Last Minute Gifts
Rob Blakeslee Quartet
| Last Minute Gifts is Rob's second title on Louie Records after
Waterloo Ice House, which received considerable acclaim and was on
a number of critics' Top Ten Lists in Cadence Magazine. The Village Voice
called Blakeslee, "The Northwest's best progressive trumpet player." Blakeslee
also has three superb releases on the Nine Winds Label.
Michael Vlatkovich (trombone) replaces Rich Halley (sax) in this outing; otherwise this is the same close-knit family affair of Waterloo Ice House. The previous Quartet got great reviews for performances in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Madison, and at the Du Maurier Jazz Festival in Vancouver, BC. These original Blakeslee compositions and the group interaction have what Cadence has called, "open, collective freedom; it never abandons a harmonic lyricism or sinuous pulse." This is interactive, avant jazz with a strong sense of swing. "Restless and probing, Blakeslee's music presents the same challenge today that bebop in the '40s must have posed for ears used to the rhythms and resolutions of swing." The Oregonian |
Read a review at All About Jazz
mp3 Samples:
Advice from a Pufferfish (1,008K)