Pandora’s Box (ESC Records)
Michael Wolff
Released June 15, 2007
All About Jazz The Most Exciting Jazz Albums Since 1969
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nCwXSIzfg1FYK0sX-aSEd0N7KBXUuTKH4
Spotify:
About:
Chances are you already know Michael Wolff as one of the most innovative and dynamic pianists of his generation (if not, you ought to). His name deserves to be breathed in tandem with the likes of Brad Mehldau and Bill Charlap, though his style, which owes as much to Jerry Lee Lewis as it does to Art Tatum, is utterly unique. Michael Wolff says his band is “like Star Trek” – exploring new frontiers. The group is made up of jazz veterans who explore the textures of world music in their music. And although Impure Thoughts draws the jazz crowd, the inclusion of tabla player Badal Roy is gaining the act fans who like jam bands. The group’s ESC release, “Pandora�s Box” is going deep in the world of rhythm.
Wolff and Impure Thoughts move effortlessly through an eclectic mix of music – from hip-hop rhythms to world beats, funky soul to calypso grooves. Pandora’s Box is an adventurous creative imagination that deserves a far wider hearing.
“My current band can play anywhere from a mainstream club like Birdland in New York, to jam band places like Higher Ground in Vermont, to performing with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center. But wherever we play, whenever we get together, we feel like we’re creating some magic.” Wolff adds, “I’m as excited about music now as when I started out. I’m a different person and I have a different life now. I’m not hanging out in the clubs every night. I’m married (to actress Polly Draper) and I have two kids, but I feel like now I’m in my prime in terms of having all this experience and still having the energy of a young person.” An uncompromising leader, there is no doubt that Wolff has found his own voice, one that touches on many different and exciting levels.
The band is:
ALEX FOSTER
Alex Foster has been on the cutting edge of saxophone playing, on the jazz and studio scene, since 1973. With a back ground in classical and jazz music and ventures into pop and rock, Alex is the ultimate in versatility. As a founding member of Jack DeJohnette’s Directions, Alex completed three records that include original composition and arrangements. This relationship led to featured soloist whith McCoy Tyner on “Inner Voices” and tours with Nat Adderley and Freddy Hubbard. Alex also played with Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, Don Alias, Mike Stern, Michael Franks, Steps Ahead, Gil Evans, Paul Simon and Paul McCartney.
JOHN B. WILLIAMS
Legendary jazz bass player John B. Williams has quite the resume, his talents have supported such luminaries as Doc Severinsen’s The Tonight Show Band, Arsenio Hall Shows band The Posse, Nancy Wilson, Manhattan Transfer, Hugh Massakela, Freddie Hubbard, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and the list goes on. Williams’s uniquely textured bass style is not something you just hear. You feel it down to your bones.
VICTOR JONES
Victor Jones is one of the most prolific and eclectic drummers of today’s jazz and has toured and recorded with a multitude of renown artists, such as Stan Getz, James Moody, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Clarke, Stanley Turrentine, Masabumi Kikuchi, Michel Pettruciani, Dizzy Gillespie, Mike Stern, Chaka Khan, etc.
BADAL ROY
Badal Roy is a tabla player and percussionist known for his work in jazz, cross-cultural music, and experimental music. Roy subsequently performed and recorded with many leading jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Pharaoh Sanders, John McLaughlin, Airto Moreira, Charlie Haden and Ornette Coleman.
FRANK COLON
Frank has performed, toured and recorded with the likes of The Manhattan Transfer, Wayne Shorter, Milton Nascimento, Harry Belafonte, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, George Clinton, Gato Barbieri, Tania Maria, George Benson, Joe Zawinul, Airto Moreira, Pat Metheny, Flora Purim, a.o. Frank is a specialist in Latin Caribbean instruments such as congas, bongos, timbales, shekere, and Cuban bata drums as well as Brazilian specialty items such as cuica, berimbau, atabaque and the entire array of samba instruments.
MICHAEL WOLFF
Michael Wolff is a brilliant and innovative pianist and composer with a wealth of straight ahead jazz credentials such as Sonny Rollins, Nancy Wilson, Airto, Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Jean Luc Ponty, as well as an impressive body of movie soundtrack work, “Dark Angel” and “The Tic Code”. Michael Wolff addresses his own musical roots while incorporating a fresh world beat sensibility as leader of his inventive band Impure Thoughts.
Track Listing:
1. Badd Al (Michael Wolff) 6:38
2. Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Strong / Whitfield) 6:31
3. Witchhunt (Wayne Shorter) 5:49
4. Bengal (Michael Wolff) 6:42
5. Thank You (Falettinme be mice elf agin) (Sylvester Stewart) 6:01
6. Bells (Michael Wolfff & Nat Wolff) 6:49
7. Sidewinder (Lee Morgan) 6:37
8. Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye / Odell Elliott Brown Jr. / David Ritz) 5:48
9. In A Silent Way (Joe Zawinul) 7:46
10. Impure Thoughts (Michael Wolff) 7:20
11. Euphoria (Michael Wolff) 5:13
12. Pandoras Box (Michael Wolff) 6:02
Personnel:
Michael Wolff: piano, keyboards, vocals
Alex Foster: saxophones, chanter
Badal Roy: tablas
John B. Williams: bass
Victor Jones: drums
Frank Colon: percussion (1-3, 5-8, 11, 12)
Cafe de Silva: percussion (4, 9, 10)
Charlie Hunter: 8-string guitar (8)
Produced & Mixed by Michael Wolff & Nic TenBroek at Fine Tune Music, L.A. /CA
Mastered by Chris Bellman / Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, CA
Photo credits: VENTIKO (Badal Roy)
Review:
Pianist Michael Wolff has had an illustrious musical career, playing in the bands of such notables as Cal Tjader, Frank Sinatra and Wayne Shorter. He went on to be the musical director for Nancy Wilson and then for The Arsenio Hall Show (1989-1994). But he entered into the pantheon of jazz thrillers with his boundary-crossing band, Impure Thoughts, featuring Alex Foster on sax and Badal Roy on tablas. The inspiration to include Roy was genius, incorporating complex Indian rhythms with exciting, groove-based jazz. Pandora’s Box is a compilation of the band’s first two albums, Impure Thoughts and Intoxicate.
“Badd Al” kicks off with percussive piano and tablas and a piercing, sinuous melody by Foster. “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” The Temptations No. 1 soul hit from 1971, somehow fits in perfectly. Wayne Shorter’s classic “Witch Hunt” follows and is the real thriller of the collection and one of the best versions ever recorded. Other jazz and soul classics follow: “Sidewinder,” “In A Silent Way” and Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” Many of the originals, “Impure Thoughts,” “Euphoria” and “Bells,” are slow, deep and beautifully wrought. Recommendation: Get both of the original albums, if you can, with five more great songs.
Robert Middleton (All About Jazz)
