At a glance
Issued on pianist Orrin Evans’ label Imani that Evans produces and appears on this album of his fellow American trumpeter Thomas Marriott.
The theme as you might guess – strewth, sleuthing at this time of the morning – from the album title is film and TV related.
The setting is mainly a quartet one plus there’s extra Hammond organ (played by Shedrick Mitchell) raucously delivered up on Sesame Street Walt Kraemer number ‘Pinball Number Count.’
Marriott has well over a dozen albums as a leader to his name
His sound is a bit like Tom Harrell’s with maybe a touch of Mark Isham’s smearing bluesiness in there as well. Other comparisons, sweeping or otherwise, are available.
Robert Hurst – known for his work with Branford Marsalis (on such 1990s classics as The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born and I Heard You Twice the First Time) – is on double bass here and Mark Whitfield Jr. on drums.
The album was recorded in a Seattle studio.
Highlights include Evans’ Fender Rhodes touch on James Bond theme ‘You Only Live Twice’ and his soloing on piano on Marriott’s own piece the title track ‘Screen Time’ also comes off very well.
The tunes are not as obvious as you get on some movie related affairs. Some emanate from fairly obscure sources (to non US listeners anyway) unless you are a massive US TV buff. While not a classic of the genre – we feel the best film related jazz album is Terence Blanchard’s Jazz in Film (1999) – it’s a lovely record through and through.
There is no feeling of obscurantism for the sake of it even when the players tackle less familiar stuff.
Far from it. The style is modern mainstream. It veers away from being too sentimental.
The treatment of ‘Dexter’s Tune’ is a top pick
The Dubin & Warren song ‘Summer Night’ from the film Sing Me A Love Song was covered by Miles Davis on Quiet Nights.
Marriott like most jazz players has been influenced by Miles at some point in his life.
But his approach to the song on Screen Time is his own.
It’s such a happy feeling: You’re growing inside.
‘It’s Such A Good Feeling,’ a Fred Rogers song from the kids TV Show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood is more recent but of course given the deep dive nature of the album not that recent – it goes back to the 1970s.
Screen Time also includes besides the title track another Marriott piece which is entitled ‘Skip Intro.’
Interesting is the psychological mood conveyed in the arrangement of Alan Silvestri’s ‘Goodbye / Love Theme’ From Predator that is another big plus point of a highly likeable album.
Seattle based Marriott, 49, began his music career in the 1990s.
He has recorded extensively for the city’s own Origin label.
And Marriott issued on Imani Live from the Heat Dome three years ago that Evans was on as was the Branford Marsalis bassist Eric Revis and fine drummer Ted Poor, a player we interviewed for this blog a few years ago.
An album adept at conjuring an array of moods
It’s an album of an array of moods from the lovable sound of ‘Pinball Number Count’ and our favourite melody of all which we have playlisted a few times on our Spotify daily selections the take on Randy Newman Awakenings gem ‘Dexter’s Tune,’ a film based on an Oliver Sacks book, that starred sax giant and Round Midnight actor Dexter Gordon.
Steve Horelick tune ‘Reading Rainbow’ from the US kids TV show of the same name also makes the cut.
- Explore more from marlbank including a first review of the soon to be published new Kenny Wheeler biography Song for Someone.
