Almost Modern: The Swing to Bop Project

by Daniel Block

Overview

On Almost Modern, which is subtitled "The Swing to Bop Project," tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Dan Block revives music from the period of time when swing was gradually being replaced by bop. Most of the selections on this CD are from 1944-1947. Block's group with trumpeter Jon-Eric Kellso sometimes pays direct tribute to the Coleman Hawkins 1945 Quintet which featured trumpeter Howard McGhee and pianist Sir Charles Thompson. Even the more boppish pieces such as "I Mean You" and "Dizzy Atmosphere" are played with a swing sensibility. Block has a tone somewhere between Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young and a style that perfectly fits these pieces while Kellso slightly modernizes his approach. The rhythm section swings, Larry Ham mixes together Count Basie and Bud Powell, and guitarist Chris Flory (replaced by Jon Hart on "Ko Ko") takes his share of Charlie Christian-inspired solos. The music pays homage to the past but is creative within the older transitional style. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow

Product Details

Release Date:	07/17/2007
Label:	Sackville
UPC:	0778132206927
Rank:	234729

Tracks

1. Dexter Rides Again
2. Too Much of a Good Thing
3. Byas'd Opinion
4. Illinois Goes to Chicago
5. I Waited for You
6. That's Earl's Brother
7. Dizzy Atmosphere
8. Meandering
9. Setting the Pace
10. I Mean You
11. Sportsman's Hop
12. Koko
13. Disorder at the Border

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Daniel Block   Primary Artist,Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Chris Flory   Guitar
Larry Ham   Piano
Chuck Riggs   Drums
Lee Hudson   Bass
Jon Hart   Guitar

Technical Credits

Bill Airey Smith   Formatting
Dizzy Gillespie   Composer
Don Byas   Composer
Dexter Gordon   Composer
Charlie Parker   Composer
Leon Lee Dorsey   Assistant
Roger Rhodes   Engineer
Thelonious Monk   Composer
Bud Powell   Composer
Gil Fuller   Composer
Daniel Block   Liner Notes
Sir Charles Thompson   Composer
Bill Doggett   Composer
Illinois Jacquet   Composer
Coleman Hawkins   Composer
Doug Pomeroy   Mastering