New Music Monday — The Renewal Jazz Trio; Brother Jack McDuff; & Sergio Pamies

New Music Monday will feature new music from The Renewal Jazz Trio, Brother Jack McDuff, and Sergio Pamies. Tune in to Lunchtime! with Arturo Gómez on Monday, June 17 at noon.

The Renewal Jazz Trio: “The Blues and Other Maladies”
The retired tax attorney, Dave Atkinson, has been playing vibraphones for over 50 years. However, after retirement, he has been able to concentrate exclusively on playing and recording. His new recording finds Dave on vibes once again teaming up with Eric Gunnison-piano and Gonzalo Teppa on double bass. Like many players of the vibes, Atkinson began his music career playing the drums until he stumbled onto an abandoned set of vibraphones in storage at a small Denver jazz club on New Year’s Eve. Viewing it as a new beginning he switched from drumsticks to vibes mallets.

For this new album, Dave chose seven jazz songs based on blues underpinning and has reimagined them in a non-traditional spirit of the blues expressions. For this writer, the highlights include a splendid version of Bob Berg’s 1987 “Friday Night at the Cadillac Club” and the huge hit by Stanley Turrentine in 1971, “Sugar.”

Brother Jack McDuff: “Ain’t No Sunshine-Live in Seattle”
Thanks to Reel to Real Recordings for making possible this previously unheard performance of Brother Jack McDuff from 1972 to finally see the light of day. It took a proverbial village to make this happen after the “lost tapes” were found, the McDuff estate for granting permission, long-time Seattle radio host and engineer Jim Wilke who was at the show, and Cory Weeds of Cellar Productions to ensure the remastering and sound restoration of the concert was flawless. Jack McDuff went by the monikers of either “Brother” or “Captain” over his brilliant six-decade career. He gave George Benson his first opportunity to record, and he is considered one of the pioneers of soul jazz.

On Wednesday, September 13, 1972, McDuff arrived in the “Emerald City” of Seattle to play at The Gallery with saxophonists Lou Johnson and Dave Young, guitarist Vinnie Carrao and drummer Ron Davis. There are ten songs on this two-disc set with two curiosities, one track’s title is unknown, and several tunes feature an unknown Seattle trumpet player. Regardless, this recording gives you the feeling of being at The Gallery listening, nodding your head, tapping your toes, and even snapping your fingers to the terrific Jack McDuff.

Sergio Pamies: “Time To Say”
Born in Granada, Spain Sergio Pamies grew up listening to both jazz and flamenco music because his father was a self-taught guitarist and a jazz aficionado and record collector. As a teenager, Sergio moved to Barcelona to attend Conservatori Liceu where he earned his BM in Jazz Piano. Upon graduating he relocated to Denton, Texas to obtain his master’s degree in jazz at the University of North Texas College of Music. He recorded with the multi-Grammy® nominated One O’clock Lab Band. He is currently a full-time Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas.

For his first national release as a leader, Pamies invited his friends, saxophonists Dave Liebman and NEA Jazz Master Paquito D’Rivera to each record one track. Besides his guests, Sergio is accompanied by a stellar group of players that include Alex Norris-trumpet/flugelhorn, Marshal Gilkes-trombone, and several other musicians of note.

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of them are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist, if it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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