Carol Sudhalter (baritone sax/flute/vocal - 5); Patrick Poladian (piano); Kevin Hailey (bass); Mike Campenni (drums).
(Review by Lance)
This one had slipped off my radar until I read a DownBeat review where it was allotted a paltry 2½ stars. I decided to dig it out of the pile and check if the live recording in St. Peter's Church, NY, was really that bad. I decided it wasn't.
Sudhalter, niece* of trumpeter and Beiderbecke biographer Richard, is somewhat leaden at times on baritone yet still manages to tame the beast and the ideas are there if not always the fluidity. As the man from DB pointed out, Sudhalter is heard at her best on flute. The acoustics do her no favours on the vocal Colin Blues although, paradoxically, her flute solo on this number is one of the high spots of the album.
Valse Hot displays her technique on baritone. It reminds me of Harry Klein who was the British bari king until Ronnie Ross arrived who was the British bari king before John Surman arrived who was the British bari king before...
I digress, apart from the leader, Poladian is in top form with bass and drums on the money. Listen to the bass solo on Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You? and you'll see where I'm coming from.
Sudhalter - flute 5 stars; bari 3 stars; vocal 2 stars; recording engineer (or maybe the architect who designed the church without knowing there would be jazz held there a couple of hundred years later - he should have checked out Hoagy's Old Music Master!) 1 star.
Lance
On a Misty night; Park Avenue Petite; Time Remembered; Funk in Deep Freeze; Colin Blues; Valse Hot; Fun in the Alley; Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You?; Luiza.
* Actually brother! See comment from Carol.
* Actually brother! See comment from Carol.
3 comments :
Thank you for the listening and for the wonderful review! Just wanted you to know that rich didn't have any nieces nor do I. He was my brother!
Hi Lance, this isn't really a comment, I just wanted to communicate with you and I don't know your email address. I agreed with a lot of what you said. Very astute! About the engineer, there wasn't one. I recorded the concert with a little Zoom H5 Gadget which I placed on the floor. Never thought that it would become a CD. So sorry about that. And the other thing I wanted to say was, did you have a chance to listen to Park Avenue petite? That to me exemplifies what I do best on baritone: the tone, the phrasing and good execution of a Melody which as you know is part of my family tradition! Best, carol
P.s. send youremail! I do play in UK from time to time.
Hi Carol,
Yes I did listen to Park Avenue Petite and I agree it is lovely. I should have mentioned it but space etc. Your disclosure that there wasn't an actual sound engineer paints a whole different picture on the balance. Thanks for the explanation.
You will find my email address at the foot of the left-hand column.
Lance.
PS: Do get in touch next time you are in UK.
PPS: I heard Richard playing in, I think, the early 1970's in Newcastle, UK, I think Susannah McCorkle was also on the bill.
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