Saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh's Latest AAA Release Truly is "Vintage"
musical "comfort food" to groove the heart and soul
Backed by the all-star rhythm section of drummer Johnathan Blake, bassist Joe Martin and veteran pianist Kenny Barron, saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh steps up to the microphone and puts to analog tape his finest, most fully realized recorded musical performances. The quartet meshes as if it's been touring all year.
The album title and title track as well as the cover and rear photos telegraph that what you'll be hearing is strictly "old school" straight ahead, melodic post-bop jazz—a mix of familiar classics like Tadd Dameron's "On A Misty Night" and Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing"—and an impressive trio of Sabbagh originals. The set ends with a pair of Monk covers, the first, Wee See" playful and rhythmically adventurous, the second "Ask Me Now" a wistful ballad and a perfect album closer in which Sabbagh and Barron perfectly hit it off—one of the album's most special moments you're sure to savor.
The uptempo title tune opener would be at home on a Hackensack Rudy-recorded Blue Note release—musically and sonically. Sabbagh states the tune and everyone has a chance to go places with it—at its conclusion even to the Caribbean. Blake's simply miked drum kit owns the right channel as on old Blue Notes—though there's plenty of space around him—Barron and Martin sit center stage and Sabbagh floats eerily and transparently in the space midway between the left channel and center stage. Vintage for sure.
And oh boy, the sound. Hi-fi by 50's standards and that's meant as a serious compliment. The tonal character is warm, the spatial perspective wide and deep with the musicians appearing in a space and not in your face, but what most stands out is the transparency and the lack of "its recorded" artifice. By modern standards Blake's drum kit probably sounds distant—the sizzle of his cymbals and the precision of his stick hits might barely register if your system has been warmed up to make bright modern recordings sound tolerable, but one set up to deliver the news, bad and good will surely draw you in and let you turn up the volume as high as like.
The balance of Sabbagh's saxophone—direct and space around it—is ideal. At the right SPLs the three-dimensionality puts him in your room, or you in his. But enough about the sound.
The group caresses the cover of Dameron's classic, floating it slowly along the melodic curves. So lovely and delicate and a perfect set-up for the Strayhorn cover, which is truly a "lovesome thing" delivered almost too beautifully to absorb. If this was on CD you'd probably find yourself repeating those two tracks more than a few times before proceeding to the rest.
Side two opens with a Sabbagh original built upon a repeated, sunny melodic riff that exudes late 40's-50's era Parkerish musical optimism. That's followed by a slower, bluesy ballad and then come the two Monk covers. The tracking—the song order— is as well-accomplished as everything else about this record.
What's especially welcome is the generous arrangement space Sabbagh offers to the great Kenny Barron and of course what he makes of the opportunity. You could and should spend a few spins just devoting your attention to his contributions—on "Wee See"—a Sabbagh/Barron duet—the mix gives him the whole road—left hand to the left, right hand to the right—something I usually don't like but on this lively tune, why not?
I suppose some might say this album is of music that's come and gone, whose time has passed, but it's called "Vintage" for a reason and wouldn't you like to step into that 1936 cover shot if just for an afternoon? Folks of a certain "vintage" recognize the Davega name at the bottom of the Philco billboard. The retailer sold radios (obviously) then moved into sporting goods and later into vinyl records. Now the name is on the cover of one well into the 21st century. A highly recommended album for both music and sound. If you collect "Tone Poet" BN's you'll surely dig this.
The tech details: recorded to multitrack analog tape at Oktaven Audio on a Studer A800 MKIII at 30 IPS, mixed on a custom 1/2" tube Ampex 351 at 30 IPS and cut "...direct from the analog tape using g an all-tube system." Usually at Bernie's this means it bypasses the board with the tape machine's output plugged directly into the lathe (or straight through as possible). Nicely pressed on 180g vinyl at Gotta Groove in Cleveland.
For now the only way to purchase the vinyl is through Sabbagh's website (digital is on Bandcamp). The vinyl edition's executive producer was Swiss electronics manufacturer darTZeel.
The only sour note is the odd way in which the album title and artists are (not) integrated into the cover art. The large black rectangle above the album title looks as if something been redacted!
