Blue Innuendo (Label 1)
Dave Anderson
Released April 11, 2016
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
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About:
A Quiz Question — “Blue Innuendo” is:
A) an album
B) a band
C) a song
D) a feeling
E) All of the above (CORRECT ANSWER)
Blue Innuendo is a new album named after a band named after a song named after a feeling.
Album
I had written several original songs I thought would sound great with a group of sax, guitar, organ and drums. I wrote a few more specifically for this group and added a song by friend Devin Lowe, and then it was time to rehearse and record! I’ve was fortunate to get some great musicians to play the music…
Band
I’m excited to present the Blue Innuendo band, with
Tom Guarna on Guitar
Pat Bianchi on Hammond organ
Matt Wilson on drums
(I play tenor and soprano saxophones on the project). I’ve always been a fan of the sax-guitar-organ-drums format, and of jazz organ groups in general. As a group we bring this sound into the present while also paying homage to its classic past…
Song
Blue Innuendo is also the title of an original song I’ve dedicated to jazz organ master Joey D’Francesco. Joey has captured the history and sound of the organ in his playing and plays so beautifully. Once I heard Joey at the Blue Note in New York, and the music felt so good, I could feel it in my body the next day! Blue Innuendo the song features the organ and pays tribute to this type of feeling possible in a jazz organ group…
Feeling
When I think of the feeling of Blue Innuendo — the blues inflection that comes with adding the organ to a jazz group — I remember recordings that are not blues songs, but are played with a blues inflection by master musicians. The Hammond B3 had a way of bringing the blues wail — at least a hint of it — to any song, even if that song is a ballad or a bossa. I’ll blog some more about that soon…
Thank you to all the people who helped make this project possible, including: Pat, Tom, Matt and Devin, the folks at Systems Two Recording Studios, Scott Anderson, Ross Nyberg, Dr. James Noyes, Cheryl Hooper, Devin Lowe, Michiko Studios, Eric Halvorson, Phil Stewart, Tim Lancaster, Scott Thornton, Bill Singer, Doug Bambrick, Bob Anderson and Ilana Judah!
sincerley,
Dave
Track Listing:
1. Urban Dilemma (Dave Anderson) 07:56
2. 22 Doors (Devin Lowe) 06:52
3. 12-Step Blues (Dave Anderson) 05:26
4. Parallel Present (Dave Anderson) 05:07
5. Genealogy (Dave Anderson) 05:31
6. Stuck (Dave Anderson) 04:37
7. The Phantom (Dave Anderson) for Joe Henderson 04:57
8. Two-Tone Tune (Dave Anderson) 03:39
9. Blue Innuendo (Dave Anderson) for Joey D 06:42
10. Redeye (Dave Anderson) 06:55
Personnel:
Dave Anderson: tenor & soprano saxes
Tom Guarna: guitar
Pat Bianchi: organ
Matt Wilson: drums
Recorded and mixed by Mike Marciano, Systems Two Recording, Brooklyn, NY
Mastered by Ross Nyberg
Designed by Cheryl Hooper
Review:
The New York-based saxophonist-composer Dave Anderson has pulled together a stellar lineup of fellow New Yorkers for the first recording under his own imprint, Label 1, and third album overall. Organist Pat Bianchi, a longtime member of Pat Martino’s trio, fuels this B-3 quartet session with his deep-grooving bass lines, warm comping and exhilarating right-handed runs, while fleet-fingered guitarist Tom Guarna plays Anderson’s partner on the frontline, executing tight unison and harmony lines on heads and contributing a number of outstanding solos, particularly on the surging modernist opener “Urban Dilemma,” the exuberantly swinging “Redeye” and the funky “22 Doors.” Veteran drummer and joyful swinger Matt Wilson elevates the proceedings with a flowing rhythmic pulse, hip syncopations and unpredictable accents on the kit.
Minnesota native Anderson alternates between soprano and tenor saxophones throughout this copasetic session, soaring on the former on the uptempo romp “Genealogy” and the lush ballad “Stuck,” while digging deep on the latter on his burner “12-Step Blues,” the mellow bossa nova-flavored “Parallel Present” and his ode to Joe Henderson, “The Phantom.” Wilson showcases his remarkably melodic approach to the kit on “Two-Tone Tune,” while Bianchi delivers a combination of laid back charm and pure burn on the title track, Anderson’s tribute to organ great Joey DeFrancesco. Great chemistry, great playing and good vibes by a kindred crew.
Bill Milkowski (DownBeat)
