JAZZ : NEW RELEASES : In Brief
*** Charles Fambrough, “The Proper Angle,” CTI. The former Art Blakey-McCoy Tyner bassist fronts a heavyweight ensemble in a dandy program that ranges from not-too-sweet bossa novas and all-stops-out burners. Fambrough lets his cohorts--Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland and Joe Ford--steal the show. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis delivers effective, even moving solos and, on three cuts, is reunited with his brother for the first time on record in years.
*** Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank and the Lighthouse All-Stars, “America the Beautiful,” Candid. Though this music recalls the ‘50s era of the famed Hermosa Beach jazz club, simple nostalgia it isn’t. The octet has a big, beefy sound, and arranger-fluegelhornist Rogers has spiffed up classics like Bud Powell’s “Un Poco Loco” and penned new works like “Less Is More.” The featured players--Rogers, Shank, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Conte Candoli and Pete Jolly--deliver solos that crackle with inviting enthusiasm.
New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.
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