crucible, this album is yet another act of love to that city and its thousand voices.

Translated from Italian