| Jazz |
Two great artists meet, one pianist Jeremy Siskind, the other trumpeter Tony Guerrero, and those who speak best about this album are certainly Randy Brecker, “Great Recording! I really enjoy it!” Arturo Sandoval, “It is such an excellent album, two great musicians, making beautiful music, we couldn’t ask for more, it’s precisely what our ears and souls need.” and Wayne Gergeron, “There’s nothing you play here that I don’t like. Your phrasing and sense of melody are so refreshing. You two have a great connection!”
And we could add superlatives at will, which would still not be enough to describe this album. Let’s start with the trumpeter Tony Guerrero. In 1991, the release of his album “Another Day, Another Dream” cemented his reputation as a leading and recognizable voice on his instrument. This record featured talents like Gerald Albright, Rob Mullins, Brian Bromberg, Bill Cantos, and more, and was extremely popular on the radio and among fans. The songs “Amorado” and “Another Day, Another Dream” were also very popular on jazz radio. The album also featured Guerrero’s popular rendition of Quincy Jones’ “The Secret Garden.” The track was not only popular on contemporary jazz radio but also crossed over to the urban radio market, being featured alongside music by artists like Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross. The song was also recognized by the Soul Train Music Awards. These are impressive references that resonate in his playing, nourished by all these experiences.
On Jeremy Siskind’s side, he also has no shortage of references: Siskind has had the opportunity to perform with musical luminaries such as trumpeter Arturo Sandoval (at Disney Hall in Los Angeles), drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Jay Anderson (in a trio at the jazz club Mezzrow in New York), Grammy-winning classical pianist Angelin Chang (who performed Siskind’s Perpetual Motion Etudes in a duo at Carnegie Hall), legendary singer Kurt Elling (who recorded on Siskind’s album Housewarming), and drummer Ted Poor (who plays on Siskind’s album Simple Songs (for When the World Seems Strange)). Siskind has also served as musical director for comedians Lea DeLaria (Orange is the New Black) and Sandra Bernhard (The King of Comedy). A student of Scott McBride Smith, Tony Caramia, Harold Danko, Sophia Rosoff, and Fred Hersch, Siskind holds degrees in Jazz Performance and Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music as well as a Master’s in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University. He is a tenured professor at Fullerton College in Southern California and a proud Yamaha artist.
Here we have a well-thought-out album, in which the two artists offer us all the possible formal qualities based on their diverse and varied experiences. It is this experience that allows the artists to go to the essentials, to recreate around existing titles: Ellington, Garner, and many others, including a work by Siskind. We rediscover here music we know, listened to from another angle, thanks to the propositions of these two exceptional artists. One listen is not enough, as one can get caught up in Tony Guerrero’s subtle playing, which can sometimes remind us of some of Miles’ albums, preventing us from fully concentrating on what is happening. No matter, the pleasure is there, every moment on an album that can be fully enjoyed or serve as lovely background music, letting us imagine what such a live performance would be like… Another “Essential” album.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, July 4th 2024
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