Main takeaways – at a glance
- ‘Dexter’ was in the past covered by Joey Calderazzo
- A tribute to the great city of Boston
- In the marlbank 10 – today’s playlist.
This Gonz original, an aching ballad is our new track of the week – we’re guessing, shoot us if wrong, that the Dexter in the title is for Dexter Gordon – a piece Joey Calderazzo covered.
Drawn from Beantown Ballads co-led with guitarist Sheryl Bailey.
US tenorist icon Jerry Bergonzi and Bailey are joined by fellow American trumpeter Phil – brother of Mehldau icon Larry – Grenadier.
Also here are Finnish double bassist Johnny Åman and Danish drummer Anders Mogensen. He runs the amm label, a jazz indie that has also issued the tremendous new Norma Winstone album Wheeler With Words.
Grenadier, jaunty Johnny and Mogensen appeared on Bergonzi album The Seven Rays recorded in 2015 issued by Savant.
‘Dexter’ was in the past covered by Joey Calderazzo and is marlbank Track of the Week
The piece has also been covered by the Toni Kitanovski Trio. We’ve only heard Bergonzi play once which was at the Pizza Express Jazz Club. But it was one of the best gigs by a tenorist we have probably ever witnessed and certainly enjoy what he does buoyed by that live thrill.
Toured with Dave Brubeck
Born in October 1947 Bergonzi’s early influences included Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and Hank Mobley.
He studied at Lowell University and Berklee College of Music.
Bergonzi joined Dave Brubeck to play with the Time Out legend from 1973 to the early-80s and later developed a strong reputation as an educator at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
His albums include Blue Note Japan 1990s classic Standard Gonz with Calderazzo, Adam Nussbaum and Dave Santoro.
A tribute to the great city of Boston
Bergonzi is massively revered by fellow tenorists in a manner few have been with the exceptions of Chris Potter and Kamasi Washington since Michael Brecker. And when you listen to anything on the beautiful Beantown Ballads release you will hear yet more reasons immediately why.
One of a dozen songs Beantown Ballads also includes a fabulous take on ‘All the Things You Are’ which has become ‘All the Thangs’. And on this new release too there is a version of Gonz classic ‘Neptunian Verses’ that was included on 1990s era release, Napoli Connection.
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