Thom Rotella - A Day In The Life (2002)

Thom Rotella is a guitarist with a fluid, Wes Montgomery-influenced sound, and 'A Day In The Life' is a collection of light yet very engaging smooth-jazz tunes. Rotella opens the album with the title track, a gently grooving rendition of the Beatles classic. Rather than perform a paint-by-numbers version like many other smooth-jazz artists, he chooses to put his own stamp on it by establishing the familiar melody and then getting creative with it. On the dramatic "Baka," Rotella's rhythmic playing is set over tribal percussion, and the lively funk tune "A Different Story" features bouncy piano by keyboardist Roger Smith. Rotella's graceful acoustic-guitar work and Steve Madaio's muted trumpet set the mood on the dusky ballad "Candlelight," and Rotella's solo acoustic guitar showcase, "Day Song," is a bright, catchy delight. This isn't the most memorable collection of melodies you'll hear this year, but 'A Day In The Life' is a very enjoyable, if a bit evanescent, recording. ~ Lucy Tauss, JazzTimes.com. 

Trippin' N Rhythm, 64494-90512-2, 2002 

Musicians:
Thom Rotella - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Drum Programming
Bill Churchville - Trumpet [Muted]
Steve Madaio - Horn, Trumpet, Trumpet [Muted]
Tom Saviano - Tenor Saxophone, Horn
Nick Lane - Horn
Bill Champlin - Organ
Jim Studer - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Arrangements
Brad Cole - Drum & Keyboard Programming, Keyboards, String Arrangements
Roger Smith - Keyboards
Randy Tico, Stan Sargeant, Vail Johnson - Bass
Tom Walsh, Land Richards - Drums
Chris Rhyne, Julian Bunetta - Drum Programming, Keyboards, Synthesizer
Arno Lucas, Michael Fisher - Percussion 

Tracks:
01. A Day In The Life {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (3:51)
02. All B Cause Of You {Thom Rotella} (4:22)
03. Look But Don't Touch {Thom Rotella, Tom Saviano} (3:42)
04. K.I.G. Vamp {Thom Rotella, Tom Saviano} (0:28)
05. Candlelight {Thom Rotella} (4:29)
06. A Different Story {Thom Rotella, Tom Saviano} (3:53)
07. Only 4 One Moment {Thom Rotella} (4:25)
08. Keep It Goin' {Thom Rotella, Tom Saviano} (5:07)
09. Baka {Thom Rotella} (4:20)
10. The Little Things {Thom Rotella} (4:30)
11. All 4 You {Thom Rotella, Tom Saviano} (4:14)
12. As The Night {Thom Rotella} (4:29)
13. Day Song {Thom Rotella} (3:18)
14. The Beginning {Thom Rotella} (1:05) 

Total Time: 52:13 

Credits:
Producer - Thom Rotella, Synthesizer Arrangements
Producer - Tom Saviano, Horn & Synthesizer Arrangements
Producer (#10) - Julian and Peter Bunetta
Engineer - Mark Lindenberg
Mixing - Matt Hyde
Mastering - Bernie Becker
Cover Photo - Kelvin Jones
Design - Barbara Cooper

Thom Rotella - Can't Stop (1997)

Even as the smooth jazz format has grown over the past ten years, its annals are unfortunately littered with many artists whose promise fell victim to poor promotion, folding labels, and unending label limbo. While many (i.e. Chris Boardman, Gary Herbig, Bill Bergman) seemed to give up the fight to focus on more lucrative side endeavors, Thom Rotella - who faced six years of this musical purgatory after three hit albums on DMP from 1987 to 1990, chose to struggle through the bleak period of turn-downs from seemingly every label in the genre. The title of his comeback album, Can't Stop reflects this brazen spirit in the face of all those rejection letters. But Rotella realized that the type of lightweight acoustic guitar music that launched his career was no longer en vogue and might not stand out among the competition in 1997; to get back in the game, he needed more substance, more grit. While Rotella fans from way back might think the crackling, electric Wes Montgomery-flavored licks on Can't Stop are a departure, the guitarist is simply reverting back to the style he intended to begin his solo career with all along. It's notable not only for Rotella's thicker production values and bolder sense of improvisation, but also for the pointed conversations he has with the horns of Rick Braun (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Gerald Albright (sax); none of his old albums had sax embellishment at all. On "Belly Up," he textures Land Richards' live drums with shuffling loops, blending his own fluid electric lines with a wah-wah guitar track, and weaving Albright's tenor through a veil of appearing, then disappearing bluesy keyboard lines by Jim Studer. On the feisty title track, Rotella starts with a groove foundation of Richards, percussionist Vail Johnson and percussionist Arno Lucas. Above this, Rotella's fluid lines gallop along, each verse culminating in a dual flourish of muted trumpet and guitar; Braun takes a solo, and then backs off so Rotella can wail away. ~ by Jonathan Widran, AMG.

Telarc Jazz Zone, CD 83416, 1997
Recorded 1997 At JAM Studio, Phat Cat Studio & Twin Sons Studio 

Musicians:
Thom Rotella - Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Drum Programming, Percussion Programming
Chris Tedesco - Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Trumpet [Muted]
Joe Turano - Soprano Saxophone
Jim Studer - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Drum & Percussion Programming
Larry Cohn - Keyboards, Piano [Electric]
Chris Rhyne - Keyboards, Synthesizer
Land Richards - Drums, Drum & Percussion Programming, Synthesizer Bass
Arno Lucas - Percussion 

Guests:
Gerald Albright - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Rick Braun - Flugelhorn, Trumpet [Muted]
Mitchel Forman - Piano [Electric], Synthesizer
Vail Johnson - Bass 

Tracks:
01. What's The Story? {Thom Rotella} (4:35)
02. Mood {Thom Rotella} (4:29)
03. Dance The Night Away {Thom Rotella} (4:47)
04. Lights Out {Thom Rotella} (4:45)
05. Can't Stop {Thom Rotella} (5:12)
06. As Close As We Can Get {Thom Rotella} (5:02)
07. The Thought Of You {Thom Rotella} (5:11)
08. Belly Up {Thom Rotella} (5:01)
09. If Only {Land Richards, Thom Rotella} (4:47)
10. Stay The Night {Thom Rotella} (4:35) 

Total Time: 48:24

Credits:
Producer, Engineer - Thom Rotella
Executive Producer - Robert Woods
Engineer, Mixing - Matt Hyde
Mastering - Geoff Sykes

Thom Rotella 4-Tet - Out Of The Blues (2007)

Thom Rotella might not be a familiar name to the average jazz fan, but if you have an ear for jazz guitar you've probably enjoyed his music at some time over the past two decades. If so - or even if the multi-talented artist is unfamiliar to you - a new album on the Four-Bar Music label will give you the opportunity to hear him at his best. Out Of The Blues is obviously a labor of love for the artist, representing not only his musical side but also his business sense, because Four-Bar Music is his creation. He formed it in partnership with industry veteran Donald Elfman, a long-time friend from their days together at Telarc. On the musical side of the equation, Rotella has formed an outstanding quartet - or as he calls it, a 4-tet - consisting of himself, drummer Roy McCurdy, bassist Luther Hughes, and either Llew Matthews or Rich Eames on piano (varies by track). It's a talented bunch of pros, with a strong background that in some cases includes service with Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Rollins, and Jackie McClean. But Rotella is the star here, and the album leans to the bluesy side - hence the name - but still manages to provide listeners with a nice mix of traditional and newer sounds. With my built-in antenna for old standards fully operational, I found that three of the tracks qualify. Those include "My Foolish Heart" and "I Hear A Rhapsody," both played pretty straight and nicely done, and "The Way You Look Tonight," probably the best of the three. It begins traditionally and then segues into some nice improvisational play by both Rotella and drummer McCurdy. The other seven tracks are all Rotella's own compositions, and he's very good indeed at writing music. There are several keepers here, chief among them probably "Bluze 4 Youze," along with the soft ballad "Glimmer," and a little something called "All Ways." The latter was one of my favorites, an intoxicating Latin beat helping give the piece extra appeal. A nice collection from Thom Rotella and his strangely-named ensemble. ~ GeezerMusicClub.com.

Four Bar Music, none, 2007 

Musicians:
Thom Rotella - Guitars
Llew Matthews, Rich Eames - Piano
Luther Hughes - Bass
Roy McCurdy - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Who Dat? {Thom Rotella} (5:36)
02. Bluze 4 Youze {Thom Rotella} (6:39)
03. My Foolish Heart {Victor Young, Ned Washington} (7:31)
04. The Dr. Is In {Thom Rotella} (7:50)
05. Never Say Goodbye {Thom Rotella} (6:47)
06. The Way You Look Tonight {Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields‎} (7:54)
07. All Ways {Thom Rotella} (3:25)
08. I Hear A Rhapsody {George Fragos, Jack Baker, Dick Gasparre} (5:51)
09. Shimmer {Thom Rotella} (6:18)
10. Be Here Now {Thom Rotella} (10:26)

Total Time: 67:57

A Jazzy Rotella

I can't believa that no-one has reviewed this album. This album is so great! Everybody I played it for just loves it. My bebop father, my souly wife etc etc. This is Thom doing his thing jazzy style with almost Wes Montgomery style electric guitar and good support from his all acoustic band. Every song is a winner and I play it over and over again. First, I thought it reminded a bit of Lee Ritenours jazzy Stolen moments (another great album) but now I hear Thom's own voice and I like it very much. ~ W. Anders, 5 Stars Amazon.com.