In The Spirit Of Herbie Hancock (O.A.P.)
Don Braden / Joris Teepe Quartet
Released June 17, 2020
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/36xzmMD6M5C91cYn9WxNRX?si=sgFTD76YRTuhosyqvgA8IA
About:
It was a full house on November 15th 2019 when the Don Braden / Joris Teepe Quartet played “In the spirit of Herbie Hancock” in De Witte.
Expectations were high knowing that Don and Joris have more than 25 years of collaboration behind them. Long ago they immediately recognized their compatibility of personalities and attitudes.
Their last album “Conversations” (2016) is strong proof of that and was highly acclaimed among others by DownBeat Magazine. Judging by the standing ovation at the end of the concert on November 15th the same might happen to this album.
The music of the great pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, arranger, composer and actor Herbie Hancock (April 12th, 1940), one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound, inspired Don and Joris to arrange a varied selection of his compositions from ballads to blues and straight-ahead to medium swing. They also added two of their own compositions that were strongly influenced by Hancock.
All excellently performed by a finely tuned Dutch-American quartet showing visible and audible joy of playing in the spirit of their iconic collegue.
Track Listing:
1. Maiden Voyage 11:04
2. Watermelon Man 8:33
3. Actual Proof 5:38
4. Speak like a Child 10:05
5. The Ingenious Catalyst 7:43
6. Role Model 7:11
7. Butterfly 8:29
8. Driftin’ 8:48
9. Yesterdays 9:42
Personnel:
Don Braden: tenor saxophone, flute
Joris Teepe: bass
Rob Van Bavel: piano
Owen Hart Jr.: drums
Produced by O.A.P. Records, Live concert recording at Sociëteit De Witte on November 15, 2019, The Hague, The Netherlands,
Engineer: Barry Olthof
PA sound & assistant engineer: Marnix Bosman
Audio editing by Don Braden
Mixed and mastered by Barry Olthof at O.A.P. Studio, The Hague, The Netherlands
Photography: Stijn Kuiper & Martin Potjens
Review:
A followup to their 2017 outing Conversations, this live 2019 concert recording from The Netherlands features longtime musical partners Don Braden and Joris Teepe, accompanied by Dutch pianist Rob Van Bavel and Americanborn drummer Owen Hart Jr. Van Bavel, a veteran of the European jazz scene, should be a revelation to Stateside jazz fans. His gifts become immediately apparent on the opener, a relaxed “Maiden Voyage” that finds the pianist flaunting chops and exploring with impunity on his solo. Braden’s bold-toned tenor solo is unrestrained and delightful here, though one misses the original version’s trumpet harmony. Teepe also delivers a virtuosic bass solo, while Hart exhibits a looseness and penchant for melodicism on the kit, buoying the proceedings. Teepe’s brisk reimagining of “Watermelon Man”—full of reharmonization and intricate stop-time breaks—is fueled by Hart’s driving sense of swing and interactive abandon. Van Bavel is funky here, while also pushing the harmonic envelope during the spirited workout as he slyly alludes to “Giant Steps” in his solo. The ensemble handles “Actual Proof” like a lush ballad and features some remarkably expressive playing by Braden. The quartet’s mellow rendition of “Butterfly” showcases Braden’s flute playing, then Van Bavel’s extended gospel flavored solo piano intro to “Driftin’” sets the tone for a 3/4 recreation of the soul-jazz classic. Teepe’s “Role Model” and Braden’s “The Ingenious Catalyst” also are firmly in the spirit of the album’s namesake.
Bill Milkowski (DownBeat)
