Jimmy Owens, “The Monk Project” (IPO)
There are at least a few good ways to interpret the music of Thelonious Monk: as a liturgy, as a set of challenges, as a point of departure. The trumpeter Jimmy Owens knows every angle of approach and at least some of the potential pitfalls, accounting for the steady equilibrium of “The Monk Project.” A warmly earnest tribute featuring new arrangements for a septet, it’s yet more proof of the enduring sturdiness of these compositions. What’s often missing are the elusive intangibles — a stuttering, precarious sort of grace, for starters — that once sent Monk’s music into flight.
Few things in the realm of jazz repertory are worse than facile mannerism, so there’s reason to be grateful here. But then Owens, 68, has never been drawn to the easy path: not as a slashing young dynamo and certainly not as a jazz educator and musicians’-rights advocate.
“The Monk Project” features an estimable crew, beginning with the pianist Kenny Barron, who has been working smartly with Monk’s dialect for many years, notably in the quartet Sphere. Another accomplished veteran in the band is Howard Johnson, on tuba and baritone saxophone.
The arrangements can err on the side of palatability, but whenever Owens takes charge on trumpet or flugelhorn, as happens fairly often, the picture snaps into focus. Nate Chinen, The New York Times
Etta James, “The Dreamer”(Verve Forecast)
By all indications, this will be Etta James’ last album _ the 73-year-old R&B great is reported to be in the last stages of leukemia. If it is, then the singer of such immortals as “Tell Mama,” “At Last,” and “I’d Rather Go Blind” is going out on a high note.
“The Dreamer” presents James’ trademark blend of sophistication and sass. She can still display some grit, as she does on the jump-blues chestnut “Too Tired” and a groove-heavy reworking of Guns ‘N Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” She sounds just as at home, however, with the elegant balladry of Ray Charles’ “In the Evening” and Johnny “Guitar” Watson’s “That’s the Chance You Take.” Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer
