George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Carl Winther Trio - Quintonic (2014)

"Gargonzi", "Berzone" call em whatcha like, the tenor sax duo of George Garzone and Jerry Bergonzi from "Beantown" (Boston, Mass) quite excite on this 2014 disc. This CD appears to have been sponsored by the Danish Music Publishers Society and features a more than able rhythm section of pianist Carl Winther (who not only produced the date but penned four of the tracks) Johnny Åman on bass, and Anders Mogensen on drums. The front line hornmen sport an "obbledeygobbeldy" manneristic which refers to a post-Coltrane technique (also developed by Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman, Bill Evans,et al) which involves a pumping off of the lower notes in order to get a ricochet-like effect escalating vertically to higher registers of the horn. Mind you this might be an anorakian pursuit of interest for saxophonists, but it is difficult to pull off and does have a distinctive and rather emotional, fiery edge to it. It sits well with both Garz and Gonz possessing dark and somewhat hollow, echoey tonal qualities which offer a refreshing contrast to the plethora of brighter, shimmery and brittle sounds that so many contemporary saxists have today. Winther's "Crystal Ball" has a gentle medium bluesy groove with a pensive and moody horn line that leads to heroic solos all round. Bergonzi contributed two pieces, the melodic "Idiosyncrasies" and the brisk 12 bar burner, "Ellwood" which offset Winther's repertoire nicely. Everything is well controlled throughout with squeaks, squeals and even the odd honk. Quality stuff indeed. ~  by Frank Griffith, JazzViews.net. 

Stunt Records, STUCD 14072, 2014
Recorded July, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts 

Musicians:
George Garzone - Tenor Saxophone
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone
Carl Winther - Piano
Johnny Åman - Bass
Anders Mogensen - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Gargonzola {Carl Winther} (4:54)
2. Crystal Ball {Carl Winther} (7:40)
3. Idiosyncrasies {Jerry Bergonzi} (6:28)
4. Restless {Tomas Franck} (5:49)
5. Ellwood {Jerry Bergonzi} (7:46)
6. Abeid From Zanzibar {Carl Winther, Jerry Bergonzi} (6:07)
7. The Gargoyle Returns {Carl Winther} (5:37) 

Total Time: 44:26 

Producer - Carl Winther 

Ellwood

Carl Winther Quartet - Tetragonz (2013)

Carl Winter has certainly inherited the blood of his father, the great Danish trumpeter Jens Winter, who died in 2011. Since then, Carl has become increasingly active as the leading young jazz pianist in Denmark. Like before he assembles a trio; made up of bassist Johnny Åman, replacing Joel Illerhag, and drummer Anders Mogensen; that is augmented by the presence of renowned and equally in demand tenorist Jerry Bergonzi. This time the quartet as formed in the previous work "Sonic Shapes" has evolved into a regular band, and while expanding its activities in Europe and the United States, it ushered itself forth into the Boston PBS Studios in late 2012 to record this album, and the following year it was released on the Danish ‘stunt’ label. As before, well-placed in this formation the master saxophonist’s exhilarating contribution runs unabated. Both players apart from their excellent musicianship are top-notch composers, with Carl penning seven and Jerry the remaining two compositions. As a result, this veteran tenor player and up-and-coming pianist's passionate encounter has exceled to create yet again a fine example of the next generation of vibrant jazz, enjoy! 

Stunt Records, STUCD 13042, 2013
Recorded November, 2012 at PBS Studios, Westwood, Boston, Massachusetts 

Musicians:
Carl Winther - Piano
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone
Johnny Åman - Bass
Anders Mogensen - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Tetragonz {Carl Winther} (5:08)
2. Somewhere {Carl Winther} (4:31)
3. Dawn {Carl Winther} (6:31)
4. Spectre {Carl Winther} (6:09)
5. Neverland {Carl Winther} (4:25)
6. Like Judas {Carl Winther} (9:04)
7. Gabriella {Jerry Bergonzi} (7:09)
8. Triotone {Carl Winther} (6:02)
9. Domolian Mode {Jerry Bergonzi} (5:21) 

Total Time: 54:20 

Credits:
Producer - Carl Winther, Jerry Bergonzi
Executive-Producer - Peter Littauer, Søren Friis
Recording - Peter Kontrimas
Cover - Paul Wilson
Photography - Antonio Porcar Cano 

Tetragonz

Jerry Bergonzi Quartet - Live Gonz! II (2004)

Jerry is unique. You will enjoy every album! ~ Ingo Waaga, Amazon.com. 

Better Than Gonz! Live 1
====================
This Vol. 2 Of His Live Set Is Much More Straight Ahead Than Vol. 1 ~ JazzMan65, Amazon.com. 

Double Time Jazz, DTJCD-1002, 2005
Recorded Live at Duc Des Lombards, Paris, France 

Musicians:
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone
Renato Chicco - Piano
David Santoro - Bass
Andrea Michelutti - Drums 

Tracks:
1. I Remember You {Victor Schertzinger, Johnny Mercer} (15:10)
2. Si Señora {Jerry Bergonzi} (12:52)
3. Just Friends {John Klenner, Sam Lewis} (10:06)
4. Dexter {Jerry Bergonzi} (11:39)
5. Let's Pretend {Jerry Bergonzi} (10:39) 

Total Time: 60:27 

Credits:
Producer - Jerry Bergonzi
Executive Producer, Graphic Design - Jamey D. Aebersold
Recording - Serge Babkine
Engineer, Mixing & Mastering - Peter Kontrimas
Mixing & Mastering - Dave Santoro
Photography - Michael Tracy

Carl Winther Quartet - Sonic Shapes (2011)

One of these great new talents is 26-year-old Carl Winther. Trained at the Conservatory of Rhythmic Music in Copenhagen where he graduated in 2006, he has however already collected a parallel valuable personal experience playing on the jazz scene with a host of remarkable musicians. The recording of Sonic Shapes took place on May 31, 2011 after a successful tour of Danish and Swedish clubs. The quartet is very united and a new tour is already planned. This is not just another European trio being gold-plated by an American superstar. Bergonzi has nothing but praise for their collaboration, with the inspiration obviously flowing back and forth. ~ Amazon.com. [Translated from French] 

Stunt Records, STUCD 11162, 2011
Recorded 31st May, 2011 

Musicians:
Carl Winther - Piano
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone
Joel Illerhag - Bass
Anders Mogensen - Drums 

Tracks:
1. The Out Society {Carl Winther} (4:55)
2. Threshold {Jerry Bergonzi} (9:45)
3. The Prophet {Carl Winther} (7:28)
4. Uranian Overtones {Jerry Bergonzi} (6:43)
5. Yerevan Mama {Jerry Bergonzi} (6:03)
6. The Falcon {Carl Winther} (7:28)
7. James Moody {Jerry Bergonzi} (6:49)
8. The Core {Carl Winther, Jerry Bergonzi, Anders Mogensen} (4:49) 

Total Time: 54:04 

The Out Society

Jerry Bergonzi - Live Gonz! (2002)

"Live GONZ!" is master saxophonist and educator Jerry Bergonzi's 2001 recording on Double-Time Records. This single CD recording captures Bergonzi's quartet performing in front of a very appreciative audience at the Duc Des Lombard club in France. Every song is over 10 minutes long (65 minutes total) and the band takes the opportunity to explore each piece, whether it's barnstorming the standard "Have You Met Miss Jones", getting bossa nova on "Different Places Again" or swinging on "A Different Look". The quartet, which includes Renato Chicco on piano, Dave Santoro on bass, and Andrea Michelutti on drums, is in fine form and well recorded on this modern bop date. ~ by Douglas T Martin, Amazon.com. 

Double Time Records, DTRCD-190, 2002
Recorded Live at Duc Des Lombards, Paris, France 

Musicians:
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone
Renato Chicco - Piano
Dave Santoro - Bass
Andrea Michelutti - Drums 

Tracks:
1. Have You Met Miss Jones {Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart} (11:35)
2. Different Places Together {Jerry Bergonzi} (14:05)
3. On Again Off Again {Jerry Bergonzi} (11:57)
4. You Can Tell {Jerry Bergonzi} (9:59)
5. A Different Look {Jerry Bergonzi} (17:08) 

Total Time: 64:44 

Credits:
Producer - Jerry Bergonzi
Executive Producer, Graphic Design - Jamey D. Aebersold
Recording - Serge Babkine
Engineer, Mixing & Mastering - Peter Kontrimas
Mixing & Mastering - Dave Santoro
Photography - Michael Tracy
Liner Notes - David Kana

Klaus Suonsaari - Something In Common (1998)

Klaus Suonsaari's concern with sound and balance extend to the ensemble as well. Critic Jon Pareles, writing in the New York Times, stated that "Mr. Suonsaari fulfilled one of a bandleader's most important duties: choosing his group members well." Here Klaus has gathered one well-chosen assemblage of top American performers, and another consisting of respected players from his homeland, with the aim of bridging the gap between continents, and revealing the commonality of intent among European and American jazz artists. Klaus succeeds as a leader because of his sense of balance and his ability to find common ground between seemingly different elements. Tradition and originality... the European and American aesthetic... lyric beauty and freewheeling expressionism ("Song For S.R." is a glorious example) ... Klaus always finds "something in common" with which to engage the listener. ~ StoryvilleRecords.Bandcamp.com. 

Storyville Records, STCD 4218, 1998
11th-12th April, 1992 (#1-6) at Finnish Broadcasting Studios, Helsinki, Finland;
17th-18th February, 1989 (#7-12) at RPM Studio, New York City 

Musicians:
Klaus Suonsaari - Drums, Percussion & Vocals (#12), Arranger
Jukka Perko - Alto Saxophone (#2,6) Soprano Saxophone (#1,5)
Jerry Bergonzi - Tenor Saxophone (#7-12), Arranger (#9,10)
Jarmo Savolainen - Piano (#1,2,3,5,6), Arranger (#5)
Niels Lan Doky - Piano (#7-12)
Severi Pyysalo - Vibraphone (#1,2,5,6), Arranger (#6)
Mike Mainieri - Vibraphone (#7,8,11)
Eerik Siikasaari - Bass (#1,2,3,5,6)
Ray Drummond - Bass (#7-12)
Bobby Sanabria - Percussion 

Tracks:
01. Ritual {Klaus Suonsaari} (7:39)
02. Jaska {Eerik Siikasaari} (6:25)
03. Motion {Klaus Suonsaari} (7:00)
04. Song For S.R. {Klaus Suonsaari} (2:05)
05. Inseparable {Jarmo Savolainen} (5:49)
06. Burning Bridges {Severi Pyysalo} (6:33)
07. Serenity {Klaus Suonsaari} (5:47)
08. Miles Apart [Part 2] {Klaus Suonsaari} (5:51)
09. Jab {Jerry Bergonzi} (7:20)
10. If I Were A Bell {Frank Loesser} (4:48)
11. Blues For G {Klaus Suonsaari} (6:54)
12. Happy People {Klaus Suonsaari} (5:07) 

Total Time: 71:18

Credits:
Producer - Klaus Suonsaari
Executive Producer - Karl Emil Knudsen
Engineer - Heikki Antero Savolainen [Helsinki]
Engineer - A.T. Michel [NYC]
Engineer - Hans Nielsen [Focus Recording, Copenhagen]
Layout - Richard Meyrick
Photo - Marja-Leena Helin
Artwork & Design [Cover] - Tina Eskilsson
Liner Notes - Scott Robinson