Reviews - Page 9
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A review by William Roark
(about "E Chi Se No?") Reminds me of Bob Currow Big Band. Great arrangement, very professional arrangement treatment. Old, old School quality: a nice ensemble work thru out the piece. Sounds like a large cast of characters (10+). Really nice treatment of harmonies done thru the use of I would have to believe "Written Charts". Someone was very very busy. Band Performance is excellent, really nice tight performance. Obviously extensive rehearsals were the key for pulling off such a great performance. They just don't do it like this anymore. And that's a bad thing, not for this orchestra, but for the listening public. If more "musicians" took their craft as seriously as these folks, there would be so much more great music in the world. Really fine job, guys, extra extra credit for the "behind the scenes" work you obviously put in to make our craft something to be proud of. Sounds like perfection is the only result your looking for, take no substitutes. There should be a "special award" for Hardest Working Band in Show Biz... I would nominate you in a sec. William Roark, Detroit, Michigan
A review by André Jones
(about "E Chi Se No?") Big Band Sound... The brass did an exceptional job throughout this song in performance, harmonies, and execution. The trumpet solo was as smooth as milk and technically made his solo very interesting. I like the organ solo in the song, I thought that it was an interesting & good choice of instruments to take a solo. The background vocals were perfect in harmony and recorded great. The drummer playing was great here. Smooth and calculated. His little solo at the end was technically executed and sounded great. The bass player had a laid back jazz walk that was really cool and moved this song that way. good chops and sound... Performance, Recording, & Song were great. Four Stars. Andre Jones, Detroit, Michigan
A review by Darwin Noguera
(about "E Chi Se No?") Very nice intro with horns! I really enjoyed the voicings as well. Interesting voice in Portuguese (!! NdLB) over jazz form. Really nice nice horns in the background. Nice arrangement! The melody sounds very well thought through and connects very well to other sections. Develops very very nice and into a trumpet solo that plays with a lot of soul. Great comping on the piano, great walking bass line, and fine drumming. Pro's at hand with out a doubt. Organ cought me by surprise! Sounds great! I really enjoyed this tune, thank you! Darwin Noguera, Chicago, Illinois
A review by Jo Oliviet
(about "E Chi Se No?") Musically this tune has a great arrangement, great music voicings, great progressions, nice breaks and tags. Very mellow mood. The singer has a voice that reminds me of the great Lou Rawls. Deep in the tenor range, with the exception of dynamics, I believe this singer on this cut can use their voice dynamics a bit more to make it more personal and the standard average friday night lounge singer type. Great overall band playing, very tight horns, moving bass, surging trumpet solo and fills, volume wise I think the drums should come up in the mix, because they are beating some great fills as well. Nice tune, take care, Jo. J Oliviet, Seattle, Washington
A review by Drew Smith
(about "E Chi Se No?") Nice horn arrangements. Almost big band sounding, reminiscent of some "Birth of the Cool"/ Gil Evans arrangements. Props to the arranger! I feel like the piano was mixed a little hot, especially during the organ solo, it takes away from what the organ is trying to accomplish. Cool groove at the very end by the drummer - really is making something happen with the what the horns line is doing. I am never a fan of vocalists, but you were not obnoxious, and that is enough for me. The crooner stuff always goes over well if you showcase the band a little and you did more of your share of that on pretty much every instrument but the bass. Good Luck. Drew Smith, Austin, Texas
A review by Ben Makinen
(about "E Chi Se No?") A Gentle Breeze Swings Over The Atlantic: the group does a fine job dancing through rhythmic permutations of 8/4 while smoothly gliding between swing and latin feels. The singer has a warm and inviting voice, well suited for jazz, even if just a tad nasal... a nice minor tune that goes to a major, almost pop bridge [interlude]. I'll venture a guess that the singer also plays the piano and recorded the 2 together. The piano track is terribly mono dynamic and heavy handed as well as being mixed too hot. The piano should lay out more often. [Especially behind the well played organ solo!! Never have a keyboard comping behind another keyboard, unless, perhaps, it's just laying down pads.] This player should also practice utilizing the full range of the piano-don't get stuck in the middle of the keyboard. Good use of the horn ensemble, although they were buried by the piano comping. The trumpet solo reveals a weak embouchure. I reccomend practicing more long tones, as well as studying more jazz patterns-Clark Terry and Lee Morgan make for splendid transcriptions. The drummer has great ideas and smooth execution. Too bad he wasn't left any room to shine during the latin outro. Again, if the piano were simplified or left out of the outro, the drummer could weave in and out of the ensemble figures in the horns. The singer's approach, and use of harmonizing, reminded me a little of John Hendricks and Manhattan Transfer. Good job! Ben Makinen, Denver, Colorado