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The South Florida Jazz Orchestra: The Music of Gary Lindsay / Are We Still Dreaming
BySo much for the why. As to the outcome, it is by and large salutary. Certainly, Lindsay's compositions and charts offer no cause for reproach. Nor does the SFJO, stocked as it is with a number of the most accomplished sidemen in the area alongside notable guest artists such as tenor Rick Margitza ("Toward Hope"), trumpeter Greg Gisbert ("Easy Living"), trombonist Dana Teboe and vocalist (and Frost School alum) Julia Dollison. Also on board are the other members of the MSQ: alto / soprano Gary Keller, tenor Ed Calle (featured on Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight") and baritone Mike Brignola, a longtime member of the Woody Herman Orchestra. Bassist and SFJO founder Chuck Bergeron teaches at the Frost School, as does the outstanding guitarist John Hart (showcased on Lindsay's "Moment in Time," Pat Metheny's "Better Days Ahead" and with Dollison and soprano Keller on "Are We Still Dreaming").
"Moment in Time," the Brazilian-styled opener that also spotlights trumpeter and Frost alum Alex Norris, is followed by Lindsay's fluent amalgam of Rodgers and Hart's "Spring Is Here" and Freddie Hubbard's "Up Jumped Spring," on which Dollison is heard for the first time. She seems to be a talented singer, although neither she nor the bluesy Nicole Yarling ("Easy Living") is especially well-recorded (Dollison sings again on "Are We Still Dreaming"). Calle's burnished tenor narrative on "'Round Midnight," clearly one of the album's cornerstones, precedes the well-grooved finale, Billy Strayhorn's "UMMG" (another high point), on which Jason Carder's agile trumpet plays a prominent role. The rhythm section (Bergeron, Hart, pianist Martin Bejerano, drummer John Yarling) is laser-sharp here, as it is on every number.
Lindsay, who waited forty years to have an album devoted wholly to his music, must have been pleased by the result. The SFJO surely does its best to please, presenting Lindsay's artistry in the best possible light. Together, they make a persuasive team.
Track Listing
Moment in Time; Spring Is Here / Up Jumped Spring; Toward Hope; Easy Living; Better Days Ahead; Are We Still Dreaming; ‘Round Midnight; UMMG (Upper Manhattan Medical Group).
Personnel
Chuck Bergeron: director, acoustic, electric bass; Gary Lindsay: composer, arranger, alto sax, clarinet; Augie Haas: trumpet; Jeff Kievit: trumpet; Greg Gisbert: trumpet; Jason Carder: trumpet; Alex Norris: trumpet; Peter Francis: trumpet; Gary Keller: alto, soprano sax, flute; Ed Calle: tenor sax, flute; Phil Doyle: tenor sax, flute; Jason Kush: tenor sax, flute; Mike Brignola: baritone sax, bass clarinet; Dante Luciani: trombone; John Kricker: trombone; Derek Pyle: trombone; Andrew Peal: trombone; Martin Bejerano: acoustic, electric piano; John Hart: guitar; Ksenija Komljenovi: vibes, xylophone; Brian Potts: shaker, pandeiro; John Yarling: drums; Julia Dollison: vocals (2, 6); Nicole Yarling: vocal (4). Special guests – Richard Todd: French horn; Rick Margitza: tenor sax (3).
Album information
Title: The Music of Gary Lindsay / Are We Still Dreaming | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Self Produced
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