Phil Collins Big Band
A Hot Night in Paris
Atlantic (1999)
Time: 70:15

Musicians: Phil Collins (drums), the Phil Collins Big Band. Featuring Gerald Albright (alto sax).

Songs: Sussudio, That’s All, Invisible Touch, Hold On My Heart, Chips & Salsa, I Don’t Care Anymore, Milestones, Against All Odds, Pick Up The Pieces, Los Endos Suite.

Rating: * * * *

Many people are going to have problems with this CD. A lot of people know Phil Collins as the popular music artist who also played in the rock group Genesis. Some jazz fans will think yet another pop/rock artist is invading their territory. The pop/rock fans will accuse Collins of cashing in on the latest “Big Band” and “Swing” fad, and granted, what this album does will go over the heads of most Collins fans who know him only from Top 40 radio.

Collins started out in a very early edition of Genesis, joining the ranks as a drummer. When Peter Gabriel left for greener pastures (and a highly acclaimed solo career), Collins stepped out in front as the new lead vocalist for Genesis. On a brief hiatus from Genesis, and during a nasty breakup of his first marriage, Collins recorded some songs in his home studio, which resulted in his first big solo hit “In The Air Tonight.” Collins was also part of a cutting-edge jazz/rock group named Brand X. Recently, Collins had left Genesis, and put his solo career on hold.

The result of his activity for the past three years is this new CD, A Hot Night in Paris. Back in 1996, Collins travelled another musical path assembling a big band and making concert appearances around Europe, culminating in a performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. On that tour, Quincy Jones conducted, and Tony Bennett was a guest vocalist. Dead serious is Mr. Collins!

Reassembled in 1998, the big band toured the US and Europe, and was captured on tape in Paris for this recording. The song selection taps various interests. Included are popular tunes like Collins’ own “Sussudio,” “Against All Odds” and “I Don’t Care Anymore,” the Genesis hits “That’s All,” “Invisible Touch” and “Hold On My Heart,” an original Gerald Albright tune called “Chips & Salsa” (from a recent CD entitled GIVING MYSELF TO YOU), and a couple of covers like “Milestones” (yes, the Miles Davis classic) and Average White Band’s “Pick Up The Pieces.”

For me, the centerpiece of this set is the “Los Endos Suite.” True Genesis fans will recognize this tune from their 70’s album Trick Of The Tail, and it translates well into a big band arrangement. “Los Endos” was an instrumental track to begin with, and anyone who’s familiar with the album will recognize the reprise of many themes from that album. From the crowd’s response, it’s evident that there were quite a few hardcore Genesis fans in the audience!

How do the other Genesis or Phil Collins tracks translate? Variable, I’d say. “Sussudio” gets a hip-hopped arrangement with the melody taking a few harmonic twists and turns. “Invisible Touch” gets a nice Basie-fied traetment, loping along at a gait that Basie and Freddie Green would be proud of; this one was arranged by Sammy Nestico. “Against All Odds” features the crystal clear alto of Gerald Albright. John Clayton Jr. provides a tripped-up arrangement of “That’s All.”

No Collins album is complete without a remake of a classic oldie. Here, the band rips into a funkified Arif Mardin (!) arrangement of “Pick Up The Pieces,” which again features Albright, and is also joined by George Duke on piano and James Carter on tenor. The energy on this track crackles! And it’s a near tie for this one and “Los Endos Suite” as my favorite of the set.

“Milestones,” perhaps my favorite Miles Davis tune, is covered here in a John Clayton arrangement that translates the tune well to a big band. This track illustrates why I feel the Collins big band is a success in the jazz idiom. If you’re familiar with “Milestones,” it starts off with several measures of a melody, then cuts into some serious soloing. And that’s the spirit throughout this album. While a lot of the melodies are familiar, these are not short three-minute big band covers of popular hits. Aside from the ambitious “Los Endos Suite,” the arrangements let the band state the melody, and then drop out of the way so the musicians can cut into some serious solos.

The musicians themselves are all top drawer. Longtime Genesis/Phil Collins touring guitarist Daryl Stuermer plays throughout the album in a rhythm capacity. Years ago, he played in one of Jean-Luc Ponty’s fusion ensembles, so jazz is no stranger to his talents. I’d also give musical director and trumpet/flugelhorn ace Harry Kim a tip of the hat for being the glue that spiritually holds this band together.

But what about the drummer? For one, Phil Collins sings not one note on this set, nor does he switch to the piano or pick up a tamborine. He’s 100% drummer here, doing what he does best, and playing jazz like the seasoned veteran that he is. Aside from a couple of solo breaks and the “Los Endos” workout (which borders on being orchestrated to begin with), there are no drum pyrotechnics, no flashy displays of misspent energy, and no banging on the skins for the sake of making noise. Just some damn good playing here!

So how would I sum it up for everyone? Hard core Collins/Genesis fans will realize this is a new avenue for him and will enjoy it. Jazz fans who don’t know a note of his music from his “day job”, or who can get over the fact that he played that devil rock and roll music, will probably also enjoy the fine musicianship and well-arranged charts. The fans who will be disappointed are the ones who were expecting Collins to sing all of his favorites in front of a big band…mainly, the Top 40 crowd.

As I see it, he hasn’t sold out into the latest “swing” fad, which is where I’m sure many nay-sayers would disagree with me (most who have probably never heard this CD, or did listen but don’t understand it) . The booklet states that he became smitted with one of Buddy Rich’s bands way back in 1966 and thereafter pursued a lot of other big bands (Basie Ellington, etc.), and now that he’s established and probably has all the money he’ll ever need, he has the freedom to play music that presents a new challenge, and have a little fun in the meantime. Which is what I did! My recommendation is to buy this as a big band jazz album and leave it at that. Because that’s exactly what it is!

The Brian Setzer Orchestra
The Dirty Boogie
Interscope Records
Released: 1998
Time: 49:43

Musicians: Brian Setzer (vocals, guitar), big band accompaniment.

Songs: This Cat’s On A Hot Tin Roof, The Dirty Boogie, This Old House, Let’s Live It Up, Sleepwalk, Jump Jive an’ Wail, You’re The Boss, Rock This Town, Since I Don’t Have You, Switchblade 327, Nosey Joe, Hollywood Nocturne, As Long As I’m Singin’.

Rating: * * * * *

Daddy-o, you ain’t livin’ until you get you some Dirty Boogie! Go grab this hot wax, slap it in your CD player, smack that play button, grab yer girl and let that party begin!

A few years back, Setzer traded in his rockabilly trio sound for a genuine big band, recording two albums and hitting the road for a string of concert dates. The first album, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, was a great mix of big band with Setzer’s guitar and vocals, and leaned more toward the big band side of the equation. The second album, Guitar Slinger was hard to put a finger on–it featured some more great tracks, but the cluttered production detracted from the music somewhat.

With this release, the production is cleaned up, and we find Setzer up to his good ol’ tricks again, but this time there’s more of the old Stray Cats sound in the ensemble than ever before. The sound is now rockabilly-based supercharged big-band, with the horns firing off riffs that would put many a rhythm guitar player to shame in the same setting! There’s the requisite bass player slappin’ away on the strings, just like the old Stray Cats recordings. Arrangements are mainly by Setzer and band member Mark Jones; the title track is arranged by Setzer and band member Ray Herrmann, and surprisingly, three of the tracks are arranged by none other than Patrick Williams!

The songs are from all over the musical map. The hard-driving title track, “This Cat’s On A Hot Tin Roof,” “Switchblade 327” and a few others are new Setzer originals. In cover versions, we have two Lieber/Stoller tunes, “You’re The Boss” and “Nosey Joe,” a remake of Louis Prima’s “Jump Jive an’ Wail” (which is the radio hit at this writing), the rock instrumental “Sleepwalk,” and Bobby Darin’s “As Long As I’m Singin’.” The piece de resistance, however, is the Patrick Williams arrangement of Setzer’s signature song from the Stray Cats era: “Rock This Town.”

And how has Brian Setzer fared over the years since the Cats first made their debut? His voice has become more confident, with quite the mature growl when he needs it. And his guitar playing–all I can say is that he is perhaps one of today’s finest, underrated guitarists. His is not a name that comes immediately to mind when one thinks of great rock guitarists, but his guitar technique has become more finely honed over the years, bending notes and ripping off literally handfuls of chords with reckless abandon, and can no doubt play circles around most of his contemporaries. Don’t rule out attitude–he has plenty to spare, and it infuses all of his performances.

To say this disc smokes from end to end is an understatement. I’d give it four stars for its great arrangements and fine playing by Setzer and the entire band that backs him up. The additional star is for that “fun factor” that most recordings today lack, and the overall energy level that literally blasts its way out of the speakers. This one should send Connick’s big band running for cover. If the reviews are any indication, Setzer puts on one helluva great live show with this band. Don’t miss it!

John Klemmer
Making Love Vol. 1
Touch Records
Released: 1998
Time: 72:54

Musicians: John Klemmer (saxophones); instrumental accompaniment.

Rating: 3 stars
Depending on how you like your John Klemmer, you may or may not like this recording. Klemmer is recording once again after a lengthy sabbatical, and his newest more or less picks up where his previous project, Music, left off. The idea here is a musical suite with movements and variations, like classical music, but oriented toward contemporary jazz and new age music consumers. This is both its drawback and its strength, since there are some who wish John Klemmer would just lay it all on the line and put out an album of really good “blowing” tunes like his classic Cadet/Concept sides (or even his Cry solo saxophone project), while others will like this smooth and seductive set because it is so sedate and relaxed. With a few exceptions, this is yet another set of tunes in the same vein as the series of recordings he began with his successful Touch album from the mid 70’s, although we get the relaxing sounds of rain and thunder throughout this disc.

Despite the concept of the album, Klemmer still has his unmistakable tone on the tenor sax, and is just as solid a player as ever. The current crop of soprano saxophonists should listen to Klemmer’s tone on that instrument for an example of how to play it without turning it into a screeching, wailing, headache-inducing squeal. And whether you like it or not, the “Echoplex” sound is also back in full swing. If you like Klemmer’s playing and can get past the rather sedate concept of this album, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s good to see Klemmer back on the scene, and hope his next project will be not so far off into the future.

Jean-Luc Ponty
Live at Chene Park
Atlantic Jazz 82964-2
1996Rating:

The latest CD from Jean-Luc Ponty happens to be his first live recording in nearly 20 years, the last being ‘Live!’ which followed his ‘Cosmic Messenger’ LP. This particular concert was recorded in my hometown, at Chene Park in Detroit on June 29, 1996. Having never been to Chene Park, I can’t attest to the venue’s sound quality itself, but if this recording is any indication, it is nothing special. At times the sound is muddy, the bass popping in and out of focus especially.

I don’t know if it was a problem with the stage monitors or just an off night, but the band definitely was not on cue in some spots. Also, the band seems to sound too “separated”–not really meshing, sounding as though they’re each playing in their own little space. Part of it I attribute to the less than stellar acoustics of this recording. The other part I blame on the previous Ponty albums, which always had an unmistakable precision, a precision which raised my expectations high for an album that really doesn’t deliver as I’d thought it would.

Make no mistake, this is a good band that Jean-Luc Ponty took on the road touring with him. The roster includes Jamie Glaser on electric guitar, Chris Rhyne on keyboards, Baron Browne on electric bass, and Michael Barsimanto on drums. The repertoire features nothing older than Ponty’s ‘Fables’ album, making this a modern-day snapshot of the Ponty sound of late.

There aren’t many suprises here. The album opens and closes appropriately with ‘Fables’ “Infinite Pursuit” and “A Journey’s End”. In between are treats like “The Gift of Time”, “Elephants In Love”, “Between Sea and Sky” and “The Amazon Forest”, effectively hitting highlights of his recent discings. The arrangements do not vary from their studio counterparts, mainly opening up the songs for lengthier soloing and adapting some of the synth parts to guitar or bass. Ponty’s spirited electric violin playing is what saves this from being a hasty run-through of album tracks. On some tunes, like “Infinite Pursuit”, he runs of a machine-gun staccato blaze of 16th notes that boggles the imagination.

In summary, it’s a rather average live recording with less than noteworthy sonics. I’d recommend this one for the real diehard Ponty fans only, its saving grace being Ponty’s enthusiastic soloing. That said, I eagerly await his next studio project.

Footnote, April 9, 2007:   having visited Chene Park as both an audience member, and a “guest” backstage with a sound crew, I can now safely say that Jean-Luc’s band was likely suffering from the poor acoustics of Chene Park.  The venue itself is basically a cement-floored outdoor amphitheater with plastic seating, and a small lawn area. What makes the sonics so nasty is a “clamshell” that covers the stage and the seated audience area.  The reverb without guests in attendance has about an 8 second decay, and it is not much better when the audience is full.  From the audience, the sound at Chene Park is horrible: there is so much delay and decay, the sounds all sort of stream together into one long, tiring barrage of sound that wears on the ears.

It’s no wonder the band sounded “off” that night: even onstage, I found the sound to be somewhat of a jumble.  How they made this album listenable is quite an engineering feat, I’m sure.  As an album, and knowing the circumstances, I’d say that is better than I originally gave it credit for, as it has held up well over the years.  And having finally seen Ponty in concert twice in the past few years, I can attest to the high quality of his live performances.  It’s a shame the band had the venue working against them for this gig.