Album review: Steven Feifke Big Band - Kinetic

A humdinger of a swinger featuring some of NYC's finest which, in effect, means the world's finest!

It may have been Feifke's first album as a big band leader but he's described on the blurb as "One of the most in-demand artists of his generation" and on the strength of this album it's easy to see why. Pianist, composer arranger absolutely the tops.

The band too is up there and so it should be. This is no hastily assembled ensemble put together by a succession of emails, texts, phone calls and carrier pigeons but a unit that played a monthly residency for almost two years at The Django down in the depths of the Roxy Hotel in Lower Manhattan. The pandemic put a stop to bands of this size operating in the small, almost cave-like room. Nevertheless, hopefully, they will return.

In the meantime this album will do nicely thank you very much!

Apart from the leader, who is featured on  four tracks and composed and arranged most, the solos are evenly shared out with 14 of the musicians getting on the score-sheet for at least one track. One of our vocal favourites, Veronica Swift, is heard On the Street Where You Live and Until the Real Thing Comes Along - it already has Veronica!

The soloists are superb so, not surprisingly, is the section-work. All the saxes double on clarinets and flutes and some of the scored passages for the latter two instruments are breathtaking. Benack lll and Medd have a couple of workouts on trumpet and Edwards blows trombone whilst Veronica is strolling down the street where I live (if only!) and Gutauskas is heard impressively on baritone. The Sphynx has Pino stretching out on tenor as if there was no tomorrow. To quote the notes "Gonsalves to Feifke's Ellington."

No need for me to say that big bands are back - they've never been away!

Lance

Available from tomorrow (April 9) from usual suspects or direct from Steven Fiefke..

Kinetic; Unveiling of a Mirror; The Sphinx; Until the Real Thing Comes Along; Word Travels Fast; Wollongong; Nica's Dream; On the Street Where You Live; Midnight Beat; Closure.

Steven Feifke (piano); Andrew Gould, Alexa Tarantino, Lucas Pino, Sam Dillon, Andrew Gutauskas (reeds); Max Darché, John Lake, Benny Benack lll, Gabriel King Medd (trumpets/flugels); Robert Edwards, Jeffery Miller, Amando Vergaro, Jennifer Wharton (trombones); Alex Wintz (guitar); Dan Chmielinski (bass);  Jimmy Macbride, Ulysses Owens Jr., Bryan Carter, Joe Peri (drums) + Alex LoRe (alto sax on 1 track); Veronica Swift (vocals on 2 tracks).