Ben Wolfe THE UNDERSTATED
BEN WOLFE
THE UNDERSTATED
Resident Arts Records
Ben Wolfe, bass/composer; Orrin Evans & Sullivan Fortner, piano; Aaron Kimmel, drums; Russell Malone, guitar; Nicole Glover, tenor saxophone.
Esteemed bassist and composer, Ben Wolfe, offers this album titled “The Understated” to express beauty in subtle ways. He has composed all ten of the songs and contracted a group of exceptional players to interpret them. “The Poet Speaks” is a fluid, blues-based tune that features Nicole Glover’s sensitive tenor saxophone. Orrin Evans takes a short, but moving solo on piano, opening the door for Ben Wolfe to walk through, playing his bass solo, like walking footsteps on a raw, wood floor.
The second tune is called “Occam’s Razor” and swings hard! Above Ben Wolfe’s furiously walking bass, Russell Malone takes a bright solo on guitar. The song’s title celebrates William of Ockham, a Franciscan Friar who swore by the principle of keeping it simple. His idea was the simplest explanation is often the better explanation. Once again, this keeps with the album title of “The Understated.”
Benjamin Jonah Wolfe is currently a professor on staff at Julliard School, the Jazz Division. He was born in Baltimore, MD but grew up in Portland, Oregon and participated in his high school band playing tuba and trombone. On the side, playing with pop groups in and around Portland, he played bass guitar. It was when he entered college that Wolfe picked up the double bass, with some mentoring by several legendary musicians.
The original ballad he calls “Ballad in B” sounds almost like an interlude. It’s just a couple of minutes long, but the melody is impactful, played by Glover’s tenor saxophone. Evans adds simple chords beneath the sax, and Wolfe is ever present and supportive on bass. Aaron Kimmel brushes us into “Anagram” on his trap drums, talking instrumentally to Wolf’s bass. Wolfe and Glover double the melody, then it’s just Wolfe and Kimmel’s brushes holding the rhythm and groove in place. Also present is Wolfe’s improvisational bassline. His satin smooth arrangement of “Waltz” is a beautifully composed tune that morphs into a slow, but Straight-ahead 4/4 swing tune from its original ¾ tempo.
This is just extraordinary music by talented musicians who do an outstanding job interpreting and invigorating Ben Wolfe’s awesome, original music.
Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil
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