ZACHARY BARTHOLOMEW

BALANCING ACT

Independent Label

Zachary Bartholomew, piano/arranger/composer; Marty Quinn, bass; Rodolfo Zuniga, drums; David Fernandez, soprano & tenor saxophone; Benny Benack III, trumpet.

Dr. Zachary Bartholomew is one of Florida’s most in-demand jazz pianists.  He’s also a music professor at Florida Memorial University. This is his debut album, called “Balancing Act” featuring all original music written and arranged by Dr. Bartholomew.  Joined by an all-star group of musicians, Dr. Bartholomew brings bold individuality to this project and an ensemble of musicians that support his composer skills with inventiveness and energy.

They open with “Crazy Socks” with Benny Benack III out-front on his trumpet.  He establishes both groove and melody.  Marty Quinn marches his walking-bass underneath the excitement of this tune, in perfect step with Rodolfo Zuniga’s drums.  When Zachary Bartholomew takes his solo, he improvises wildly on piano before pulling open the curtains to showcase Zuniga on solo drums. It’s a great tune to open this album and the song establishes Bartholomew as an excellent composer and arranger.

His compositions touch on various genres, but all in the jazz vein. They relate to his struggle or polishing a Balancing Act in his everyday life as a man, a musician, an educator, a performer and composer.  His second original song is titled “Sunny Days Driven by” and brightly features his piano with an arrangement that starts out very pop oriented and melodious, then smoothly transitioning to a very jazzy arrangement.

On a tune called “Bring the Noise” the arrangement nestles in the bosom of Afro-Cuban rhythms.  This is followed by “Hobo’s Lullaby,” that uses a five-beat bassline to transform a standard Afro-Cuban bell pattern to something fresh and interesting. The saxophone solo by David Fernandez is quite impressive.  Zachary Bartholomew explains his inspiration for this original composition.

“I’ve always had a romantic idea of what it would be like to hop a freight train on a cross-country journey.  I wrote the steady and rhythmic bass line of Hobo’s Lullaby to sound like the motion of a locomotive.”

Another favorite of mind is “Mirror Image” that features a lengthy and creative solo by Zuniga on drums. It also spotlights the saxophone talents of Fernandez. Bartholomew’s composition is developed from a rhythmic idea that ‘mirrors’ itself throughout the piece.

The title track, much like the entirety of this album, reflects the concept of “Balancing Act.” The arrangement has his upper range on the piano talking to his below-middle-C partner. Bartholomew lets his left-hand tickle rhythmic chords alive, while his treble range (controlled by the right hand), improvises creatively.  It’s a discussion of sorts, between the two registers.  This quickly became one of my favorite tunes on his album. There is a long and illustrious solo by bassist, Marty Quinn.  The arrangement of this tune is meant to demonstrate the various states of mind and mood changes that can make each day a challenge.  It’s not always easy to balance one’s life, but Dr. Zachary Bartholomew seems to be doing a fine job, as reflected on this newly released album. The release date to the public happens on August 2, 2024.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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