1. Love Walked In [6:40]; 2.My Reverie [4:27]; 3.Intentions [5:58]; 4.My Kind of Girl [6:42]; 5.I’m a Fool to Want You [6:47]; 6.La Station-Service
[6:38];7. Jitterbug Waltz [8:22]; 8.Nice Work If You Can Get It [6:15]; 9.World Economy Blues [6:56]; 10.Woodstock [6:27]; 11. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows
[4:34]; 12.Everything Happens to Me [6:30]
Mark Lopeman (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet), Ted Rosenthal (piano), Nicki Parrott (bass), Tim Horner (drums), Brandon Lee (trumpet,
flugelhorn) tracks 1,3,6,7,9,10, Noah Bless (trombone) tracks 2,3,6,7,9,10.
Rec. at Bennett Studios, Englewood, New Jersey, USA, June 8-9, 2011. Recording & Mixing Engineer (Roman Klun)
Total time [76:50]
The world of jazz is so much wider than one can imagine and there is so much
talent out there that anyone can be forgiven for missing out on all
but the highest profile players and any locally home-grown talent
that one might hear as well. Therefore this is the first I’ve heard
of saxophonist Mark Lopeman for which apologies to the relevant quarters.
Apparently this is his debut album as band leader despite being in
his 50s. Well it’s not before time and I shall certainly be seeking
out other discs where he has played as part of other bands. What emerges
is a prodigious talent and the most beautifully “fat” sound I’ve heard
in a long time – just listen to track 4 to hear what I mean. Obviously
he has a keen appreciation for the sound he wanted as he has gathered
around him a band that sounds so well put together that you’d easily
believe they’d been together for years. I also find it the mark of
a good musician who wants to communicate with his audience that they
don’t pack their discs full of their own compositions but instead
make a selection of tunes that include standards and, in this case,
nicely mixed with lesser well known songs and just two of his own.
When you hear someone playing a tune you know it’s all the easier
to evaluate them alongside the aural memory you have for other recordings
of the same tune by others, or at least that’s how my mind works.
That said Mark Lopeman certainly doesn’t disappoint; on the contrary
right from the starting blocks with Love Walked In, one of
two compositions of the glorious Gershwin, he nails his sax playing
talents to the musical mast and you immediately know for sure that
you’re going to enjoy this disc. It is a beautifully nuanced version
that stands alongside any other I’ve heard. Then there’s a real treat
with a jazz version of Debussy’s ( My) Reverie. This is an
adorably gorgeous version which Larry Clinton came up with and fits
perfectly with these great musicians sounding more numerous than the
sum of their parts and delivering a silky-smooth little gem. The first
of the two Lopeman compositions is next and Intentions, as
with all really good tunes, is something you think you’ve heard before
even though you haven’t. Great rhythms from Mark’s clarinet, superlative
piano work, expert drumming and sumptuous bass playing to kick the
tune off with and for the final minute or so joined by the trumpet
of Brandon Lee and Noah Bless on trombone. Aural bliss! My Kind
of Girl which follows is the first of the four songs on the disc
with associations with Frank Sinatra and which make such great sounding
vehicles for Lopeman’s easy singing style of playing that recall the
likes of Stan Getz and Zoot Sims from the pre-Coltrane era when jazz
was really establishing its credentials as a future music that demanded
to be taken seriously, and the next tune is a fabulous rendition ofI’m
a Fool to Want You. Among other delights are a Legrand tune,
La Station Service, from the score of Les Parapluies
de Cherbourg that’s all too rarely heard and which gives Brandon
Lee another chance to demonstrate why Lopeman chose him to join the
rhythm section for this disc just as it does for trombonist
Noah Bless, and Lopeman’s solo here is truly superb. Turning from
tenor to soprano saxophone for Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz
Lopeman delivers a gorgeous sound on the longest track on the disc
that you could continue to listen to for a lot longer given the chance
such is the magic his artistry is able to weave. Gershwin’s other
entry and the disc’s title track comes next and I defy anyone to come
up with a more musically satisfying version than this in which the
quartet of Lopeman, Rosenthal, Parrott and Horner give it their all
and boy does it swing! In a collaboration in scoring with Chris Byars,
Lopeman has come up with a very pertinent tune for these times for
track 9, (how will they explain the title in the future I wonder),
World Economy Blues. Surely it’s a rare event when a jazz
song mirrors politics in this way but as they say it really is an
ill wind that blows no good and when it’s all over at least we’ll
still have this to enjoy in the future and what a great tune it is.
Joni Mitchell may be a surprising source for inspiration but once
Woodstock begins you know Lopeman’s got it right as the tune
lends itself so well to the jazz vibe and the whole sextet gives it
a really effective outing. I’m Always Chasing Rainbows with
its Chopin connection is an interesting choice but again one that
works just as well in a jazz environment as it does in a piano recital.
The final offering on this highly enjoyable disc is another Frank
Sinatra hit Everything Happens to Me which has Lopeman sign
off in fine form with a really laid back version of this classic in
which he and Rosenthal duet to perfection. When you read that Lopeman
arranged all the tunes as well you get a sense of his abilities and
Bill Kirchner who has written the liner notes ends by saying that
if Lopeman’s “playing and writing is new to you, it’s a safe bet that
hearing this CD will leave you wanting to hear more”. Nuff said!
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
No record company or catalogue numbers given.
