What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella

Paul Silbergleit Trio – The Stillness of July (Calligram Records)

Guitarist Paul Silbergleit gets right down to business on his latest album, The Stillness of July. Straightaway from the first song on the album, “How Shallow The Duck Pond,” he’s swinging from the first note. He’s quite ably helped by Clay Schaub on the bass and Devin Drobka on the drums, and whether these Milwaukeeans are playing Silbergleit’s originals or standards like “Getting to Know You” or “Poinciana,” they’re solidly in the pocket. Charlie Parker’s “Bongo Beep” is a nice taste of some Be-Bop, and the set closing “Enter the Fall” starts off gently enough before heading off to the races to leave the listener wanting more. The Stillness of July is a fantastic effort by the Paul Silbergleit Trio, and it’ll be a joy to get to share it with WDCB listeners.

Stacey Kent – A Time for Love (Naïve Records)

Stacey Kent’s latest album, A Time for Love, is an intimate affair in the extreme. Simply Art Hirahara’s piano, Kent’s voice, and occasionally Jim Tomlinson’s woodwinds, and that’s all that’s needed to make for a satisfying listening experience. There are plenty of familiar songs to be found on A Time for Love, besides the title track, but also “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “Lucky To Be Me” and “God Only Knows” (surely that one’s a standard by now, right?). Stevie Wonder’s “As,” in this format, is lovely, as it pushes the beautiful lyric to the forefront. Kent also sounds great in Portuguese, as she sings on “Carinhoso” and “E La Chiamano Estate” and French (she does a great job on “La Javanaise,” too). No matter what language Stacey Kent is singing in, she’s singing beautifully, and that’s understandable by everyone.

Sam Yahel – Quiet Flow (La Reserve)

WDCB’s fans know that we have some Hammond B-3 diehards around here that absolutely adore the tonewheel sound. When you hear us digging into the organists that really represent the instrument, we show off players that largely make the organ howl, squeal and swing. But there are organists with different approaches, and they’re interesting in their own right. Hearing Sam Yahel on his latest album, Quiet Flow, where he switches off between the B-3 and the piano and keeps the pot on a simmer throughout all ten of its tracks. Even when the tempos get hot, the volumes noticeably come down. Yahel’s definitely going for a vibe, here. He’s joined by two fantastic players, Larry Grenadier on the bass and Brian Blade on drums. These three players are locked in on each other, and the interplay is great throughout the album. Quiet Flow opens with “Koko Koroko” and it’s immediately evident that is not going to be an ordinary organ record; there’s nothing greasy or funky about the sounds here. Both of the standards here, “Just One of Those Things” and “I Wish I Knew” are moments where the tempos get pushed and the temperature warms, but if ever there was a cool jazz organ record, Quiet Flow is it. About as funky as the album gets is “Strum It,” which does fall into a nice and enjoyable groove. When Yahel switches to piano, things get interesting. The improvising is much more open on “Badum” and “Who, Me?” “When it Comes Around” finds Yahel at both the piano and organ, and considering how different his approaches are to each instrument, hearing him play both is pretty cool. Sam Yahel has long been a favorite player of mine, dating back to his time in the early 2000’s playing with Joshua Redman. Seeing him on his own with such a unique statement as Quiet Flow is an exciting development, and hopefully a sign that there’s more to come.