Greg Abate’s latest CD Release Gratitude: StageDoorLIVE@TheZ finds the Providence, Rhode Island-based saxophone player in great company. Recording this album live with the Tim Ray Trio is a stoke of genius. Not only will area and national jazz fans adore this record, anyone who just likes to put on something fun and exciting should also pick up a copy of this disc. Abate’s strength is his versatility playing a variety approaches in this genre on both saxophone and flute. That allows him to soothe the soul with soft cool tones one moment before blowing the roof off the joint with a tremendous wail the next. With the exceptionally adept Tim Ray Trio in support, this music is truly a gift to all who purchase a copy.
Title track “Gratitude” kicks off this CD with a lively saxophone flow, a melody that delights the ear with its sweet swing of notes. Beneath this mellifluous melody is Tim Ray’s elegant piano tinkling, soft notes that fill in nicely where the sax makes space. Sax and piano offer numerous notes within a mid-tempo pace and that makes for a special rivulet of music. Palpable bass notes and smacking drum work from the rhythm section of John Lockwood and Mark Walker move this delightful piece along like polite ushers at a lavish event.
“Bop Lives” is a fantastic uptempo display of talent. Abate makes his sax melodic gymnastics seem easy because the melody he creates are so pleasing in their juxtaposition of notes. Abate’s line becomes the epitome of 1950s cool, a smoky, speedy line that conjures images of beatniks and pretty ladies hanging at a piano bar. John Lockwood unleashes his own hip bass line, a line as nimble as it is in tone with the rest of the tone and colors of this vibrant work of motion.
Switching to flute, Abate offers up the tender melody of “Hazy Moon,” a sensitive line of romantic notes that soothe the soul while keeping the listener hooked to its clever interval of notes. A light touch from pianist Tim Ray with a soft undercurrent from the rhythm section keep this one in that special zone where couples can slow dance or just admire each other over a candlelit dinner in a fine dining restaurant.
“In The Stratosphere” marks a return to the hard driving bop of the 1950s and early 1960s. There is a thickness to Abate’s spiffy sax line that returns us to an earlier time in jazz, a melody that makes one appreciate the discipline required to play this kind of music. Tim Ray swings into action with a loose, freewheeling piano line, speedy, loaded with sprightly notes that he dances all over the groove of this work. Rapid drum fills bring extra energy and nostalgic flair as bass notes move with integrity and vigorous pacing.
“Farewell Phil Woods” is a refined sensitive goodbye. Abate’s tasteful, self-restrained sax phrasing coaxes the emotion out of his being and into the listener’s awareness. Taking his time, Abate shows that respect, as well as technique, comes across well in music. He uses colors and tones to express loss, mourning, and a thankfulness for what he had briefly had. Tim Ray’s piano elegance moves the feelings with a reverence in his interval of shiny notes. The way the entire band creates emotion, paints a picture, and sets a scene come alive in three-dimensional life.
A standard by Roland Kirk titled “Serenade To A Cuckoo” is marked by brief interchanges of low key instrumentation. Abate’s sax line here is coolly understated as Tim Ray plays a tastefully self-restrained piano line. There are hops, skips, and jumps in motion. The intervals in Abate’s sax phrasing move his notes around with an old school touch. Yet, these lively flourishes are all so nicely maintained in a mid tempo frame and easeful manner. The rhythm section follows with plenty of action to match the upper register motions.
Moving into Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” the band plays in a tight formation, combining a respectful nostalgia yet keeping it fresh for today‘s jazz fans. Tim Ray makes his notes dance across the piece with cheerful, jaunt aplomb. A close shadowing from the rhythm section gives this rendition plenty of snap. During its quiet moments, John Lockwood presses out some knobby nuggets of notes before making way for another line of snap, crackle, and pop from Tim Ray. Speedy stick work keeps a persistent allure in the tune’s general rhythm.
Moving back into Abate’s original compositions, the quartet offer the joyful breeze of “Gemini.” A flute melody moves through pleasant intervals and alongside a jaunty piano line. The two upper register instruments perform a fine dance of notes, some flute and piano notes reaching higher in pitch and dynamics, as light as butterflies, free as birds, and as sweet as candy. It feels as if this piece is walking the listener to a candy store or a pastry show for a tasty treat then delivers many.
Abate and his men cruise into the mellifluous sax melody driven original composition “Dracula.” While some might expect this piece to be dark in color, tone, and execution, the melody flies more like a dove than a bat. Rippling piano notes from Tim Ray contribute to the wide, gliding feel of this piece. His perky little notes race along with a bright warmth before opening space for a monster size drum solo by Mark Walker. Walker’s rolls move so fast over all the pieces of his drum kit to suggest that something brewing with tight fierceness is about to make a colorful explosion.
Abate’s “For The Love Of Life” takes things on the down low. Soft piano notes drizzle down, landing on a gentle nudge from Lockwood’s upright. Abate weaves his lower sax line through and around the notes where the other instruments stand and the soothing, bluesy vibe created here is a gem.
Anyone who has seen Abate perform live knows how he loves to end with dramatic execution of challenging melodies, interplay, and improvisation. Close out track “Inner Urge” by Joe Henderson finds the four hop scotching through improv, tempos, dynamics, colors, tones, and a way of making their music sound like the original cool born in piano bars, beatnik coffee shops, and recording studios in that time between the decline of musical theater and the beginning of rock and roll. Abate’s phrase screams with a thick expression. Mark Walker executes rolls with rapid fire layering with what one stick is doing while another is busy in his other hand.
Greg Abate with The Tim Ray Trio have come up with a very exciting jazz album. Recording these eight original composition and three standards live at the Zeiterion Theater in Bedford, Massachusetts was a wise choice. With engineer Joe Knight running sound and Abate and John Mailoux producing, listeners get a quality recording of exciting jazz music with the energy of the live improvisation experience. There moments of sublime beauty here as well as fiery passion and it’s all expressed by four gentleman musicians with tremendous discipline in the craft of jazz music. This is a must have for anyone who just loves good music no matter the genre.
