Mike McGinnis, Elias Bailey & Vinnie Sperrazza – Time Is Thicker (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 42:47 minutes | 791 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Open Stream Music
Clarinetist Mike McGinnis takes a page from Benny Goodman in leading a trio (albeit different in formation than the original) with bassist Elias Bailey and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza mixing swing, standards and beyond on this accessible and enjoyable outing. McGinnis has a warm and woody tone, sticking to a lower register most of the time as on the loose bopper “Get In The Car” and the warm “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”. Some fun drums and clapping get into a groove on a read of “Tin Tin Deo” with spaciousness in a blue haze on “Welcome Home” and dreamy on “Agnegation”. Clear and starry nights of sound.
Read more
Vinnie Sperrazza – Juxtaposition (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:02:32 minutes | 1,14 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Posi-Tone Records
The most intriguing thing about Juxtaposition, Vinnie Sperrazza’s recently released recording, is its loose grip on the jazz tradition. The disc’s twelve tracks don’t come with a set of standard, recognizable references. Not unlike many of today’s leading young artists, Sperrazza has absorbed the lessons of the music’s past, and is currently interested in doing things on his own terms instead of dwelling in the accomplishments of his elders. The other essential aspect of the record is it’s overall disposition the antithesis of the dense, loud, unyielding ethos that’s increasingly common across the spectrum of jazz and improvised music. Sperrazza, the composer of nine of the tracks, pens refined, distinctive themes that sometimes hint of something left unsaid. A band consisting Sperrazza’s drums, tenor saxophonist Chris Speed, pianist Bruce Barth, and bassist Peter Brendler produce an enclosed sound that often feels like a collection of interiors. (While listening to most of the tracks I frequently wondered if the music could survive the noisy distractions common to many live performance spaces.)
Read more