ROB PARTON’S ENSEMBLE 9+

RELENTLESS

Calligram Records

Rob Parton, lead trumpet/composer; Fred Sanders & August Knobbs, piano; Guillermo Lopez, bass; Quincy Davis, Steve Barnes, & Jordan Proffer, drums; Jose Aponte, percussion; Rosana Eckert, vocals; Tony Baker, trombone; D.J. Rice, trombone/composer; Rodney Booth & Chris Van Leeuwen, trumpets; Mike Smith, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones; Rylan Villareal, baritone saxophone; Shelley Carrol, tenor saxophone; Brad Leali, alto saxophone.

The nine-piece big band that Rob Parton leads, sounds a lot larger.  The horn parts blow the roof off my listening space when they barrel off my CD player.  They play with grit and gusto.  Rob Parton has been a staple of the Chicago, Illinois music scene for generations.  He’s equally at home playing in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or backing up famed artists like Natalie Cole and Tony Bennett.  Not only is he the bandleader of this exciting nine-piece ensemble, he also heads his own JAZZTECH Big Band.  They have recorded eleven albums since 1984.  In 2019, Parton left the Midwest and relocated to North Texas as part of the University there.  It is renowned for turning out a host of excellence from their music department.  Rob Parton is currently mentoring the next generation of trumpet players and he directs the UNT Two O-Clock Lab Band.  It wasn’t long before he had tapped into a talent pool consisting of his colleagues and some top-call players in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  That’s how this “Relentless” project came to be the latest album release by Rob Parton and his Ensemble 9+.

Their first tune is titled “Open for Buesiness” and the drummer, Quincy Davis, rolls the tune out making a red carpet entrance.  The energy never stops from that moment on. One of the four brilliant saxophonists takes the solo lead and does an outstanding job.  Rob Parton enters on lead trumpet and pulls the energy forward.  This is a great tune by D.J. Rice to begin this awesome album. Fred Sanders makes an impressive musical statement on piano during an energized solo. The Ensemble 9+ puts a Latin spin on “Straight Life,” a Freddie Hubbard tune arranged by Richard DeRosa. Lynn Seaton opens Billy Strayhorn’s tune “Intimacy of the Blues” on the double bass.  It’s a very effective way to grab the listener’s attention.  When Seaton steps through the musical curtains to solo on piano, he puts a capital B in the blues.  The horns massage their way into the tune, first singing unison with a happy -go-lucky melodic line.  Then bursting into harmony in a crescendo of energy just before the saxophone solos start.  The saxophone solo knocked me out!

They have chosen a repertoire that includes compositions by Dizzy Gillespie and Wayne Shorter, but Rob Parton has included two of his own songs.  One is “Thank You Colby” that features Guillermo Lopez on acoustic bass and Jordan Proffer on drums.  Mike Smith is the featured saxophonist on this selection and Rob Parton plays all the trumpet harmonics during this arrangement, as well as lead trumpet.  The other original Rob Parton tune is titled, “No Response” and it’s a swinger.  The band takes this Straight-ahead arrangement on at high speed. They close the album out with the same energy that they opened it with; the burners are all on high!

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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