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Notice how drummer Mel Brown plays the cymbals on LADY BIRD, the opening cut of "DAMERON II-V" (AC CD 001), WARREN RAND'S tribute to jazz great Tadd Dameron. Most listeners "hear" the rhythm section in a different way than the musicians do. We hear the drums and bass folded into the ensemble unless the drummer or bass player take an increasing rare solo. And Mel is a master at being out front and invisible at the same time.
His slightly oblique timing gives the intro the structure it needs to perk our interest. In other quintet pieces, he supports the other musicians in a transparent way so that only if you blocked out his contribution electronically would you feel the loss. But this is Warren Rand's date (copyright 1997, but I don't have session details), and the alto sax man is joined by pianist Dave Frishberg, who is his usual graceful self. They play as a duo on IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW, ON A MISTY NIGHT, CASBAH, GNID, JAHBERO, and the reprise to LADY BIRD that closes the album. The quintet with Paul Mazzio, trumpet and flugelhornist, pianist Randy Porter, Leroy Vinnegar, bass, Mel, and Warren is heard on OUR DELIGHT, HOT HOUSE, and THE SQUIRREL, as well as the aforementioned opener, LADY BIRD. You can put this CD on and just let the very best modern jazz-subtle, progressive, and cohesive-wash over you. Repeated listenings will open your consciousness to the genius of Tadd Dameron. Subtlety, alas, is not a big draw in music these days (if it ever was), but in our increasingly noise polluted world, it's a gift to be treasured. I look in vain through the national publications for reviews of CDs by resident artists like Warren Rand's, but I rarely find any. When new albums by Portland and Oregon artists come out, let's get a little higher profile. E-mail the national publications and the (few remaining) newspaper reviewers and politely get in their faces! I don't know all the reasons why all of these productions were self-issued, but like the just past football season where the leading team got little TV coverage,the networks went with last year's winners, no matter that this season they fell on their faces. Jazz, like a lot of things, always has the problem of corporate-think to contend with. |
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