Artist.......: Steve Nelson
Album........: Sound-Effect
Label........: HighNote
Genre........: Jazz
Catnr........: HCD 7175
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Jun-26-2008
str.date.....: Sept-25-2007
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: n/a
track title time
01. One Thin Dime 08:36
02. Song For Tina 06:11
03. Desafinado 07:22
04. You and the Night and the Music 06:05
05. Night Mist Blues 06:41
06. Sound Essence 09:10
07. Up Jumped Spring 07:33
08. Arioso 06:48
Runtime 58:26 min
Size 81,3 MB
Release Notes:
Steve Nelson is a true magician, in his hands the
mallets transform into feathery streaks of light.
Nelson brings his sonic sleight-of-hand to the
HighNote catalog in his debut release featuring the
monster pianist Mulgrew Miller. Influenced by Milt
Jackson while evolving his own sound, he gigged
with Grant Green in the 1970s, and since has
performed and/or recorded with Kenny Barron, Bobby
Watson, Mulgrew Miller, David Fathead Newman,
Johnny Griffin, Jackie McLean and Buster Williams,
and has been a member of Dave Holland's Quintet and
Big Band for over a decade. Together with the piano
of Miller, the solid bass of Peter Washington and
the inspired percussion of Lewis Nash, Nelson rips
through an imaginative program displaying his
mastery at every strike of the mallet.
Pittsburgh native Steve Nelson has made his way
through the jazz ranks playing high profile gigs
with artists as diverse as Grant Green and Dave
Holland. Since the 1970s, the Rutgers University
alum has been quietly carving out his place as one
of the premier vibraphonists working in jazz today.
On Sound-Effect Nelson, with the help of pianist
Mulgrew Miller, bassist Peter Washington and
drummer Lewis Nash, stands front-and-center,
towering over the vibes with vigor, clarity and
unbridled soul.
Nelson contributes three compositions to the set.
All are harmonically rich, melodically fervent and,
best of all, unmistakably swinging. The opening One
Thin Dime is full of bluesy-type figures and rhythm
section breaks. The familiar-sounding fare serves
as the perfect medium-tempo, warm-up vehicle. By
contrast, Song for Tina, a cascading waltz with
flowing lines and clustered chords, entices intense
solos, fueled by Nash's limitless energy. Nelson's
well-crafted ballad, Sound Essence, lets the
vibraphonist explore the full range of his
instrument in a gentle, unhurried manner.
The remainder of the disc is comprised of a lyrical
waltz, Arioso, from the late pianist James
Williams, and four standards. Antonio Carlos
Jobim's Desafinado, Freddie Hubbard's Up Jumped
Spring and Ahmad Jamal's Night Mist Blues give the
disc a predictable, jam-session feel, elevated by
exceptional performances and incomparable feel. The
Dietz and Schwartz classic You and the Night and
the Music, a disc highlight, is taken as a
no-nonsense chops-buster
It's hard to go wrong with a release like
Sound-Effect. Nelson, Miller, Washington and Nash
are at the top of their game, and play with
unmatched passion and stamina. More original
material would have been welcome, yet the result is
a wonderful addition to the catalogue of a modern
master.
JazzTimes (p.119) - "Throughout SOUND-EFFECT,
Nelson distinguishes himself as an outstanding
soloist, perhaps even elevating his game a notch in
the presence of such a regal rhythm section."