CD Review: Speak Your Truth (Perry Conticchio)

Speak Your Truth
Perry Conticchio
Liven Up Jazz Productions
2005
12 Tracks

With today’s technology allowing just about anyone to record and release music from the comfort of home, you’d think much of what is released would be amateurish to just plain awful. It’s not true. I receive a lot of CD releases in the mail. Most have not been requested by me and almost all come from independent artists who are not particularly famous away from home. I’ve been writing music reviews since the Sixties, and online now for a dozen years. I’m constantly surprised, and very pleasantly, when I open a new release and start listening. In general, the quality of these releases is as good as anything released in earlier years, and some of it is among the best I’ve heard. This brings us to Perry Conticchio’s Speak Your Truth.

Eight of the twelve songs here were composed by Conticchio, and the remaining four are arranged by him. Jazz composition, and to some degree arrangement of jazz works, requires very special skills. Based on this suite of songs, Conticchio has honed his skills well and is a consummate master of his form. Performed by six musicians at the top of their form, these songs are fully rounded and seamless, flowing across the listener with gentle dexterity. The effect is not of a dozen single songs played in isolation but of a full, rich jazz suite that includes all of these songs in just the right sequence.

While saxman Conticchio takes the lead in many of the songs, he also gives his colleagues plenty of room to strut their stuff. The combo at the core of this music is tight and refined with excellent, well-balanced performances by Conticchio on tenor and soprano sax, Rodney Richardson on guitar, Andrew Elliot Cox on acoustic bass, and Lawrence “bubbles” Dean on drums. Joseph Brotherton plays trumpet on two songs and Wayne Wilentz plays piano on two others. The trumpet and piano blend organically into the mix, never sounding extra or added-in. All of this is a tribute to both Conticchio’s skill as an arranger and the talents of the musicians with whom he works.

While it never sounds dated in any way, this music does have an old feel. I’m reminded of the jazz I was buying on albums during the Sixties and early-Seventies. Although the sound of the songs is unified and the set holds together very well, Conticchio seems to have pulled in elements from a number of the jazz variations of mid-century and made musical allusions to several more, creating his own brand of subtle fusion. It’s in his particular blend of styles that this music sounds fresh and new.

Besides Conticchio’s refined sax sound, this release features exceptional playing and outstanding moments featuring the other musicians. There are some impressive solos on bass and drums, cool piano bits, very Wes Montgomery sounding guitar, trumpet that at times takes me back to Bobby Hackett, and much more. Because of these many high points, this music welcomes the close listener who has a taste for excellence in jazz performance. At the same time, this is quiet club-jazz well suited to become background for a quiet meal and conversation or to be played at home while cuddling in front of the fireplace.

While I enjoy listening to this set, I keep thinking how much more enjoyable it would be to walk into a club somewhere and discover Perry Conticchio and the boys on stage. It would be a pleasure to watch such a masterful group of musicians at work. If you can’t make it to a live performance, then this CD is the next best thing.

If you want to learn more about saxman Perry Conticchio, go to PerryConticchio.com. If you go to the Speak Your Truth page, you can hear samples of four of the songs on this release.

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CD Review: Inside My Secret Pocket (Eddie Lawrence)

Inside My Secret Pocket
Eddy Lawrence
Snowplow Records
2004
22 tracks

First and foremost, Eddy Lawrence is a story teller. A skilled musician, Lawrence first lays down a comfortable bed of instrumentation then settles in and tells a series of captivating stories that have both personal and universal appeal. There is a sparcity to his tales that belies the depths to which he reaches into the human spirit. And the songs of Eddy Lawrence also make easy listening simply as music. This is a winning combination.

There’s something about the mood of these songs that always suggests there’s a country boy somewhere at their core, but the sound ranges easily across any number of genres. Travelling through folk, country, jazz, rock, blues, and other territories, these songs manage nonetheless to maintain a consistent sound. This is not a disparate scrapbook of short-stories but single, thematic collection.

The eighth release by this prolific songwriter, Inside My Secret Pocket maintains the consistent high quality for which Eddy Lawrence has become known. Listening to his recordings, it becomes clear that each song is written and recorded with consummate care. Beneath the artistry of Eddy Lawrence lies a lifetime of finely-hewn craft that can’t help but shine through.

Lawrence has described the songs on this release as “the diary of a divorce” and the emotions of this divisive process lend power to stories that would have been powerful and emotive in any event. These are stories that can be understood and felt by any one of us who has been involved in a human relationship or who has loved and lost.

It would be difficult to pick any one of these 22 songs as standing out above the rest. Each has its own merits and each tells its own part of the larger story. The strength of this release is not in one individual song but in their cumulative effect. The quality is consistently high throughout.

If you haven’t already discovered Eddy Lawrence, then this release might be a good place to start. Eddy Lawrence stands in a long tradition of American storytelling. Although he’s one of the finest modern narrators of American life and does have a certain niche audience, Lawrence remains largely unknown. That’s a shame.

Those who may be interested can find additional information about Eddy Lawrence at the Snowplow Records website. You can find my review of the previous Eddy Lawrence release, Going to Water at Sound Bytes.

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