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Derek Bronston Group Ebb  (Labor Records, 2001)
BUY THIS CD RIGHT NOW! -> Ebb
 


Guitarist Derek Bronston has played with artists including Jerry
Gonzalez, Tom Harrell, D.D. Jackson, and Cecil Taylor, and he regularly
gigs the New York City jazz scene with his eponymous quartet. 
Ebb, his second CD as composer and band leader after 1999's
Longing, offers nine original tracks of mellow, acoustic jazz
from a group of guitar, sax, bass and drums. 

Ebb starts and finishes in a somber mood, bracketed by the slow
swing of "River Looking" and the short dirge of "Lullaby for a
Wedding."  In between, a few moderate up-tempo grooves accelerate the
pace, like "Dream" and "Somewhere in Time," but after each, the vibe
comfortably settles back into tranquility, with the sad drone of the
alto sax in "Waiting" or the yearning soprano sax on "Conversation."  
On
the title track, the musky tone of the high register baritone sax 
melody
over Bronston's ringing arpeggiated chords provides the most moving
moment of the record.  The traditional jazz flavor of the rhythm
section, with upright bass and soft, pinging ride cymbal, ideally
matches the purring hollow-body guitar and the sinuous, breathy
saxophone.  Bronston's serene tunes and the group's delicate and 
emotive
playing perfectly capture a smoky jazz club vibe, at the end of the
night when only a few stalwarts are left, and the bartender is starting
to sweep up a little early.  That's often when those last stragglers 
get
to hear insightful music from skilled musicians, even though the rest 
of
the room sits empty.  Ebb shuns modern sound and flashy playing
to flourish in this peaceful, restrained mood.  

Bronston's Ebb slides through fifty minutes of blue jazz, with a
profound subtlety of melody and performance that doesn't really sink in
until the CD has already ended.  For more information, Bronston's web
page at www.derekbronston.com has annoying automatically playing audio,
scant bio information, and a poor design showing a blank front page in
IE 5.5, but the Labor Records site at http://www.laborrecords.com/ has 
a
bio and information on Ebb.  

Reviewed by Scott Andrews [scottandrews@his.com]

More Info:

http://www.laborrecords.com/ 

http://www.derekbronston.com/ 


Track Listing:

1.  River Looking 

2.  Dream 

3.  Waiting 

4.  Somewhere in Time 

5.  Conversation 

6.  Journey 

7.  Ebb 

8.  For Boris 

9.  Lullaby for a Wedding 


Personnel: 

Derek Bronston: guitar 

Lisa Parrott: alto sax, soprano sax & baritone sax 

Gary Wang: bass 

Gerald Cleaver: drums 





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