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: \/ F A N G \ / : '
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\ / presents \ / .
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: Artist......: Frank Kohl
: Album.......: Pacific :
: Label.......: OA2 Records .. .:.. .
Genre.......: Jazz :
Catnr.......: OA222220 .
' Source......: CD ,
; Rip.date....: 2023-12-18
Str.date....: 2023-10-20
Quality.....: 251kbps/44.1kHz/Joint Stereo . :..
.:. Url.........: http://originarts.com/oa2/ '
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\ / # title time \ /
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1. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You 3:45
2. With Tears of Joy 3:14
3. Looking Back 4:06
4. Beatrice 3:22
5. Pacific Journey 3:44
6. Making Woopee 4:03
7. Idle Moments 3:05
8. A Felicidade 3:34
9. I Know I'll See You Again 3:26
10. Memories of Tomorrow 3:25
11. Time After Time 2:54
12. Moment's Notice 3:07
13. When I Fall in Love 2:24
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\ / ________ Runtime 44:09
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: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
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,: An old adage maintains that New York City is the Jazz capital of :,
: the world. While that may still ring true, there are fertile :
:' jazz scenes scattered all over the country where plenty of ':
,: potent players have been flying under the radar. Seattle :,
: guitarist Frank Kohl, who has been quietly going about the :
:' business of making beautiful music for four decades, is one ':
,: such prodigious talent deserving of wider recognition. An :,
: accomplished player who sites Wes Montgomery, George Benson and :
:' Jim Hall as important role models, Kohl's solo excursion on ':
,: Pacific brings to mind yet another significant influence Joe :,
: Pass. :
:' ':
,: "He was an enormous influence on me, the only difference being :,
: that he does everything in tempo most of the time, and I don't," :
:' said Kohl, whose penchant for letting a song breathe, being ':
,: guided by an internalized melody rather then an imposed tempo, :,
: sets him apart from the steady swinging standard setter. In :
:' Kohl's hands, each tune is an expedition, and his patient, ':
,: painterly approach uncovers jewels. :,
: :
:' "Some people have said that they miss the tempo thing in this ':
,: new record," said Frank of his purposeful use of space :,
: throughout these 13 tracks. "But l like the more meditative part :
:' of it, where if you have the melody inside of you, you can ':
,: forget about the fact that maybe you just put six beats in the :,
: last bar or that you're changing the time as you go." It's a :
:' process that allows Kohl to truly follow his heart in tackling ':
,: these nine standards and four originals. :,
: :
:' Kohl's rich, gorgeous tone, deliberate lines and perfectly ':
,: integrated chords and bass lines have characterized his playing :,
: since the '80s. The New York native attended the Berklee College :
:' of Music in Boston from 1972 to 1976, graduating with honors ':
,: before returning to hometown NYC. He released his solo debut in :,
: 1981, Reform, featuring bassist Michael Moore, then relocated to :
:' the Bay Area in 1983 before settling into Seattle in 1990. His ':
,: second album as a leader, 2008's Coast to Coast, was a quartet :,
: recording with his brother, pianist Tom Kohl, bassist Steve :
:' Roane, and drummers Jerry Fitzgerald and Jon Doty. He followed ':
,: with two other quartet recordings featuring his brother Tom, :,
: bassist Steve LaSpina and drummer Doty 2013's Invisible Man and :
:' 2017's Rising Tide. An intimate trio outing in 2020, The ':
,: Crossing, featuring him with bassist LaSpina and fellow :,
: guitarist, frequent duo partner and kindred spirit John Stowell, :
:' another under-recognized jazz guitar master from the Pacific ':
,: Northwest. Kohl's other 2020 release, the aptly titled Solitude, :,
: was done during the pandemic and also marked his first foray on :
:' record into solo guitar. ':
,: :,
: With Pacific, Kohl's commanding technique and unerring facility :
:' once again conjure up comparisons to Joe Pass, specifically his ':
,: 1973 solo masterpiece, Virtuoso. Recorded at David Lange Studios :,
: in Edgewood, Washington, just outside Seattle, 'Pacific' :
:' showcases the guitarist obvious gifts along with his deep love ':
,: of melody. :,
: :
:' The collection opens with the bluesy meditation "Gee Baby, ':
,: Ain't I Good To You," which has him deftly extrapolating on the :,
: soulful theme, spinning serpentine lines while dropping in hints :
:' of Pat Martino-isms along the way. Kohl's beautiful ballad ':
,: "With Tears of Joy" is tinged with an undercurrent of melancholy :,
: while also conveying a positive message. "That's just about the :
:' joy of having grandkids," he said. "I'm always moved when ':
,: something can be the opposite of what you think it is, like the :,
: title suggests. You think of tears as sorrow, but I love it when :
:' you can turn it around and make it a different thing. One of my ':
,: tunes from way back when is called 'Bright Night.' And I love :,
: that idea that a night could be bright. Or like Thelonious :
:' Monk's 'Ugly Beauty.'" ':
,: :,
: The reflective"Looking Back" highlights Frank's ability to :
:' seamlessly jump back and forth from bass line to chords to ':
,: melody lines, as does his flowing take on tenor saxophonist Sam :,
: Rivers' darkly elegant "Beatrice," a deeply felt ballad inspired :
:' by his wife and covered by everyone from Joe Henderson and Stan ':
,: Getz to Brad Mehldau and Robert Glasper. "That one was a :,
: challenge in that I didn't think I could actually do a solo :
:' version of that," confessed Kohl. "And I just kind of surprised ':
,: myself by deciding to modulate, so it's in two keys. When you do :,
: solo guitar you have to come up with these little interesting :
:' sidetracks along the way." ':
,: :,
: Shifting gears from moody to bright, Frank's "Pacific Journey" :
:' triggers feelings of comfort and nostalgia for the composer. ':
,: "That tune has a super simple melody, which I like," he :,
: explained. "It has pedal tones in it, which makes it easy to :
:' play on guitar. And it has a bluesy sort of cadence at the end ':
,: of it, which made me happy. It's just basically about looking at :,
: my life. I grew up on the East Coast and I came out here on this :
:' Pacific journey. For East Coasters, the West Coast has always ':
,: had this kind of mystique to it, like it's the promised land. I :,
: remember my grandparents moved out there and we used to go visit :
:' them, so it was a magical place in my head. And that's what I ':
,: was thinking of when I wrote it." :,
: :
:' Kohl's inventive and highly nuanced take on "Making Whoopee" is ':
,: both blues-laced and imbued with remarkably smooth voice :,
: leading, while his patient rendition of "Idle Moments" (a Duke :
:' Pearson composition and title track from Grant Green's 1963 ':
,: Blue Note album) finds him making judicious use of space in his :,
: phrasing. Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, a longtime :
:' favorite of Kohl's, is represented here by the bossa "A ':
,: Felicidade," a tune whose Portuguese title translates to :,
: "Happiness" though thematically it deals with impermanence and :
:' loss. Frank's gentle rendition is suitably introspective. ':
,: :,
: The guitarist's minor key lament, "I Know l'Il See You Again," a :
:' tune he previously recorded in a quartet setting on his first ':
,: album as a leader 42 years ago, again finds him slipping :,
: seamlessly in and out of chords, single note lines and bass :
:' lines. "This is a dark tune," he explained. "It's about a ':
,: woman. I had a girlfriend, I really liked her and it didn't work :,
: out. So I wrote this song in the mid '70s." :
:' ':
,: Kohl next delivers a radiant reading of "Memories of Tomorrow," :,
: the most poignant, affecting and memorable passage from Keith :
:' Jarrett's landmark K ln Concert live recording from 1975. ':
,: "That's a Berklee tune,' he recalled. "I remember when it first :,
: came out, everybody got a lead sheet on it and would be playing :
:' that song. I just came upon it accidentally when I was thinking ':
,: about tunes for this album, and it really struck me. And I :,
: modulated it, which was really challenging. It goes from A minor :
:' to F minor. But I just love the way the tune moves, and it ':
,: worked out really well on the guitar." :,
: :
:' Frank's Pass-ian command of his instrument comes to the fore on ':
,: his virtuosic rendition of the oft-covered Jule Styne standard, :,
: "Time After Time." As he explained, "That tune just lays really :
:' nicely on the guitar. And when I play it, I feel kind of free ':
,: to take chances with it." :,
: :
:' He introduces an allusion of swing on his solo interpretation ':
,: of John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice," readily acknowledging that :,
: tackling that Trane classic was a daunting task. "That was the :
:' hardest tune," he said. "But as daunting as that may be, the ':
,: melody is so simple that it kind of frees you up to be moving :,
: through all these chords." And he does so with impunity, flowing :
:' freely through the changes. ':
,: :,
: The collection closes with a graceful, solemn reading of the :
:' Victor Young ballad, "When I Fall In Love," which again has him ':
,: balancing chops with taste, sensitivity and zen-like patience. :,
: :
:' Throughout Pacific Kohl caresses these deeply ingrained ':
,: melodies with uncommon eloquence and a kind of expressive :,
: abandon. "I think of what I do with these songs as color and :
:' texture," he said. "The melody is the song. And if you have ':
,: good possession of the melody, you can take the listener to a :,
: place they kind of know they're going to, but then slap them :
:' with something more controversial, whether it's ':
,: reharmonization, an unexpected modulation or something very :,
: dissonant. And I love those kind of little surprises along the :
:' way." ':
,: :,
: There are unlimited surprises to be had on Kohl's 'Pacific.' :
:' It's a musical journey that will reward listeners and have ':
,: aspiring guitarists going back to the woodshed. But chops aside, :,
: it's the melodies that prevail. :
:' ':
: '
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