Fabio Morgera - Colors (2000)

“Colors” is a 2002 jazz concept album by Italian trumpeter and composer Fabio Morgera, released on the Red Records label. The album for approximately 73 minutes explores the artistic relationship between sounds and visual hues based on eleven of Morgera's original tunes, each titled after a specific colour. For this album Fabio brings together the talents of trombonist Steve Turre, tenorist J.D. Allen, pianists James Hurt and Joe Rybczyk Jr., bassist Eric Revis and drummer Alvester Garnett. Musically, the album is rooted in post-bop and contemporary jazz, that features a hard-boppish trumpet technique and elegant phrasing inspired by another trumpet great Woody Shaw. Overall, this early album truly showcases Fabio's expertise on both trumpet and flugelhorn and his ability to write unique compositions. Its appeal is especially enhanced by the team of exceptional players, namely Steve Turre and J.D. Allen, whom are drawn into this captivating project. 

Red Records, RR 123295 - 2, 2002
Recorded 5th-6th March, 2000 at Studio 900 in New York 

Musicians:
Fabio Morgera - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Steve Turre - Trombone (#1,2,4-6,9,10)
J.D. Allen - Tenor Saxophone
James Hurt - Piano (#1,4,7,9)
Joe Rybczyk Jr. - Piano (#2,3,5,6,8,10,11)
Eric Revis - Bass
Alvester Garnett - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Yellow (6:27)
02. Red (7:42)
03. Blue (5:04)
04. Black (7:16)
05. White (6:15)
06. Grey (6:40)
07. Purple (8:33)
08. Green (8:28)
09. Brown (6:43)
10. Orange (8:43)
11. Pink (2:00) 

All Compositions by Fabio Morgera 

Total Time: 73:57 

Credits:
Producer - Fabio Morgera
Executive-Producer - Sergio Veschi
Recording - Hiro Sanada
Art Direction - Marco Pennisi

LINK

Promo

Fabio Morgera - Slick (1999)

Slick is a brand-spanking new release from Sergio Veschi's Red Records. It is a disc in keeping with both his goals of capturing only the top-drawer of jazz and documenting Italian jazz musicians. Fabio Morgera is a talented trumpeter/flugelhornist who has assembled an exceptional medium sized group of his fellow countrymen. Morgera and his group play a smart accessible brand of Hard/Post-Bop that is full of life and invention whether an up-beat barn- burning blues or an ethereal, smoldering ballad. Little-Big Band. Morgera drives a septet that includes a tenor saxophone (J.D. Allen), trombone (Jason Jackson), vibes (Bill Ware), and guitar (Peter Griesinger) in addition to Morgera and his rhythm section (Eric Revic on bass and Alvester Garnett on drums). This combination accomplishes an overall very mellow and bottom-heavy tone to support Morgera's pensive trumpet and flugelhorn playing. This is most evident on the ballads and slower pieces. Morgera is a master at playing the trumpet at a slow tempo. He is always on the note and never drags. The Italian Renaissance. Morgera arranged all of the music and wrote all but three of the compositions on this disc. One of the pieces credited to him, "Things" is actually a take-off of "All The Things You Are." The disc highlight (aside from all of the slow pieces) is Roland Kirk's "Serenade to a Cuckoo." Morgera is at his slurring, swaggering best. But it is the slow stuff...Morgera's flugelhorn on "Flores" and "Napoli," the latter piece having a decidedly Middle Eastern flavor, that make this disc. Morgera's playing is smooth and seamless. A delight, as are the performances of the rest of his band. In the final analysis, Slick is an urbane, beautifully dense yet light as a feather performance of rarified jazz. This music is very much a reflection of the label president, Sergio Veschi. Slick should be considered a super value for anyone's entertainment dollar. Spend it. ~ C Michael Bailey, AAJ. 

Red Record, RR123278-2, 1999
Recorded & Mixed January, 1998 @Studio, New York 

Musicians:
Fabio Morgera - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Tuba [F-Tuba], Arranger
Jason Jackson - Trombone, Bass Trombone
J.D. Allen - Tenor Saxophone
Bill Ware - Vibraphone
Peter Griesinger - Guitar
Eric Revic - Bass
Alvester Garnett - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Ny Pace {Fabio Morgera} (4:49)
02. Things {Fabio Morgera} (6:42)
03. Flores {Fabio Morgera} (5:19)
04. Serenade To A Cuckoo {Roland Kirk} (3:06)
05. Troupe {Fabio Morgera} (8:43)
06. Napoli {Fabio Morgera} (4:08)
07. Slick {Fabio Morgera} (6:23)
08. Two Lovers {Fabio Morgera} (2:08)
09. Asia Minor Blues {Fabio Morgera} (4:50)
10. Con Alma {Dizzy Gillespie} (7:17)
11. The Kicker {Joe Henderson} (3:27)
12. Step Out {Fabio Morgera} (3:27)
13. Old Devil Moon {Burton Lane, E.Y. "Yip" Harburg} (5:46)
14. And Again {Fabio Morgera} (3:30) 

Total Time: 01:09:35 

Credits:
Producer, Arranger - Fabio Morgera
Executive-Producer - Sergio Veschi
Recording, Mixing & Mastering - Hiroyuki Sanada
Editing, Mastering - Ryoji Hata
Art Direction - Marco Pennisi

J.D. Allen Quintet - In Search Of (1999)

For tenor saxophonist, J.D. Allen's debut as a leader, he wisely chose experienced Italian trumpeter Fabio Morgera as the second horn, along with a young, dynamite rhythm section. Allen is from the post-Coltrane school: His tone is big and strong, and burly. Except for Ornette's "Lonely Woman," Allen composed all the charts, and they are surprisingly mature and memorable. Shedrick Mitchell is the pianist on only a few tracks; on the remainder, the horns are backed only by a smashing Rodney Green on drums, and the solid Eric Revis on string bass. Sure, the music sounds a bit derivative, but these fellows are having a blast from the past as they wrestle the changes. Morgera is splendid on trumpet and deserves greater international recognition, which this recording will hopefully bring him. ~ by Steve Loewy, AMG. 

RED Records, 123283 - 2, 1999
Recorded August, 1998 at 900 Studios, New York, NY 

Musicians:
J.D. Allen - Tenor Saxophone
Fabio Morgera - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Shedrick Mitchell - Piano (#1,4,7)
Eric Revis - Bass
Rodney Green - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Jaya-Paul {J.D. Allen} (5:51)
02. Omar {J.D. Allen} (7:45)
03. Little Joe {J.D. Allen} (6:10)
04. Mudee Ya {J.D. Allen} (8:59)
05. Peebow's Vibe {J.D. Allen} (5:05)
06. In Other Words {J.D. Allen} (5:40)
07. In Search Of {J.D. Allen} (5:37)
08. Catch 22 {J.D. Allen} (6:02)
09. Monica Ann {J.D. Allen} (4:58)
10. Lonely Woman {Ornette Coleman} (8:00) 

Total Time: 64:07

Credits:
Producer Fabio Morgera
Executive Producer - Sergio Veschi
Recording & Mastering Engineer - Hiro Sanada
Mastering Engineer - Ryoji Hata
Art Direction - Marco Pennisi

J.D. Allen - Victory! (2011)

The third album by tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen's working trio with bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston is the shortest and most compressed one yet. He's a player given to concision; the majority of pieces on 2008's I Am I Am and 2009's Shine! were in the three- to four-minute range, but pieces on Victory! frequently come in well shy of the three-minute mark. He says what he's got to say, allows his bandmates (particularly Royston) to assert themselves, and then it's over. Intensity and focus are here, but almost no self-indulgence. This is surprising enough, but it becomes even more so when one reflects on how much Allen's tone and even his phrasing on the horn recall John Coltrane circa 1964. Many of the ideas heard here seem like variations on ones explored on classic Coltrane discs like Crescent and The John Coltrane Quartet Plays. That's not to suggest that Allen isn't a unique and compelling voice, because he absolutely is. But he's working within a tradition and making no bones about it. Anyone looking for a modern, relatively young (Allen was born in 1972) mainstream tenor player to champion would do well to check out everything the J.D. Allen Trio releases. ~ by Phil Freeman, AMG. 

Sunnyside Communications, SSC 1280, 2011 

Musicians:
J.D. Allen - Tenor Saxophone
Gregg August - Bass
Rudy Royston - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Victory! (4:08)
02. The Pilot's Compass (5:03)
03. The Thirsty Ear (2:01)
04. Sura Hinda (4:20)
05. The Learned Tongue (2:08)
06. Philippe Petit (2:55)
07. Motif (2:23)
08. Fatima (2:54)
09. Mr. Steepy (3:26)
10. Stairway To The Stars (2:24)
11. The Hungry Eye (1:42)
12. Recapitulation [The Pilot's Compass] (2:58) 

All Compositions by J.D. Allen 

Total Time: 36:22 

Victory! promises to solidify Allen's reputation as one of jazz's most dynamic and inspiring tunesmiths. Transcending a dissolute early life to create some of his era's most memorable music, this album features Allen's high-octane rhythm section, bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston. "Wasting notes is a waste of time," says Allen. These songs, most of them no longer than three or four minutes, stand out for their melodicism and intensity, ablaze with memorable hooks and riffs by all three band members. Throughout the album, Allen and his band mates eschew long solos in favor of setting a mood or stating an intention and then following through taking the form of a classical sonata - a theme and variations which end conclusively - Victory! offers twelve succinct, interwoven compositions. ~ Extract by Amazon Editorial.

Elisabeth Kontomanou - Embrace (1999)

This is Kontomanou’s debut album, released in 1999 but to most quarters, something which was almost entirely missed on the radar screen. The kind of vocal expression Elizabeth is engaged in does not fit the popular vogue of female jazz vocalists. However, the program here shows both elements of musical substance and extramusical content in equal measure. The aesthetic persuasion that motivates her- the epic romanticism that impelled the most powerful, immediate Jazz on the 60s, is currently seen as outmoded. Put simply most listeners have a hard time reconciling the fact a vocalist does not wish to deal with popular song forms and instead wants to wrestle with an idiom that has been largely defined by instrumental giants in the league of Coltrane and Sanders etc., Elizabeth Kontomanou, like Flora Purim, is most committed to using her voice as an acoustic instrument in the ideal sense through the great raw potential which lays in wordless vocals. Here she surrounds herself with master soloists like Sam Newsome and J.D. Allen so as not to make her abilities as an improviser go untested. Indeed, it should be mentioned that time and time again both men, as well as pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, lay out impressive statements that raise the bar for her own expression. It's apparent if nothing else that the model of John Coltrane is at the heart of her expression, and in this should lie much interest for both Trane fans and those who cry for something different in the vocal world. ~ Extract by Gerard Cox.

SteepleChase Records, SCCD 31467, 1999

Recorded November, 1998

Musicians:

Elisabeth Kontomanou - Vocals

Sam Newsome - Soprano Saxophone

J.D. Allen - Tenor Saxophone

Jean-Michel Pilc - Piano

Thomas Bramerie - Bass

Abdou M'Boup - Percussion

Tracks:

1. Aliki {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (7:40)

2. Embrace {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (6:26)

3. Where I Wanna Be {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (3:23)

4. Spring {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (5:55)

5. The Light Of You {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (9:07)

6. All Music Kinds {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (11:35)

7. Lost Letter To A Nomad {J.D. Allen} (10:16)

8. Clear Blue Skies {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (10:14)

9. The Story Teller {Elisabeth Kontomanou} (5:38)

Credits:

Producer - Nils Winther

Recording Engineer - Josiah Gluck

Photo - Fernando Natalici

Liner Notes - Mark Gardner