Leigh Pilzer’s Seven Pointed Star

BEATIN’ THE ODDS

Strange Woman Records

Leigh Pilzer, baritone & bass saxophone/bass clarinet/composer/arranger; Amy Shook, bass/composer; Frank Russo & Sherrie Maricle, drums; Amy K. Bormet & Allyn Johnson, piano; Greg Holloway, percussion; Jen Krupa & Joe Jackson, trombone; Tim Green & Mercedes Beckman, alto saxophone; Ally Hany Albrecht & Kenny Rittenhouse, trumpet.

Students of Duke Ellington and Bily Strayhorn will recognize the first track of Leigh Pilzer’s album titled “SKCC.”  It’s obviously a homage to Strayhorn’s composition “Upper Manhattan Medical Group” sometimes referred to as “UMMG.”  In Pilzer’s case, the initials (as a tune title) stand for Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.  It was there, this gifted baritone and bass saxophone player was diagnosed, operated on, and treated for her illness.  It was during that period of her life, combined with a COVID pandemic, when she began recording this album project.

The first tune swings hard.  I hear her upbeat, determination in this music.  The tune is bebop to the bone.  Mercedes Beckman is spotlighted on alto saxophone and Amy Shook walks her bass with tenacious gusto.  Track #2, “Lin” is a nod to Leigh’s doctor (Jeffrey Yen Lin)  who walked her through the drama in a calm and trustworthy way.

“Anyone who’s ever had a Benadryl drip will recognize the floating sensation of (her song) The Platinum Taxi.  It’s written in a regular meter, but the beats are distributed unevenly over a repeated bass line, giving the listener a sense of the disorientation that comes along with the drip,” Pilzer explains the inspiration for this song as her fourth track on the album.

The horns unite in close harmonic escapades of warmth and sometimes dissonance.  There is a feeling of floating, sewn like colorful string throughout this arrangement.  At the close, percussionist Greg Holloway shines brightly.  The title tune is another swinger, showcasing the power drums of Sherrie Maricle and the trumpet of Ally Hany Albrecht.  Amy Shook is brilliant on the double bass and she composed this tune.

Throughout her production, Pilzer takes baritone sax solos that solidify her brilliance on the instrument, as well as her bass clarinet and bass saxophone talents that are sporadically on display.  Pilzer has assembled two supergroups of stellar talents from Washington DC, Baltimore, MD and Philadelphia respectively. I note that she contracts as many female musicians as she does male musicians.

Leigh Pilzer holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from Berklee College of Music and two master’s degrees from the University of Maryland: Jazz Studies is one and Saxophone Performance is the other.  In 2020, Pilzer earned the Dewberry School of Music Academic Achievement Award, graduating with a doctorate in Saxophone Performance with Jazz Emphasis.  This album is not only enjoyable, with lush arrangements, stunning solos, and well-composed original songs, it is also a musical testament to Leigh Pilzer’s courageous strength and fortitude in the face of illness and challenge.  Clearly, she’s “Beatin’ the Odds!”

 Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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