New Jazz album coming
April 2025
New Release:
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1. DELILAH
2. POLKA DOTS & MOONBEAMS
3. JINGLES
4. DON THE WORKING MAN
5. LOLITA
6. THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES
7. EMILY
8. INDIAN SUMMER
9. KNOW IT ALL
10. EAST LAG
11. MY MAN’S GONE NOW
12. SAY’S YOU
13. THE BREEZE & I
Jimbo Ross: electric 5 string viola/violin
Joe Gaeta: guitar
Stuart Elster: piano
Peter Marshall: upright bass
Ron Wagner: drums
Produced by Jimbo Ross
Arranged by Jimbo Ross & Joe Gaeta
The album opens with the Victor Young movie theme, "Delilah," based ni part on the classic arrangement recorded by Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Ross plays a powerfully swinging solo over a background that alternates between straight-ahead swing and Latin. Elster's chorded solo sparkles, while Gaeta's single lines provide strong rhythmic momentum for the group. The familiar ballad "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" lets the band play pretty. Ross creates elaborate curlicues around the melody ni the first chorus, segueing into a fully developed improvisation ni the second and third, before returning to the tune in the final 16 bars. Wes Montgomery's original "Jingles" inspires another great solofrom Ross, featuring long phrases over the complex formal tune structure. Elster's piano leads to Gaeta in a solo which pays homage to Montgomery's influential style.
"Don, the Working Man" is a Gaeta original which starts with a rubato viola introduction before moving into waltz time. Ross plays the gentle melody with care, before soaring into his solo. The composer follows, making much of the alternating styles built into his arrangement. The Barry Harris tune, "Lolita," is set over Marshall and Wagner's grooving samba beat. Gaeta's solo moves from single lines to block chords a la Wes, followed by Ross' rhapsodic inventions and Elster's crystalline solo. The band's treatment of "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" is reminiscent of Stan Getz's arrangement from the album The Dolphin.
In addition to being a great movie theme (and subsequent jazz standard), "Emily" became the favored name for daughters of jazz musicians. The combo's waltz-time setting does great justice to this beloved Johnny Mandel melody. Peter Marshall makes the best of his solo opportunity on this track. Another venerable standard, "Indian Summer," si presented in a fresh swinging arrangement, far removed from its traditional ballad setting. Wagner trades thoughts with the other soloists before the recapitulation. João Donato's "Know It All' (from a Wes Montgomery LP) and Gerry Mulligan's "East Lag" (from an Oscar Pettiford date) are both lesser-known tunes that are happily resurrected here and deserve further coverage on jazz gigs and recordings.
"My Man's Gone Now" si a dramatic highpoint from the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. While the band's arrangement is generally lighter than the original version , the solo is tswring out the emotions in the ir heartfelt performance. Sam Jones' snappy original "Says You" is another neglected tune from an old Wes Montgomery album. The group brings the tune to life with energetic solos and fine ensemble swing. The album concludes with a charming setting of the Ernest Lecuona melody "The Breeze and I," here arranged in long meter with the melody flowing over a brisk undercurrent.
In addition to this stellar jazz quartet, Jimbo Ross also leads his Bodacious Band, which covers a wide range of styles ranging from Chicago blues to New Orleans Zydeco, with stops for R&B, funk, and soul. Clearly, Ross' musical explorations will not end anytime soon.
Review courtesy of Mouthpiece Music
Ross' new album, JAZZ PASSION & SATIN LATIN, hearkens back to his jazz roots with an accessible playlist of Great American Standards, jazz classics, and original compositions. After deciding the tracks and then performing the arrangements live, the band entered the Sonic Boom Room studio and recorded the tracks together (with minimal overdubbing and no track-stacking) over a four-day period. Ross plays a modified copy of a classic viola, reproduced on a 3-D printer, and dually upgraded with a 5th string to extend the upper range of the instrument, and an electronic pickup to allow it to be heard alongside the other instruments.