Conrad Herwig, Reflections-Facing South review

‘Softly as in a morning sunrise The light of love comes stealing into a newborn day.’ Oscar Hammerstein’s words from nearly a Century Ago Spring to Mind given How Tender This All is And Poignant Too.

The full album is out tomorrow. Its issuing is overshadowed by the recent death of latin-jazz great the American-Puerto Rican pianist Eddie Palmieri with whom trombonist Conrad Herwig shared a long association. They are joined by the tasteful straightahead and very latin-jazz attuned 42-year-old American bassist Luques Curtis who hails from Connecticut.

Live review: Conrad Herwig at the Pizza Express Jazz Club

Last autumn I heard Herwig, 65, play live for the first time when he was over playing the Pizza in Soho with the Shavian Barry Green, Joris Teepe and Gene Calderazzo. Being a jazz trombone fan (I suppose my favourite contemporary players are Wycliffe Gordon, Shannon Barnett, Dennis Rollins, Herwig himself, the great funkateer Fred Wesley, Harry Brown of Jazz Jamaica repute, Ray Anderson, the Corkonian Paul Dunlea and Mark Nightingale) this was a real treat.

I’ve enjoyed work of the American’s in the past particularly his sprawling “latin side of” series output that remains consistently rewarding.

This drummer-less recording isn’t any, paradoxically, well, the less for that given how rhythmical all three players are. Tonally Herwig is so strong and you get – and I think that is why I like top trombone players – a galaxy of character from the rotundness of the sound.

I want to spend a lot more time with this record over the weekend but thought I’d get in quick to alert you to its qualities and add a few notes. Dip into the brace of tracks streaming so far.

The ones I like most are Herwig tune ‘Que Viva Barry’ which fans will know from 2007’s A Jones For Bones Tones and Palmieri piece ‘Cuando se Habla de Amor.’

La Perfecta II tune ‘Bianco’s Waltz’ from 2002, an album Herwig also was on, is among the material.

There’s lot of balladic resource to be found here on the beautiful ‘Monica.’

I’m not sure when or where the album was recorded not that it matters too much given how timeless all this sounds – there doesn’t seem to be details of these on the record label site.