THE GARY URWIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA & FRIENDS FLYING COLORS
THE GARY URWIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA & FRIENDS
FLYING COLORS
Summit Records
Gary Urwin, leader/arranger; RHYTHM: Christian Jacob, piano; Trey Henry, bass; Ray Brinker, Ralph Razze, Ken Gomez & Chris Rios, drums/percussion; SAXOPHONES: Rusty Higgins, Jeff Driskill, Pete Christlieb, Bob Sheppard, John Mitchell, Brandon Fields, Brian Scanlon & Greg Hawkins. TRUMPETS: Wayne Bergeron, Carl Saunders, Kye Palmer, Jeff Bunnell, John Thomas & Aaron Janik. TROMBONES: Alan Kaplan, Andy Martin, Scott Whitfield, Craig Gosnell & Charlie Loper. GUEST ARTISTS: Cathy Biagini, cello; Bobby Burns Jr., piccolo/trumpet; Robin Smith, auxiliary woodwinds; Phil Feather, English Horn. FEATURED SOLOISTS: Carl Saunders & Wayne Bergeron, trumpet; Pete Christlieb, tenor saxophone; Scott Whitfield, trombone; Rusty Higgins, saxophones/flute; Christian Jacob, piano.
This orchestra includes some of LA’s finest musicians and is one of the last sessions recorded by the late, great Carl Saunders. He is brightly featured on trumpet during their opening tune by Hank Mobley titled, “This I Dig of You.” The arrangement swings hard, and the harmonics played by energetic horns is lush and beautiful. Christian Jacob takes a piano solo that skips along the keys joyfully. Pete Christlieb is spotlighted on his tenor saxophone during this strong bebop arrangement. The drums play an important part during this song. Unfortunately, the drummer is one of four listed and they didn’t tell me which one played on this tune, but he certainly kicked this song into high gear!
They calm the groove down when they play “Day in the Life of a Fool” as a beautifully orchestrated Latin ballad. On “Spur of the moment” (a tune by their leader, arranger Gary Urwin) they are back to the ‘swing era’ when Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman were the kings on the scene. Wayne Bergeron’s trumpet solo is magnificent with a high-pitched whistle sound at the end. You will enjoy other familiar tunes like “Polka Dots & Moonbeams” with Carl Saunders’ trumpet solo reminding me what an amazing player he was. They add Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay” to the mix, flying Straight-ahead, pushed by that catchy bass line we all love played by Trey Henry. This album is stuffed with Southern California A-1 talent and every song radiates the crème de la crème of the community. Urwin has rejuvenated these familiar tunes, with a fresh coat of California jazz excellence. Enjoy tunes like “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and “Let’s Fall I Love” or “Almost Like Being in Love” and “My Buddy” with the imaginative arranger bringing each song refreshed and pleasant to our ears.
Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil
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