Bob Mintzer Big Band: 25 years of brass gold

Wednesday evening in Madrid: I just got home from a long day of projects, meetings, talks and foreseeing. There's a ton of new music waiting for me either in the computer, on the living room's table or lying around my desk. GREAT! There's a lot of pure jazz recordings in my ears these days, and that will be reflected on my Serie B's section for the upcoming issue. And that's the territory this week: it's deadline!!

I must confess I truly enjoy the time for selection every two months or so. With the general chaos of new releases, accidental purchases, recommendations and promos delivery it's very easy to overlook some great stuff that, shame on me, I might have only listened to a couple of times. So, deadline comes and it's compulsory to revise the basket. That's where I am right now.
Revise, revise, re-listen, reconsider...

And this is when I get to this little wonder called Swing Out by the Bob Mintzer Big Band. Released last August through Mcg Jazz/Fontana, the recording marks more or less the 25th Anniversary of the project created by the astonishing (former Yellowjackets) tenor saxophone. Without a doubt one of the warmest and funkiest tenors brought out in the sometimes uncertain territory of the smooth jazz and post fusion eighties .But more than that: an amazing arranger for the big band set up (one of my favourites, together with Vince Mendoza, in the wisdom to preserve a touch of pop and crossover when dealing with orchestration). Lots could be said and written about these musician, who has been too often despised for many of his fusion adventures (not always unfairly). But what can you add to the music when music gets so vivid, hot and cool? Not much. Because this album breathes out in only 8 tracks a palette of colors and moods who will bring you, yes, to the architecture of mad counterpoints (irresistibe for Mintzer's arrangements) naming the album in "Swing Out", the crescent melodrama of the all time Metheny & Mays classic featuring Kurt Elling in "Minuano" or the contagious and pop revisionism of "Swingalang". More than anything, the excursion into this world of brass gold will leave you exhausted with emotions, smiles and swinging feet while wondering how does someone manage to remain so young and beautiful in a marriage of 25 years. Like most unique things in life it will remain a mistery.